AASHTO Journal - AASHTO Names PennDOT’s Gramian as CES Chair

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials has appointed Yassmin Gramian (seen above) – secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation – to a two-year term as chair of its Committee on Environment and Sustainability or CES.

[Above photo by PennDOT]

CES monitors federal environmental laws, regulations, procedures and guidance related to air quality, cultural resources, environmental process, and natural systems and ecological communities.

The committee recommends and supports both programs and initiatives designed to streamline the environmental review process and promote environmental stewardship. It also acts as a forum to disseminate and exchange information and experiences among state departments of transportation and various other AASHTO committees and subcommittees, including the sharing of best practices and other innovations.

Governor Tom Wolf (D) nominated Gramian to serve as PennDOT secretary in November 2019, with the state legislature unanimously confirming her nomination in May 2020.

Gramian is a professional engineer who earned both a master’s and bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Michigan. She has more than 30 years of experience in operations, design, and management of transportation infrastructure systems, including highway, tolling, bridge, and railroad projects.

Gramian joined PennDOT in June 2019 after stints with engineering firms WSP and HNTB, among others, overseeing “complex transportation and infrastructure projects” according to her biography.

That work included Philadelphia’s Roosevelt Boulevard multi-modal corridor program, the SEPTA subway concourse improvement project, Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor infrastructure rehabilitation and reconstruction effort, the Port Authority Transit Corporation or PATCO Ben Franklin Bridge Track Rehabilitation project, PennDOT’s Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation US-15 Susquehanna River Bridge reconstruction, and modernization of Philadelphia Airport Terminal F.