Neela Rajendra: NASA's Indian-Origin Diversity Chief Fired By Trump

Neela Rajendra, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's head of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), has been sacked. The move came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March to "terminate" DEI programmes in Federal Agencies.

The space agency attempted to retain Ms Rajendra by reportedly changing her job title to "Head of Office of Team Excellence and Employee Success," but failed. On the NASA jet propulsion laboratory's 'Who we are' section, the page dedicated to Neela Rajendra now reads, "404 Page not found".

Who is Neela Rajendra?

A political science and music graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Neela Rajendra pursued a Masters in Business Administration from the Wake Forest University School of Business and completed it in 2008.

After her studies, Ms Rajendra held brief roles at a few organisations before taking on the position of Director of Entrepreneurial Initiatives at Claremont McKenna College's Kravis Leadership Institute in 2013. She worked there for nearly four years before becoming the design director, executive director, and co-founder of the Science of Diversity and Inclusion Initiative (SODI), where she spent almost eight years.

Under her direction, SODI worked with local governments and entrepreneurs to support urban economic growth in nations like Nicaragua and Benin.

In 2021, Ms Rajendra joined NASA as the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer until March 2025, when the position was eliminated following the Trump executive order. One of her main projects was "Space Workforce 2030," which aimed to hire more women and people from different backgrounds to work at NASA.

In March 2025, she started working as the Chief Team Excellence and Employee Success Officer. According to her LinkedIn profile, her role was to enable team excellence by supporting every employee's development and fostering a culture where values were woven into the fabric of human systems.

When the office was established under the name Office of Team Excellence and Employee Success, JPL Director Laurie Leshin presented the change as a calculated step that was "essential for [JPL's] future success" and a logical extension of Rajendra's expertise and areas of focus.