Rachel Massaro

About Rachel Massaro

I have a healthy amount of intellectual curiosity that leads my research in interesting directions. In order to provide insights into the Silicon Valley ecosystem, I examine how the region is changing based on a wide variety of datasets ranging from land use to IPOs, housing and transportation to child care costs, electric vehicle adoption to partisan affiliation and more. I serve as the lead researcher for the Silicon Valley Index - a nationally recognized publication that measures the strength of Silicon Valley’s economy and the health of its community, highlighting challenges and providing an analytical foundation for decision-making. My expertise is as a researcher, analyst, and writer, having published numerous reports and articles for both scientific and general audiences.

Experience

1. Vice President & Director of Research

   Joint Venture Silicon Valley

   Apr 2013 — Present · San Jose, CA, US

   I am currently Vice President at Joint Venture Silicon Valley and Director of Research at the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies. As the Institute’s Director of Research, I manage a research team including distinguished economists, authors, academics and other experts in their fields. I also focus on building relationships and data partnerships, as well as communicating programs and results online and through white papers, social media, Op-Eds, newsletters, case studies, press briefings/conferences, on the radio, and through speaking engagements.In my role as the Institute\'s lead researcher, I focus on regional data acquisition and analyses - creating reports for clients as well as in-house research, providing a steady stream of data releases to the region\'s leaders, the media, and the community at-large. Additional responsibilities include- Producing Joint Venture’s annual Silicon Valley Index, which measures economic and community health across a variety of topics ranging from demographics and population dynamics to innovation and entrepreneurship, housing and transportation, governance, quality of health, and more-Managing the content of the Silicon Valley Indicators online data hub a variety of analyses throughout the year, writing research reports and data releases, coordinating the work of the Institute’s affiliate researchers, and guiding programmatic work at Joint Venture as it relates to the organization’s research efforts-Working closely with local and national media contacts, providing data about Silicon Valley, and routinely presenting research findings to a wide range of audiences.Additionally, creating and coordinating presentation content for the annual State of the Valley event – which attracts 1,200 to 1,400 senior business executives, government leaders and community members each year – and managing audience engagement.

Education

• UC Santa Barbara

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Physical Geography (minor in Geology)

  2000 — 2004

• University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business

  Professional Certificate, Cleantech Institute

  2009

• University of Hawaii at Manoa

  Master of Science - MS, Geochemical Oceanography

  2005 — 2008

• Stanford University School of Engineering

  Professional Certificate, Foundations for Data Science

  2019

Skills

• Program Management
• Research
• Policy Analysis
• Sustainable Development
• Climate
• Social Media
• Real Estate
• Microsoft Office
• Event Planning
• Community Outreach
• Sustainable Energy
• Sustainability Consulting
• Strategic Partnerships
• Strategic Communications
• Solar Energy
• Grants
• Environmental Policy
• Energy Policy
• Environmental Planning
• Alternative Energy
• Energy
• Cleantech
• Energy Management
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Data Analysis
• Clean Technology
• Climate Change
• Sustainability
• Collaboration
• Economic Development
• Strategy
• Analysis
• Powerpoint
• Microsoft Excel
• Carbon
• Smart Grid
• Grant Writing
• Leadership
• Strategic Planning
• Project Planning