Gregory D. Winfree, Deputy Administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, announced the selection of Kenneth M. Leonard as the next Director of the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO). His start date is December 2, 2012.

Mr. Leonard has over 30 years of Federal government and private sector leadership experience providing solutions in transportation, energy, environment, defense, regulatory affairs and information systems.  He is joining ITS JPO from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), where he currently serves as the Special Project Officer and Director of the Office of Analysis, Research and Technology.  In this role, he provides leadership and direction in improving project effectiveness and efficiency in FMCSA.
         
Previously, he served with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as the Director of the Aviation Weather Office.  While with FAA, he provided strategic direction in advancing cornerstone aviation weather enterprise systems and emerging technologies in support of U.S. Department of Transportation’s Next Generation Air Transportation Systems (NextGen) initiatives.  Mr. Leonard is a member of the federal government’s Senior Executive Service.

While serving in the private sector, he was a Program Manager with Advanced Management Technology, Inc., and provided management oversight of complex and innovative research and development programs involving multibillion dollar contracts.  Additionally, Ken developed strategies to improve standard business practices and reduce program cost risks.  Ken is a graduate of the George Washington University School of Public and International Affairs having earned a Bachelor’s Degree in International Economics along with graduate level studies in Economics and Finance.

The Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office is a multimodal program within the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The ITS JPO’s research focuses on intelligent vehicles, intelligent infrastructure and the creation of an intelligent transportation system through integration with and between these two components. To learn more about ITS JPO please visit www.its.dot.gov