AASHTO Journal - Abernathy Named as Indiana DOT Commissioner

Indiana Governor Mike Braun (R) recently appointed Ken Abernathy (above) as commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT); replacing former Commissioner Mike Smith, who joined HNTB as a national practice consultant and vice president on January 13.

[Above image via the INDOT]

A graduate of the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science, Abernathy served nearly seven years on active duty, including tours in South Korea and with the 82nd Airborne Division, before joining the U.S. Army Reserve.

Beginning in 1986, Abernathy spent more than 15 years in the private sector as a corporate banker and business consultant. In 2003, he volunteered to return to active duty in the U.S. Army, serving in leadership positions at the Pentagon and in Baghdad, Iraq; eventually retiring from the U.S. Army Reserve as a Colonel.

Abernathy returned to Indiana in 2010 and served five years as chief of staff for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management under the administration of then-Governor Mitch Daniels (R). In 2015, then-Governor Mike Pence (R) appointed Abernathy as commissioner of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles; a position he held for two years.

In 2017, Abernathy left state government to become executive director of the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service; a temporary bipartisan national commission created by Congress to review methods to increase citizen participation in military, national, and public service.

He later served as president of the Indiana War Memorials Foundation – a non-profit that provides financial support for the museum, memorials, monuments, and parks honoring Indiana veterans – before being named INDOT commissioner.