Deborah A.P. Hersman (born May 7, 1970) is a former board member of the U.S.

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...

who served as its 12th chairman. She completed two terms as chairman and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 16, 2013, for a third term. On March 11, 2014, she announced she would join the

National Safety Council The National Safety Council (NSC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, public service organization promoting health and safety in the United States. Headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, NSC is a member organization, founded in 1913 and granted a congress ...

as its president and CEO. She is the former chief safety officer at

Waymo Waymo LLC, formerly known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Google's parent company (Alphabet Inc., Alphabet Inc). T ...

Personal life

She is the eldest daughter of retired

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

Brig. Gen. Walter C Hersman, who served as a

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

and test pilot. She has two sisters. She was born in California and lived with her family in places such as

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

, Jordan,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Spain, as well as

Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of **Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

, England and numerous states. She attended 4 different high schools. By the time she turned 17, the Hersmans had settled in

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...

where she attended

Chantilly High School Chantilly High School is a public high school in the Chantilly CDP in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools system. History Chantilly was originally built in 1972 with open ...

. She was a student pilot and soloed but did not complete her training. She earned a commercial driver license (with passenger, school bus, and air brake endorsements) and has a motorcycle endorsement. In 1992, she earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

International Studies International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

from

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

. In 2000, she earned an M.S. in

Conflict Analysis Conflict theories are perspectives in political philosophy and sociology which argue that individuals and groups (social classes) within society interact on the basis of conflict rather than agreement, while also emphasizing social psychology, ...

and Resolution from

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

. Hersman is married to her high school sweetheart and former Virginia Tech classmate, Niel Plummer. They have three sons.

Career

Hersman began her government career on the staff of West Virginia Congressman

Bob Wise Robert Ellsworth Wise Jr. (born January 6, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 33rd governor of West Virginia from 2001 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, Wise also served in the United States House of Representatives fro ...

as an unpaid intern during the summer of her sophomore year at Virginia Tech. She rose from intern to office manager and then to senior legislative aide. While working for Wise, Hersman dealt with a series of coal train

derailment In rail transport, a derailment is a type of train wreck that occurs when a rail vehicle such as a train comes off its rails. Although many derailments are minor, all result in temporary disruption of the proper operation of the railway sys ...

s near

Point Pleasant, West Virginia Point Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Mason County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Kanawha River, Kanawha Rivers. The population was 4,101 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 censu ...

. Wise said, "She has a backbone. Don't ever think that you are ever going to push her over." In 1999, she left Wise's office to join the staff of the

United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate. Besides having broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, a ...

. Her efforts contributed to the passage of milestone bills such as the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999, Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002, Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century and Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act. In 2004, Hersman was appointed as the 35th member of the

(NTSB) by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

and was sworn in on June 21. In 2009, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

reappointed her to a second five-year term and appointed her to a two-year term as chairman, making her, at age 39, one of the youngest to ever to fill that position. President Obama reappointed Hersman as chairman in 2011, and in August 2013, he nominated her for a third term as chairman and a third term as a board member. Pending Senate confirmation, the President designated Hersman to serve as vice chairman, making her acting chairman of the NTSB. Her nomination was confirmed by voice vote on October 16, 2013. As a board member, Hersman traveled with NTSB teams investigating major accidents ranging from the collision of two

Washington Metro The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ...

trains A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

to the

mid-air collision In aviation, a mid-air collision is an aviation accident, accident in which two or more aircraft come into unplanned contact during flight. The potential for a mid-air collision is increased by Aviation communication, miscommunication, mistrus ...

of a sightseeing helicopter and single-engine airplane over the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

in New York City. She investigated over 25 major transportation incidents during her tenure at the NTSB. As chairman, Hersman focused on

distracted driving Distracted driving is the act of driving while engaging in other activities which distract the driver's attention away from the road. Distractions are shown to compromise the safety of the driver, passengers, pedestrians, and people in other vehic ...

, child passenger safety and helping victims and their families. In 2014 Hersman resigned from the NTSB to become president and CEO of the nonprofit

, based in Itasca, Illinois. She was awarded the 2015 Sentinel of Safety Award by the

National Air Traffic Controllers Association The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) is a labor union in the United States. It is affiliated with the AFL–CIO, and is the exclusive bargaining representative for air traffic controllers employed by the Federal Aviation Admin ...

for her dedication to transportation and aviation safety. She was recognized by

NHTSA The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation, focused on automobile safety regulations. NHTSA is charged with writing and enforcing Feder ...

Public Service Award in 2016. In 2017, Hersman was appointed by Transportation Secretary

Anthony Foxx Anthony Renard Foxx (born April 30, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of Transportation from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Foxx had previously served as Mayor of Charlotte, No ...

to serve on the Department of Transportation Advisory Committee on Automation in Transportation. The advisory panel was established to provide counsel regarding technology implementation that can save lives and help eliminate preventable fatalities in all modes of transportation. Hersman chaired the Road to Zero Coalition led by the

, The U.S. Department of Transportation's

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation, focused on automobile safety regulations. NHTSA is charged with writing and enforcing Feder ...

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...

and

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation that regulates the trucking industry in the United States. The primary mission of the FMCSA is to reduce crashes, injuries, an ...

. The Coalition aims to end roadway fatalities within 30 years by a strategy that combines education, engineering, enforcement and emergency medical services. She stepped down when she left the National Safety Council in January 2019 to lead the safety team at

References

External links

2009-07-08 Senate confirmation hearing
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hersman, Deborah 1970 births American women business executives Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board George Mason University alumni Living people Obama administration personnel People from Spencer, West Virginia Virginia Tech alumni 21st-century American women civil servants