Gabe Klein is the executive director of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, where he oversees efforts to align resources and expertise across the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Transportation to support programs that seek to deploy a network of electric vehicle chargers, zero-emission fueling infrastructure, and zero-emission transit and school buses.
Previously, he served as the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation and director of the Washington, D.C., District Department of Transportation, where he revamped technology platforms and government processes while focusing on putting people (versus cars) first on city streets. This included launching two of the first and largest solar-powered bikeshare systems in the country and building protected bike lanes and better pedestrian infrastructure for vulnerable citizens citywide, as well as facilitating private services like carshares and rideshares to support city mobility goals.
He honed his creativity and leadership skills working in business as vice president at Zipcar and national director of stores at Bikes USA. He also co-founded CityFi, a consulting firm to help city leaders, chief executive officers, and others understand the complexities of 21st century challenges, facilitate people-centric solutions, and use new models and technology-based tools to deliver optimized results. Clients ranged from foreign governments to cities, states, start-ups, and publicly traded companies.
In 2015, he published Start-Up City: Inspiring Private and Public Entrepreneurship, Getting Projects Done, and Having Fun, a book focusing on revamping how people innovate in cities and rethinking public-private partnerships as technology shapes a dramatically different future. He received a bachelor’s degree in marketing management from Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business and an executive certificate in transportation/mobility management from The Wharton School. He also served on the 2020 Biden-Harris Agency Review Team for the U.S. Department of Transportation with a focus on innovation, including transportation electrification and program delivery.