Meet Neil
Neil Makhija serves as County Commissioner for Montgomery County, Philadelphia’s largest collar county of 865,000 people, more populous than 4 U.S. states and Washington D.C.
Bringing New Energy to Local Government
Neil Makhija serves as County Commissioner for Montgomery County – Pennsylvania’s third largest county of 865,000 people, more populous than 4 U.S. states and Washington D.C. Through his work safeguarding civil rights, fighting for affordability, and driving innovation in one of the most consequential swing states, Neil is building a new model of bold, effective Democratic governance in Pennsylvania.
As Commissioner, Neil oversees a $1.2 billion budget and 3,000 county employees covering critical functions including infrastructure, public safety, human services, and the criminal justice system. Neil also oversaw the most accessible elections in the state, with the highest number of votes cast in county history. His short film about Montgomery County’s election administration was published in the New York Times and honored with two 2025 Emmy Awards.
In his first two years in office, Neil raised the minimum wage to $20.52/hour for 3,000 county employees and passed the most robust public paid leave policy in Pennsylvania, made major investments in affordable childcare, launched a pathbreaking AI initiative, and made strides in tackling the housing crisis.
The County also broke ground on a first-of-its-kind, 24/7 emergency behavioral health center — a $21 million investment in getting people help right when they need it most. And in 2025, under Neil’s leadership as Chair, Montgomery County created an Office of Innovation, Strategy, and Performance that saved taxpayers millions, helping the Board of Commissioners to pass the first bipartisan budget in nearly a decade.
Neil’s record of standing up for Pennsylvanians extends to long before he ran for office. As an attorney, Neil represented Pennsylvania counties against the Big Pharma companies that flooded our communities with opioids and he led an early class action against Big Tobacco companies who marketed flavored e-cigarettes to children.
Neil earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School on the Horace Lentz Scholarship. He received his B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College. Prior to elected office, Neil taught election law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, worked as a consumer protection attorney, and served as the Executive Director of Impact, a national civic organization.
Neil is the child of immigrants and grew up in Carbon County, a small coal and steel town in Northeast Pennsylvania. He and his wife Dr. Rachel Nash, an internal medicine physician, are now raising their toddler son Avi, a fourth generation Montgomery County resident.
Downloadable bio and photo here.
