Rachel Chang might consider herself behind-the-scenes at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), but thanks to the FEDS Spotlight Recognition Program, she’s been given a moment to take a bow.
The Federal Energy Management Program’s (FEMP’s) FEDS Spotlight honors federal employees going above and beyond typical day-to-day responsibilities to help the federal government achieve its clean energy goals.
Chang is an environmental engineer at the NOAA, and, as someone who is “relatively new to the federal sector,” she was pleasantly surprised to be among the FEDS Spotlight honorees in 2023.
Chang was recognized for stepping beyond her daily responsibilities to elevate data accuracy and reporting of energy, water, and sustainability metrics for hundreds of NOAA facilities—key information for the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Energy, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Her adeptness at uniting and coordinating key stakeholders has supported sustainability and energy ventures to align with Executive Order 14057 targets for a net-zero emissions economy.
She appreciates that FEDS Spotlight recognizes different types of achievers, including “people like me who have touched many different, small aspects of processes and are maybe not tied to specific projects but have that passion to achieve our mission and address climate change,” she said.
But it’s not beginner’s luck. Chang’s three years at NOAA are preceded by nearly 30 years working as a consultant and project manager for one of the largest engineering consulting firms in the United States. “My experience in the private sector really set me up well to come over to the federal sector,” Chang said. “I developed my ‘chops’ working on a wide range of projects, and now I can use the skill set I developed seamlessly in helping to achieve NOAA’s mission.”
In this interview with FEMP, Chang explains why she took on additional energy and sustainability management responsibilities, and what keeps her motivated to find opportunities to improve.
Originally published at https://www.energy.gov/femp/articles/how-rachel-changs-attention-detail-put-her-feds-spotlight
