Polly Ellen Trottenberg (born March 16, 1964) is an American government official who served as

Deputy Secretary of Transportation The deputy secretary of transportation advises and assists the United States Secretary of Transportation, secretary of transportation in the supervision and direction of the United States Department of Transportation, Department of Transportation ( ...

under

Pete Buttigieg Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former naval officer who served as the 19th United States Secretary of Transportation, United States secretary of transportation from 2021 to 2025. A me ...

from 2021 to 2025. She served as the acting administrator of the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

from June 2023 to October 2023. She previously served as commissioner of the

New York City Department of Transportation The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is the agency of the government of New York City responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure. Ydanis Rodriguez is the Commissioner of the Departm ...

from 2014 to 2020.

Early life and education

Trottenberg was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and grew up in

Pelham, New York Pelham is a suburban town in Westchester County, approximately 10 miles northeast of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 13,078, an increase from the 2010 census.United States Census Bureau, 2020 Report, Pelham to ...

, and

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1986 and a

Master of Public Policy The Master of Public Policy (MPP) is a graduate-level professional degree. It provides training in policy analysis and program evaluation at public policy schools. The MPP program places a focus on the systematic analysis of issues related to pu ...

from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Career

Early career

During the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

, Trottenberg was the

Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy The Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy is a position within the United States Department of Transportation. The Under Secretary serves as an advisor to the United States Secretary of Transportation and Deputy Secretary of Transportation ...

, helping develop the

Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelines, ...

grant program. Trottenberg also served as a transportation policy adviser for Senators

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...

Barbara Boxer Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is a retired American politician, lobbyist, and former reporter who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United St ...

, and

Daniel Patrick Moynihan Daniel Patrick Moynihan (; March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and social scientist. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he represented New York (state), New York in the ...

, in addition to holding positions with the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...

and the nonprofit Building America's Future.

NYC DOT

Polly Trottenberg was appointed by New York City Mayor

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...

on December 31, 2013, to replace

Janette Sadik-Khan Janette Sadik-Khan (born April 28, 1961) is a former commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation (2007–2013) and an advisor on transportation and urban issues. She works for Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy es ...

as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation. Trottenberg was sworn in on January 27, 2014. Trottenberg was also a board member of the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a New York state public benefit corporations, public benefit corporation in New York (state), New York State responsible for public transportation in the New York metropolitan area, New York Ci ...

, having been confirmed for a 10-year term on June 23, 2014. Seen as a voice of "sanity" on the board, she resigned from the position on June 3, 2019. Trottenberg also served as the chair of TRANSCOM, a coalition of 16 transportation-related agencies in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

, from 2015 to 2019.

Deputy Secretary of Transportation

In November 2020, Trottenberg was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the

United States 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 a ...

. On January 18, 2021, it was announced that Trottenberg would serve as

United States Deputy Secretary of Transportation The deputy secretary of transportation advises and assists the secretary of transportation in the supervision and direction of the Department of Transportation (DOT). The deputy secretary would succeed the secretary in his or her absence, sicknes ...

in the incoming

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

. On February 13, 2021, her nomination was formally submitted to the Senate for confirmation. On April 13, 2021, Trottenberg was confirmed in an 82–15 vote. She was sworn into office on April 14, 2021. Trottenberg was named acting administrator of the

by President Biden on June 8, 2023.

Personal life

Trottenberg is Jewish. She lives on Capitol Hill with husband Mark Zuckerman, president of

The Century Foundation The Century Foundation (established first as The Cooperative League and then the Twentieth Century Fund) is a progressive think tank headquartered in New York City with an office in Washington, D.C. It was founded as a nonprofit public policy r ...

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Trottenberg, Polly 1964 births Living people 21st-century American women politicians 20th-century American Jews Barnard College alumni Biden administration personnel Commissioners of the New York City Department of Transportation Harvard Kennedy School alumni New York (state) Democrats Obama administration personnel United States Department of Transportation officials United States deputy secretaries of transportation Women government officials Women in New York (state) politics 21st-century American Jews