Biden Administration to nominate Nuria Fernandez as FTA Administrator
The Biden Administration stated on Friday, April 9, it intends to nominate Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Deputy Administrator Nuria Fernandez as administrator of the FTA.
Deputy Administrator Fernandez stepped down from her role as general manager and CEO of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority to join the Biden Administration in January 2021.
Fernandez previously served as acting administrator of the FTA under the Clinton Administration from 1999-2001.
Deputy Administrator Fernandez is an accomplished transportation leader and has served at several agencies in addition to Santa Clara VTA, including New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Chicago Transit Authority and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. She is the immediate past chair of the American Public Transportation Association and served on the boards of the Mineta Transportation Institute, The Transportation Learning Center and on the Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board.
Also announced this week was the intention to nominate U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Acting Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs Mohsin Syed to be assistant secretary for Governmental Affairs.
According to a bio provided by the White House, Syed previously served on Capitol Hill for more than six years, including as the Majority Chief Counsel for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Minority Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security within the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Legislative Counsel for Senator Bill Nelson. Prior to his work on Capitol Hill, Mohsin worked as a career attorney-advisor within USDOT’s Office of the General Counsel, as an attorney in private practice and as an intelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
