AASHTO Journal - Governor Taps Tibbits-Nutt as New MassDOT Secretary

Monica Tibbits-Nutt (above) has been named secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation by Governor Maura Healey (D). Tibbits-Nutt has been serving as acting secretary since mid-September and previously served as undersecretary for MassDOT.

[Above photo via MassDOT]

“Monica Tibbits-Nutt is a proven leader who has done important work at MassDOT over the past year as we’ve worked to make Massachusetts’ transportation system more reliable, safe and accessible,” said Gov. Healey in a statement.

“As acting secretary, she hit the ground running by working with the MBTA [the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority] to prepare a first-of-its kind plan to fix the tracks by the end of next year,” the governor noted. ‘[She is also] taking important steps to integrate climate planning across MassDOT, securing federal funding to support infrastructure needs, and stepping up for communities that were devastated by extreme weather. She prioritizes community engagement and equity at every turn.”

Appointed undersecretary of transportation January, Gov. Healey named Tibbits-Nutt acting secretary in September. Tibbits-Nutt also served on the MassDOT board of directors and served as vice-chair of the fiscal management and control board that oversaw the MBTA from 2015 to 2021.

As MassDOT undersecretary, she directed oversight over the agency’s Rail & Transit Division, Aeronautics Division, and the Office of Transportation Planning.

Prior to accepting her current role, Tibbits-Nutt served as the executive director of 128 Business Council, a transportation management association and regional service provider that builds privately-funded, cooperative public transportation routes throughout the Route 128 West Corridor.

Tibbits-Nutt said she specializes in regional and transportation planning, urban design, and transit equity. In both her work and research, she is particularly interested in capitalizing upon every opportunity to better educate transportation stakeholders and the public about all aspects of the planning process.

As part of this focus on education, she serves as the vice president of the non-profit Youth Engagement Planning, which brings urban planning and community advocacy into K-12 environments.

Tibbits-Nutt also serves on the board of WTS International and the WTS Foundation, which seeks to create a more inclusive and equitable transportation industry and provides scholarships to female-identifying professionals and students, respectively; and as a trustee of TransitCenter, which works to support, inform, connect and fund civic and public leaders working to make transit services better.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to lead MassDOT as secretary,” added Tibbits-Nutt. “Over the past year, I have had the privilege to serve alongside and get to know the incredible team at MassDOT. We all share a deep commitment to delivering the safe, reliable, resilient and equitable transportation system that the people of Massachusetts deserve. I am honored by the opportunity to lead the department in this critical moment.”