FRA Deputy Chief Rae returning to NYDOT

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has picked Deputy Federal Railroad Administrator Karen Rae to serve as the Deputy Secretary of Transportation in the Governor’s Office. Rae previously served as Deputy Commissioner of Policy and Planning at the New York State Department of Transportation.

Rae (pictured at left) will join what the governor’s office calls his "new team to lead the state’s transportation initiatives.”

The Governor has also announced that he has picked Joseph J. Lhota, who was New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s budget chief, to serve as the chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and selected Nutria Fernandez to serve as the chief operating Officer of MTA. Fernandez currently is the senior vice president of CH2M Hill, a firm that provides engineering, construction, and operations services worldwide.

At FRA, Rae has managed the federal high speed rail initiative as well as safety programs and regulatory initiatives. She also developed national freight and passenger rail policy, where she was responsible for advocacy and finance activities.