AASHTO Journal - TRB Executive Director Neil Pedersen Stepping Down

Neil Pedersen (seen above), executive director of the Transportation Research Board, recently announced plans to retire in the early fall of 2022.

[Above photo by AASHTO]

TRB is a program unit of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine — private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent objective analysis and advice to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine.

The National Academies operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences signed by President Lincoln.

During his seven years leading TRB, Pedersen engaged in a “strategic approach” to a wide range of critical issues in transportation through high-impact research and policy studies, a growing portfolio of convening activities, and partnerships with transportation organizations in the United States and internationally. He has also championed TRB’s efforts to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion in its volunteers and program work.

[Editor’s note: In 2016, Pederson sat down with AASHTO’s Transportation TV to discuss the important role TRB plays as a forum for discussing a wide variety of mobility initiatives and innovations from across the world.]

“I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to serve in the role of executive director of an organization that plays such a critical role both nationally and internationally in solving complex transportation-related challenges and advancing the state of transportation professional practice throughout the world,” Pedersen said in a statement.

An active volunteer in TRB for over 30 years, Pederson served in numerous TRB volunteer leadership roles for more than 15 years prior to formally joining the TRB staff in 2012 as deputy director of the second Strategic Highway Research Program or SHRP2.

Prior to joining TRB, he spent 29 years at the Maryland Department of Transportation, the last eight of those spent as State Highway Administrator and the Governor’s Highway Safety Representative.

“Neil has long been a tireless advocate for the important role transportation plays in American society – and fully recognizing the vital responsibilities of state DOTs as stewards of multimodal mobility and accessibility,” noted Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

“His longstanding commitment both as volunteer and executive director of TRB provided important guidance for the transportation industry on a wide range of research issues at the national, state, and local level,” Tymon added.