As Women’s History Month comes to a close, we chose to highlight Nuria Fernandez as our third and final exceptional women whose made (and continues to make) a contribution to the transportation industry.
Nuria Fernandez was recently appointed in as “Acting” Administration of the Federal Transit Administration. Over the last 35 years she has cultivated an impressive reputation in the transit industry and is looked upon one of the industry’s most respected and inspiring leaders. She served as acting FTA Administrator from 1999-2001 under the Clinton/Gore administration.
Nuria’s experience stems from the leadership positions she has held with some of the busiest transit agencies in the U.S., including New York MTA, CTA and WMATA. Most recently she was the General Manager and CEO of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA).
She also was the Chair of APTA from 2019-2020 and has been on the boards of Mineta Transportation Institute, The Transportation Learning Center and on the Executive Committee of the Transportation Research Board.
Fernandez was born and raised in Panama City, Panama. She obtained a BA in Civil Engineering from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, and an MBA from Roosevelt University in Chicago.
Clearly, her work and impact on the transportation industry is not nearly done.
