STEP Leadership

Kristen Wahl is the director of the Strategic Transportation Education & Partnerships (STEP) department. Her department manages a portfolio of advanced mobility research, education, and workforce development programs. She also serves as the program director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition (AVTC) Program – North America’s premier training ground for future automotive leaders.

Jesse Alley leads the EcoCAR EV Challenge at Argonne National Laboratory, applying his engineering expertise and deep program experience to develop the next generation of automotive engineers through advanced vehicle technology competitions.

Dr. Trevor Crain has worked at Argonne National Laboratory on workforce development and student competition programs for the past decade. He currently serves as the Applied Research, Education, and Deployment (ARED) Group Manager, where his team supports a growing portfolio of advanced technology workforce and applied research programs designed to accelerate advanced energy and transportation technology.

Ajay Gnanasekaran is the senior program director of the Battery Workforce Challenge, a three-year EV collegiate competition managed by Argonne National Laboratory’s Sustainable Transportation Education and Partnerships Department and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and Stellantis. Here Gnanasekaran leads the program’s comprehensive workforce development program aimed at building a domestic workforce to support in-demand jobs in battery manufacturing and engineering.