President Biden selects two Indian-American women for key Administration posts

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President Joe Biden has selected two Indian-Americans and one Pakistani-American among the ten latest nominees announced by the White House April 14, 2021, to lead on climate and transportation matters across key agencies, including the Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Transportation.

The President made the announcement April 14, 2021. The nominations will have to be cleared by the U.S. Senate.

The Indian-Americans on the list include Meera Joshi for Administrator, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Department of Transportation; Faisal Amin for Chief Financial Officer, Environmental Protection Agency; and Radhika Fox for Assistant Administrator for Water, Environmental Protection Agency.

According to the press release from the White House, Meera Joshi, a former top official in New York City, was appointed as the Deputy Administrator and senior official of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on January 20, 2021.

She is an attorney with more than 16 years of experience leading government oversight agencies.

She was Chair and CEO of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, the nation’s largest for-hire transportation regulator, where she spearheaded some unique Vision Zero campaigns using data tools to keep high risk drivers and unsafe vehicles off the road.

She also led landmark policy, including establishing robust open transportation data standards for app-based providers, the White House said.

She is also responsible for enacting the nation’s first for-hire driver pay protection program and providing broad access to for-hire transportation for passengers who use wheelchairs.

Prior to transportation regulation, Joshi was the Inspector General for New York City’s Department of Corrections, responsible for investigation of corruption and criminality at all levels of New York City’s jail operations and the First Deputy Executive Director of New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board, leading investigations of police misconduct.

In addition to her government positions, Joshi served as General Manager for the New York Office of Sam Schwartz Transportation Consultants, and was a visiting scholar at New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy.  Joshi was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She holds a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Radhika Fox, who was appointed by On January 20, 2021, by President Biden to the position of Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water at the Environmental Protection Agency, is now being bumped up to Assistant Administrator for Water at EPA. She currently serves as the Acting Assistant Administrator for Water.

Prior to joining EPA, Fox served as CEO for the US Water Alliance, “where she established herself as a widely recognized national thought leader on complex water issues, from equitable water management to investing in our nation’s water infrastructure,” the White House said.

“Her work has helped address the most salient water issues facing the nation—including climate change, affordability, equity, governance, innovative finance, and the evolution of the One Water movement,” it added.

Fox previously directed the policy and government affairs agenda for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which is responsible for providing 24/7 water, wastewater, and municipal power services to 2.6 million Bay Area residents.

She also served as the Federal Policy Director at PolicyLink, coordinating the organization’s policy agenda on a wide range of issues.

Fox holds a B.A. from Columbia University and a Masters in City and Regional Planning from the University of California at Berkeley where she was a HUD Community Development Fellow.

Faisal Amin currently serving in the Biden Administration as  Deputy Director of the Office of Administration in the Executive Office of the President, was s most recently, on the Biden-Harris Transition Team, in the Executive Office of the President Management and Administration Agency Review Team, as well as the Vetting Operations team.

He also served in the Obama Administration in several positions including as Chief Financial Officer of the Executive Office of the President, where he led the team responsible for managing all aspects of finance and procurement for EOP components.

Amin has spent the majority of his career as an appropriations attorney at the United States Government Accountability Office, researching and drafting appropriations law decisions, providing technical assistance to agencies and Congress, and teaching appropriations law classes.

Originally from California, Amin graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and got his law degree at the University of Arizona.