Rachael Nealer

Director, Atlas Public Policy

2025 Government Award Winner

Dr. Rachael Nealer is a researcher and executive leader at the intersection of energy and transportation. Throughout her career spanning academia, policy, and management, she has both advanced environmental impact research focused on electrification and fuels and created the national systems and processes to implement real-world change in the United States.

Nealer currently serves as a Director at Atlas Public Policy, which provides data and builds analytical capacity at organizations to solve critical problems related to energy and climate. She provides strategic leadership and policy expertise to advance data-driven solutions for transportation electrification, policy, and infrastructure. Alongside her work for Atlas, Nealer is a Scott Institute for Energy Innovation Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University, aiming to bridge the gaps between energy, transportation, and decarbonization. Previously, Nealer led the U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, a new federal office she helped to create and then operate. The office delivered a first-of-its-kind national electric vehicle charging guidance and standards, from policy to implementation, catalyzing the U.S. market and advancing secure, accessible public infrastructure and technology.

Nealer advises and contributes to organizations including the Center for Sustainable Energy, Electric Power Research Institute, and American Center for Mobility, and she chairs the Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Transportation Energy Data and Technology. She has been recognized for her contributions to civil service and science, both as a Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal Finalist and as a recipient of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Excellence Award for the Clean School Bus Program. Her work has resulted in several publications that model lifecycle assessments for vehicles and freight across multiple sectors and develop and compare greenhouse gas emissions mitigation strategies.

She received her joint PhD in Civil & Environmental Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University, with a focus on sustainable transportation supply chains, energy use, and emissions.