Gail Clements McDonald (March 9, 1944 - January 18, 2020) was an American political administrator who was appointed as Chair of

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to elimina ...

from 1993 until the Commission's disbandment by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in 1995. She was appointed to other positions in government. In 2004 she moved to North Carolina, and has served in political administrative positions there.

Life and career

She grew up in

Greenville, Mississippi Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta. H ...

and studied

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Discipl ...

, where she earned bachelor's and master's degrees. She took a teaching position at

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. In 1974, she became a local campaign manager and later a staffer for Governor David Boren, who was elected as a US senator. In 1979, McDonald moved to Washington, D.C., with her husband, who joined the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

. She was hired as Associate Director of the Gas Research Institute, now the

Gas Technology Institute The Gas Technology Institute is an American non-profit research and development organization which develops, demonstrates, and licenses new energy technologies for private and public clients, with a particular focus on the natural gas industry. GT ...

. In 1990, McDonald was named to the Interstate Commerce Commission. She became its chair in 1993. The Commission was disbanded by a vote of Congress on June 16, 1994.Skrzycki, Cindy (July 29, 1994). "For Gail McDonald, a Nightmarish Race to Rescue Her Agency", ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' Some programs were shifted to the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...

, and the Commission was closed in 1995. McDonald was appointed as an administrator in the Department of Transportation, then as the national

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

for the

Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stre ...

. After leaving that position, she was appointed to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

's Public Service Commission. McDonald and her husband moved to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

in 2004, where she took a position with the state Ports Authority. In 2006, she was named as the first small-business ombudsman for the North Carolina Department of Commerce.Richter, Chris (August 1, 2006). PEOPLE: "Gail McDonald, She snips red tape tangling small biz", ''Business, North Carolina''

References

External links

Small Business Ombudsman
via North Carolina Department of Commerce {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Gail 1944 births Living people Oklahoma State University faculty People from Greenville, Mississippi People of the Interstate Commerce Commission Texas Christian University alumni