Elected board includes visionary leaders from Denver, Philadelphia, Austin, Chicago, and Oakland
Eulois Cleckley, NACTO President
The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) today announced the election of Eulois Cleckley, Executive Director of the Denver Department of Transportation & Infrastructure, as the board’s President. NACTO’s previous President, Robin Hutcheson, former Director of the Minneapolis Department of Public Works, stepped down to join the U.S. Department of Transportation as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Safety Policy.
“As the country begins to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, cities will face the challenge of responding to new realities and travel patterns, and finding ways to do so that support our physical and environmental health,” said Eulois Cleckley, Executive Director of the Denver Department of Transportation & Infrastructure and NACTO President. “NACTO’s role in helping guide our country’s recovery will be more critical and influential than ever. I’m honored to serve as President and look forward to leveraging the talented staff and members of the organization to build a more efficient, equitable, and innovative transportation system in Denver and in cities across the country.”
“Transportation will play a fundamental role in cities building back safer, fairer, and greener than before,” said NACTO Executive Director Corinne Kisner. “To meet the challenges our field faces, we need leaders who ask hard questions, listen to community partners, and weave creativity and imagination into a long-term vision. Under Eulois’ leadership, Denver has established itself as a city that does the work, building 40 miles of bikeways during the peak of the pandemic, as well as starting the important conversations on how to guide an equitable recovery as cities emerge from the biggest crisis we’ve faced in generations.”
New members of the board include Gia Biagi, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation, who was elected as NACTO Secretary, and Ryan Russo, Director of the Oakland Department of Transportation, who was elected as NACTO Affiliate Member Representative.
“The pandemic and racial injustice protests of 2020 highlighted so many of the historical inequities that cities like Chicago face, and NACTO responded with a bold vision for how transportation could support a safe, equitable recovery,” said Gia Biagi, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation and NACTO Secretary. “Cities don’t just need to come back, they need to recognize their role in creating access to opportunities, in designing safer and healthier streets—and engaging communities to advance environmental and mobility justice. NACTO sees the opportunities in America’s streets and transit networks, and this new leadership role comes at an important moment for Chicago and for every city.”
“As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, and turn towards recovery, it is imperative we take lessons from this past year with us,” said Ryan Russo, Director of the Oakland Department of Transportation and NACTO Affiliate Member Representative. “I am excited to do so on NACTO’s board, representing the unique perspectives and challenges of NACTO’s 42 affiliate cities, representative of the medium-size urban areas most Americans live in today. I look forward to deepening partnerships with transit agencies to better serve equity, climate, and mobility justice goals–and centering this work as the critical linchpin for a just recovery.”
Michael Carroll, Deputy Managing Director of the Philadelphia Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems, after serving as NACTO Secretary, was elected as NACTO Vice President. Robert Spillar, Director of the Austin Department of Transportation, was re-elected NACTO Treasurer.
“NACTO helps cities do what they do best: use transportation expertise and creativity to address real-world needs and improve the lives of people,” said Janette Sadik-Khan, NACTO Chair. “NACTO’s visionary new leadership team will be strong advocates for cities, for transit agencies and for the millions of people who depend on them every day.”
See the full NACTO board leadership, and their biographies, at nacto.org/board.
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About the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO)
NACTO is an association of 89 major North American cities and transit agencies formed to exchange transportation ideas, insights, and practices and cooperatively approach national transportation issues. The organization’s mission is to build cities as places for people, with safe, sustainable, accessible, and equitable transportation choices that support a strong economy and vibrant quality of life. To learn more, visit nacto.org or follow us on Twitter at @NACTO.
Contact
Alexander Engel | [email protected] | 646.324.2919
For Immediate Release
April 6, 2021