U.S. Department of Transportation | Federal Transit Administration | Office of Safety and Security
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State Safety OVERSIGHT

Issue 10 • October 2001
 
Welcome to the New FTA Administrator

Jennifer L. Dorn

Jennifer L. Dorn, Administrator, Federal Transit Administration

On July 12, 2001, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed the appointment of Jennifer L. Dorn as the 14th Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration.

This is Ms. Dorn’s third presidential appointment. She served as the Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Labor under President George H.W. Bush, and was the Associate Deputy Secretary of Transportation at the Department of Transportation in the administration of President Ronald Reagan. She also served as the Director of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation from 1983 to 1985, and from 1991 to 1998 she was Senior Vice President of the American National Red Cross. Most recently, she served as president of the National Health Museum.

In testimony before the Senate Confirmation Committee, Ms. Dorn emphasized her experience with transportation, labor policy, and local communities while in the Reagan and Bush administrations. Her goals for FTA over the next 4 years are as follows:

“If confirmed, I will make full use of the Federal Transit Administrator’s office to work with communities and their leaders in four critical areas:

  • Providing and enhancing mobility and accessibility for people in urbanized areas, our suburbs, and rural communities;
     
  • Ensuring the safety and security of our nation’s transit systems;
     
  • Working to encourage the development of transit systems that promote economic growth, and;
     
  • Playing an active role in developing livable communities while protecting our environment.”
     

Ms. Dorn is a graduate of Oregon State University, and she holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Connecticut. She has two sons, Benjamin, age 9, and Jonathan, age 11.  

New Direction for the Office of Safety and Security

The Federal Transit Administration’s Office of Safety and Security is the organizational unit within the U.S. Department of Transportation,

designated to sustain and oversee the nation’s public transportation safety and security. The Office is under the executive leadership of the Associate Administrator for Program Management, who reports directly to the FTA Administrator.

To fulfill its mission of continuous safety and security improvement, the Office works to promote:

  • Visibility of the system safety process in the transit industry.
     
  • Meaningful partnership between FTA, the transit industry, and other DOT agencies to solve longstanding safety and security problems.
     
  • Cooperatively developed technical assistance to encourage peer-based advocacy for safety and security improvements.
     

STATE SAFETY OVERSIGHT • ISSUE 10
In this Issue:
Welcome to the New FTA Administrator 1
Developing Seamless Intermodal Transit Systems 5
State Safety Oversight Contacts, 2000 10
 

 

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