Jason Knievel is stepping into the role of RAL Program Director for the Weather Intelligence and Security Program (WISP), effective November 16, 2026. Jason’s transition into this position marks a milestone for us, as we now have permanent directors in place for all four of our RAL programs!

Jason brings a wealth of experience and a long history with our community. He earned his BS from Penn State, where he worked part-time as a forecaster for Accu-Weather, Penn State’s Weather Communications Group, and a local radio station. His love for the American West eventually drew him to Colorado State University, where he completed both his MS and PhD studying mesoscale convective systems.

In 2001, Jason arrived at the Foothills Lab as a National Research Council postdoc, collaborating with the National Severe Storms Laboratory. During a subsequent postdoc, Jason became one of the early users and contributors to the WRF Model. Jason officially joined the RAL team in 2004 to work on field campaigns for the Pentagon Shield Project. Since then, he has participated in a dozen field campaigns and led or co-led more than 30 projects, primarily in the national security sector. He was the Deputy Director of NSAP from 2018 until our reorganization, and more recently as Acting Deputy Director of ERAP. Jason’s professional passions span everything from mesoscale meteorology over complex terrain and wildfires to numerical weather prediction and scientific communication.

As WISP Director, Jason will play a vital role for WISP and RAL. We are so grateful he is a member of the RAL leadership team.

Huge thanks are owed to Scott Swerdlin for his outstanding leadership of WISP over the past two years. Please join us in giving Jason a warm congratulations and wishing both him and Scott the very best in their exciting new chapters!