Rachael Jonassen directs the climate and greenhouse gas management program in the Environmental and Energy Management Institute at George Washington University where she holds joint appointments in engineering and urban sustainability. She has worked on climate change issues for over four decades on issues ranging from high-level nuclear waste disposal, hydroelectric vulnerability, urban adaptation, and mitigation to energy system risks. Her previous positions include managing carbon cycle research at the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Global Change Research Program, advising the U.S. government on climate change issues, and international work with the World Bank, United Nations, and the Asian Development Bank. With the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition, she helped organize the first international research meeting on carbon pricing. Rachael holds a PhD and MS in Geoscience with a research focus on computer simulation.