K. Jane Williams

Williams brings more than two decades of experience in federal and state government along with work in the private sector in the areas of transportation and infrastructure. That includes serving as senior advisor to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Elaine Chao and acting administrator for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) from August 2017-January 2021. As acting administrator, Williams managed some of the largest formula and competitive grant programs within the DOT representing more than $80 billion in economic investment in transportation infrastructure across the nation.

In addition to her time at the FTA, Williams previously served as director of the Washington Area Transit Office of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). In that role, she led and managed investments for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) on behalf of MDOT and helped advise the MDOT secretary on a variety of issues, including policy, budget, safety and service reliability. During her tenure she was instrumental, along with her colleagues in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia, in establishing the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, an independent agency that oversees and enforces safety practices on the WMATA system. Prior to that, she served as a senior legislative advisor to Congressman Andy Harris, who serves as a member of the Appropriations Committee.