{"id":375132,"date":"2025-04-15T19:03:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T17:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=375132"},"modified":"2025-04-15T19:03:02","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T17:03:02","slug":"nasa-jettisons-ex-dei-chief-after-failing-to-rebrand-effort-to-evade-trump-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=375132","title":{"rendered":"NASA Jettisons Ex-DEI Chief After Failing to Rebrand Effort to Evade Trump Order"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal Insurrection<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has some great projects lined up for 2025, which will likely be more successful without DEI interference.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Posted by Leslie Eastman<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal Insurrection readers may remember my recent post on Neela Rajendra<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rajendra once held the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Officer role at NASA\u2019s famous Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She is steeped in the DEI movement, having co-founded the Science of Diversity & Inclusion Initiative (SODI) and advised various organizations on DEI strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organization retained Rajendra after rebranding her position in an apparent effort to evade President Donald Trump\u2019s executive orders regarding the ending of DEI. She managed to cling to her job, even after 900 others at JPL were terminated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less than a week after this evasion came to light courtesy of the Washington Free Beacon<\/em>, NASA jettisoned Rajendra<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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NASA\u2019s jet propulsion laboratory has parted ways with its top diversity officer, Neela Rajendra, after the Washington Free Beacon reported that the lab had changed her title in an effort to keep her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNeela Rajendra is no longer working at [the Jet Propulsion Laboratory],\u201d lab director Laurie Leshin said in an all-staff email on Thursday. \u201cWe are incredibly grateful for the lasting impact she made to our organization. We wish her the very best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leshin added that the newly formed Office of Team Excellence and Employee Success\u2014intended to replace the DEI team Rajendra had led\u2014would be moved to the Office of Human Resources.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A quick review of Rajendra\u2019s vision for her rebranded role demonstrates that it was clearly DEI by another name<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On Mar. 10, NASA brass sent an email stating Rajendra would now be the \u201cChief of the Office of Team Excellence and Employee Success\u201d \u2014 an office that would be responsible for lab \u201caffinity groups\u201d including the \u201cBlack Excellence Strategic Team,\u201d the outlet said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a LinkedIn job description, Rajendra stated her job as chief of the newly formed office was focused on \u201cunlocking our potential to Dare Mighty things TOGETHER.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe this change is essential for [Jet Propulsion Lab\u2019s] future success and aligns well with Neela\u2019s strengths and focus over the last year,\u201d director Leshin wrote to staff at the time in an email obtained by the Beacon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rajendra led efforts to diversify NASA, including promoting the \u201cSpace Workforce 2030\u201d pledge, which focused on hiring women and minorities.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to X.com and the rest of the new and revitalized media, \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d will not continue under Trump 2.0. Rajendra was not the first one to be identified as a bitter clinger to the woke ways, nor is she likely to be the last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Lab just parted ways with its top DEI officer, Neela Rajendra\u2014days after we revealed the lab had protected her from layoffs and quietly rebranded her role to avoid mention of the terms diversity, equity, and inclusion.

If she\u2019s polishing up her r\u00e9sum\u00e9,\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/A2R4iqEDMD<\/a><\/p>— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) April 11, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>