Tim Sexton, AICP, serves as Public Works Director for the City of Minneapolis. He leads a department of more than 1,300 employees and oversees a $1 billion budget. The department’s responsibilities include the city’s transportation systems, drinking water, stormwater and sewers, solid waste and recycling, and city fleet operations, spanning everything from plowing streets and building bridges to advancing electrification, shared mobility, and zero-waste initiatives. He champions equitable, sustainable infrastructure that serves all residents.
Tim brings more than two decades of leadership in transportation, sustainability, and public infrastructure at both the state and local levels. Before joining the City of Minneapolis in 2024, he spent nearly a decade with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) in several senior leadership roles. As Assistant Commissioner for Sustainability, Planning, and Program Management, he led a division of 350 staff that programmed a $1 billion annual capital budget and $200 million in grants, and oversaw a $270 million operating budget. He provided strategic direction across all transportation modes and advanced sustainable transportation practices across the state.
Previously, as MnDOT’s Assistant Commissioner and Chief Sustainability Officer, Tim developed and led the agency’s sustainability and public health programs, setting targets, tracking progress, and building cross-sector partnerships to advance transportation decarbonization, climate resilience, and public health outcomes.
Before his work in Minnesota, Tim spent more than eight years with the Washington State Department of Transportation, where he directed environmental and climate programs and deepened his focus on the intersection of infrastructure, sustainability, and community well-being.
Tim holds an MPH in Environmental Health and an MS in Urban Planning from the University of Iowa and is a certified planner. He has held leadership roles with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Transportation Research Board (TRB), and he serves on the boards of several environmental and transportation nonprofits.