About
Rachel Ricciardi is an environmental policy and program leader with more than 13 years of experience advancing sustainability, stakeholder engagement, and cross-cultural collaboration across the U.S. government, international organizations, and community-based programs. She spent eight years with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she led multidiscipline teams, managed grants, contracts, and interagency agreements (up to $1.6M), supported tribal and international relations, and developed regulations and capacity-building programs that reduced environmental and public health risks.
Her background also includes hands-on experience in environmental compliance, water quality, and environmental auditing. Early in her career, Rachel worked as a water quality inspector and environmental auditor, collecting and analyzing field data to support compliance with environmental policy and permit requirements. She has tested and monitored private well water, freshwater bodies, and wastewater treatment systems, prepared regulatory reports, and helped ensure adherence to water quality and environmental protection standards. This foundation strengthened her ability to translate field observations and technical data into practical compliance and risk-management decisions.
At the EPA, Rachel served in roles including International and Tribal Intergovernmental Liaison, International Environmental Program Manager, and Chemical Risk Manager, working with foreign governments, federal partners (e.g., USDA, State Department, USAID, CDC, etc.), tribes, states, the private sector, and nonprofits on issues ranging from pesticide and toxic substances risk mitigation to food safety, air and water quality, coastal resiliency, circular economy, and environmental justice. She also led multilingual trainings, managed budgets, and earned EPA-wide recognition for her work as an outstanding co-regulator liaison.
Rachel served as a Natural Resource Manager in the U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana and Malawi, where she designed and implemented community development, reforestation, climate adaptation, health education, and food security projects while building local partnerships and training community members. Her international experience also includes work in Brazil during her Department of Defense-funded Boren Fellowship, where she supported conservation and sustainability initiatives and conducted research focused on utilizing a One Health approach to holistically prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases from wildlife.
Rachel holds dual master’s degrees in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development and International Affairs, along with degrees in Environmental Science and Italian from Roger Williams University. She brings a combination of regulatory and policy expertise, environmental compliance experience, program and grant management, and strong multi-cultural and interpersonal relationship-building skills to organizations seeking experienced guidance on environmental strategy, sustainable development, and mission-driven partnerships.