Born and brought up in Fullerton, Ann Carlson attended Raymond School, Wilshire Junior High, and Fullerton High School. After graduating from U.C. Santa Barbara and  from Harvard Law School, Ann forged a career in Environmental Law teaching at U.C.L.A. Law School. She is currently writing a book on how Southern California has cleaned up its air pollution.

On Wednesday, January 20, Ann was sworn in as Chief Counsel of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The NHTSA is responsible for highway safety but also has joint responsibility, along with the EPA, for greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards for the transportation sector.

Ann Carlson joined the Biden Administration as Chief Counsel of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Carlson said, “I’m part of a group of appointees that makes real the Biden-Harris commitment to make tackling climate change a whole government priority.”

She will be working remotely in the near term but will then move to Washington, D.C. and commute back and forth to her home in Los Angeles as often as possible. Her husband Carl H. Moor is a judge in Los Angeles.

The photo below shows Carlson being sworn in by President Biden just hours after his inauguration on January 20.