Governor Martin O'Malley appointed John D. Porcari as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) in January 2007. The Secretary oversees the Maryland Department of Transportation, which includes five modal administrations with 9,000 employees and a $3.7 billion annual budget, and the Maryland Transportation Authority. The Secretary is responsible for the operations of the Maryland State Highway Administration, the Maryland Transit Administration, the Motor Vehicle Administration, the Maryland Port Administration, and the Maryland Aviation Administration. He also serves as Chairman of the Maryland Transportation Authority, Chairman of the Maryland Port Commission and Chairman of the Maryland Aviation Commission. Mr. Porcari returns to this position that he held from 1999 to 2003 under former Governor Parris N. Glendening. Mr. Porcari most recently served as Vice President for Administrative Affairs at the University of Maryland, College Park. In this position, he served as Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer, managing an annual operating budget of $1.3 billion for more than 35,000 students, as well as faculty and staff. He oversaw seven departments within the Division of Administrative Affairs, which includes Personnel Services, Comptroller, Public Safety, Facilities Management, Environmental Safety, Business Services and Procurement & Supply. During his prior term as Transportation Secretary, Mr. Porcari initiated the implementation of a $9.1 billion six-year capital program and: Transformed the state’s capital program for transportation to require all projects to be consistent with the principles of Smart Growth; Initiated the Baltimore Regional Transit Plan and the Environmental Impact Study for the Purple Line; Implemented a record highway program including system preservation projects and bridge reconstruction projects; Worked with Maryland’s Congressional delegation to secure $2.4 billion for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge replacement project; Directed the $1.8 billion expansion of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport; Directed Maryland’s transportation network in responding to September 11; and Initiated eMVA on-line services and implemented Graduated License System for new drivers resulting in a 22% decline in accident rates for youth drivers.
Secretary Porcari previously served as Deputy Secretary of Transportation for Maryland and as Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Policy at the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. Prior to the positions in the state government, Mr. Porcari served as Vice President of a civil engineering and land use consulting firm, providing environmental consulting services for public sector civil engineering clients in the Washington, D.C. area. Mr. Porcari received his B.A. degree from the University of Dayton, Ohio, in 1981, and his Master of Public Administration from the State University of New York at Albany in 1985. He has a broad background in business and economic development, environmental planning and public policy. |
