WASHINGTON — Nuria Fernandez, administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, will retire effective Feb. 24, the agency announced on Wednesday.
Fernandez was named deputy administrator on Jan. 20, 2021, by newly inaugurated President Joe Biden, subsequently nominated as administrator, and was confirmed by the Senate on June 10, 2021, becoming the 15th FTA Administrator and first woman of color in the position. During her administration, she managed implementation of public transportation and funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which saw the mass transit budget increase from $13 billion in fiscal 2021 to $21 billion in fiscal 2022. She also led FTA management of response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including maintaining transportation for frontline workers, implementing practices that reduced COVID-19 related illnesses and fatalities, and coordinating more the award of more than $70 billion in federal COVID emergency funds.
“As a young immigrant to this great nation and a student at Bradley University, I could never have imagined serving millions of transit riders across that nation who take billions of trips every year, doing so under two Presidents, in the service of the American people,” Fernandez said in a press release. “Public service is an honor and a privilege, and I am eternally grateful to President Biden and [Transportation] Secretary Buttigieg for granting me the opportunity to guide the dedicated and professional public servants at FTA. Public transportation has been a significant part of my professional life for more than three decades. I have had the distinction to have built a career serving in various roles in this industry and across this country. But, as I often say, our jobs are what we do, not who we are. As I leave what I do, I look forward to spending more time with my family and friends, who have truly created so much of who I am.”
Fernandez joined the FTA after serving as general manager and CEO of California’s Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, part of a 35-year transit career that also included positions with New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Chicago Transit Authority.
FTA Deputy Administrator Veronica Vanterpool will serve as acting administrator upon Fernandez’ departure. Vanterpol has been deputy administrator since May 2022 after joining the FTA as senior advisor in 2021. She previously was chief innovation officer at Delaware Transit Corp., and also was executive director of the New York City-based Tri-State Transportation Campaign and a board member of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
In a Feb. 9 statement, American Public Transportation Association CEO Paul P. Skoutelas called Fernandez “a fierce advocate for public transportation during her wide-ranging career in the industry, including her term as APTA’s board chair right before taking the helm at FTA three years ago.
“Her unwavering dedication to the industry, her vision, and her exemplary leadership at FTA over the past three years proved to be monumental for our industry during a pivotal time of recovery and rebuilding for U.S. transit agencies of all sizes. Under Nuria’s watch, our industry has benefited from historic investments and forward-looking policies that are strengthening public transportation and the communities it serves.
“Nuria embodies excellence, and APTA, our members and the industry at large would not be where they are today without her stalworth dedication and leadership. We truly appreciate all she has done to grow and strengthen America’s public transportation over the years.”
— Updated Feb. 9 at 7:15 a.m. CT with APTA statement.
Amazing thing is, quite possibly she is competent. In the Biden administration, a stopped clock is right twice a day, the other correct clock indication being Martin Oberman. Both are leaving.