AASHTO Journal, 13 December 2013
U.S. Department of Transportation officials announced this week that Deputy Secretary John Porcari will be leaving the department at the end of the month. Infrastructure consulting and engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff announced in a news release last Friday that Porcari will join its team as Senior Vice President and National Director of Strategic Consulting.
“It’s certainly accurate to say that John Porcari has left a brilliant and permanent mark on this department,” said USDOT Secretary Anthony Foxx in his FastLane blog this week upon announcing Porcari as the recipient of USDOT’s Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievement. “But it’s more accurate to say that he’s left his mark, quite literally, on the nation—in the places where the tracks are being laid, where roads are being paved, and where ports are being deepened.”
“We congratulate John on his service to the American people as Deputy Secretary of Transportation,” said American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Executive Director Bud Wright. “His leadership at US DOT in areas such as freight and multi-modal planning will be greatly missed, but we wish him well in his new endeavor in the private sector.”
Porcari began his tenure as Deputy Secretary in June 2009 after serving (twice) as Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary from 1999-2003 and 2007-2009. In addition to these roles, Porcari served as vice president for administrative affairs at the University of Maryland, College Park. He also has experience at the local level and has previously served as vice president of a civil engineering and land use consulting firm.
“Congratulations, John, from a very grateful Secretary,” Foxx concluded in his blog post. “We wish you the very best in all of your future endeavors.”
Current Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez has been tapped by Foxx to serve as acting deputy secretary (see related AASHTO Journal story here).