The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials has appointed Carlos Braceras (above at left), executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation, to a two-year term as chair of its Agency Administration Managing Committee or AAMC. Concurrently, AASHTO named Jayna Morse (above at right) – director of finance and administration for the Vermont Agency of Transportation or VTrans – to a two-year term as vice chair.
[Above photos from Utah DOT and VTrans]
Braceras – who joined the Utah DOT in 1986 – was originally appointed Utah DOT’s executive director by former Governor Gary Herbert (R) in 2013. He was subsequently reappointed to that position by current Governor Spencer Cox in 2020.
During his career at Utah DOT, Braceras served as the agency’s deputy director for 12 years as well as its chief geotechnical engineer, chief value engineer, a member of the Legacy Parkway/I-15 North Project team, and a roadway design engineer.
A member of the board of directors and past-president of the American Association of State Highway Officials, Braceras previously served as chair of the AASHTO Design Committee before being appointed to chair the AAMC.
Braceras is also past president of the Western Association of State Highway Transportation Officials and past chair of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America.
Morse, meanwhile, has held a variety of positions during her 17-year government career with the State of Vermont.
She spent over two years with the Vermont Agency of Digital Services – created in 2017 via executive order by Governor Phil Scott (R) – which is the successor organization to the former Department of Information and Innovation and handles all information technology needs for the state’s agencies.
She later joined VTrans as director of performance and strategic initiatives in 2019 before becoming director of finance and administration in 2021.