Richard O'Toole is a member of JPL's Executive Council, is currently the Executive Manager of the Office of Legislative Affairs, and, as an additional duty, is Vice Chairman of JPL's Strategic Management Council. He joined the lab in 1975 and served as a group supervisor and section manger in the Systems Division before taking over his current role in legislative affairs in 1988. He received his bachelor's degree from Brown University and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at San Diego.