Administrator Nuria Fernandez of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced the appointment of Veronica Vanterpool as deputy administrator.

Vanterpool has served as senior advisor in the FTA Office of the administrator since August 2021.

“Throughout her career, Veronica has been a stalwart advocate for public transportation and the riders who most depend on buses and rail for their economic livelihoods,” Fernandez said. “As Deputy Administrator I know she will continue to pursue new initiatives and advance existing priorities at the FTA during this era of unprecedented funding made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This is an exciting and critical time for our industry.”

In her role as senior advisor, Vanterpool coordinated and provided executive direction on the agency’s work on climate change, equity, innovation, safety, and workforce development. Additionally, she provided oversight and guidance for the development of FTA’s first Strategic Plan published in more than 20 years; led FTA’s first-ever listening session series on Transit Oriented Development, and serves as the agency’s representative on groups such as the White House Interagency Policy Council Puerto Rico Working Group and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation.

“It is an honor to serve the transit-riding public in this leadership role alongside Administrator Fernandez and in partnership with the committed, talented team at FTA,” Vanterpool said. “I am excited to channel my commitment to improving transit through FTA’s vision and guidance.”

Together, Administrator Fernandez and Deputy Administrator Vanterpool are the first Latinas to serve in their roles.

Prior to joining FTA, Vanterpool served as the first chief innovation officer at Delaware Transit Corporation, assuming that position after 15 years of transportation leadership roles in the New York metro region. She is the former deputy director of the national Vision Zero Network and executive director of the New York City-based Tri-State Transportation Campaign. Vanterpool was nominated by former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to the board of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), where she served from 2016 to 2019 on five committees while also chairing the board’s paratransit working group. In 2017, she received the Women in Business/Nonprofit Excellence Award from the New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the 2020 Environmental Leadership Award from the Bronx River Alliance, where she remains as Emeritus Board Member.

Vanterpool is a native New Yorker born and raised in the Bronx.  She holds an M.S. in Environmental Policy from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a B.A. in Environmental Science and Political Science (dual majors) from Binghamton University in NY.