Advised President Obama on executive branch efforts to improve veterans support for the AAPI community
President Joe Biden has nominated Indian American Dr. Ravi Chaudhary, a former US Air Force officer and pilot, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Energy, and the Environment.
Chaudhary’s nomination was sent to the Senate Monday, according to a White House press release. If confirmed, he will join close to a record 50 Indian Americans serving in the Biden-Harris administration.
Dr. Chaudhary also served as a member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders during the Obama Administration. In this role, he advised the President on executive branch efforts to improve veterans support for the AAPI community.
Read: Biden nominates Indian American Ravi Chaudhary as assistant secretary of the Air Force (October 16, 2021)
Dr. Chaudhary previously served as a Senior Executive at the US Department of Transportation (DOT) where he was Director of Advanced Programs and Innovation, Office of Commercial Space, at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
In this role, he was responsible for the execution of advanced development and research programs in support of the FAA’s Commercial Space Transportation mission.
While at DOT, he also served as the Executive Director, Regions and Center Operations, where he was responsible for integration and support of aviation operations in nine regions located nationwide.
Serving on active duty from 1993 to 2015, Dr. Chaudhary completed a variety of operational, engineering, and senior staff assignments in the Air Force.
As a C-17 pilot, he conducted global flight operations, including numerous combat missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as a ground deployment as Director of the Personnel Recovery Center, Multi-National Corps, Iraq.
As a flight test engineer, he was responsible for flight certification of military avionics and hardware for Air Force modernization programs supporting flight safety and mishap prevention.
Earlier in his career, he supported space launch operations for the Global Positioning System (GPS) and led third stage and flight safety activities to ensure full-operational capability of the first GPS constellation.
As a systems engineer, he supported NASA’s International Space Station protection activities to ensure safety of NASA Astronauts.
Dr. Chaudhary holds a Doctorate specializing in Executive Leadership and Innovation from the Georgetown University DLS Program, an MS in Industrial Engineering from St. Mary’s University as a NASA graduate fellow, an MA in Operational Arts and Military Science from Air University, and a BS in Aeronautical Engineering from the US Air Force Academy.
Read: Former Transportation Exec Ravi Chaudhary Nominated as Assistant Secretary of Air Force for Installations, Energy, & Environment (October 21, 2021)
He is a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute, and holds DOD acquisition certifications in program management, test and evaluation, and systems engineering.
Dr. Chaudhary hails from Virginia, where he lives with his wife of 25 years, Uma, and their two children.
1 Comment
Congratulations! I know from direct experience that Ravi is an outstanding leader.