Rachel Shekar was the assistant project manager for the RIPE project. She received her bachelor's degree in Biology from Juniata College and went on to earn her master's degree in plant biology from the University of Illinois. Rachel has experience in plant ecology, physiology research, and laboratory management. Rachel assisted with the scheduling and coordinating meetings, planning of project events, arranging travel, and preparing reports. Currently, Rachel is the managing editor at in silico Plants and the executive editor of Global Change Biology, and assistant editor for GCB Bioenergy.