Timothy Hess, P.E., SES
Associate Administrator for Federal Lands
Federal Highway Administration
Mr. Timothy Hess is the Associate Administrator for Federal Lands in the Federal Highway Administration. As the Associate Administrator, he provides senior executive level leadership for over 700 employees in providing transportation solutions for Federal Land Management Agencies and other interagency partners. These programs provide over $1.5B in annual funding for transportation improvements on Federal and Tribal lands such as our National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, and Indian Reservations.
Prior to joining FHWA in July 2015, Mr. Hess served as the Chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers European Missile Defense Program. As the Program Chief, he provided executive level leadership of an office responsible for the program and project management of the infrastructure portion of the European Missile Defense Program. He directed a $500M program consisting of the engineering design and construction of two missile defense complexes in Romania and Poland, and a radar site in Turkey.
From July 2011 to May 2012, Mr. Hess served as the Acting Director of the Army Corps of Engineers Interagency and International Services Office. As the Acting Director he provided senior executive level leadership of the Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters office responsible for policy oversight and integration of all Army Corps of Engineer programs in the Northeastern United States, Europe, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries within the US Central Command (CENTCOM) areas of responsibility. From August 2010 to June 2011, Mr. Hess attended the National War College in Washington, DC, earning a Master of Science degree in National Security Strategy. Prior to attending the War College, Mr. Hess served as the Deputy Director of the Joint Programs Integration Office, Kabul Afghanistan from September 2009 to July 2010. As the Deputy Director, Mr. Hess directed an office of civilian and military personnel responsible for oversight and integration of all Department of Defense construction in Afghanistan, a total of over $4 billion during his tour. Prior to serving in Afghanistan, Mr. Hess served as the Chief of the US Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Office and Security Assistance Office in Washington, DC. Mr. Hess led the Corps of Engineers' Washington Office responsible for integration of all U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' engineering and construction activities in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries within the US Central Command (CENTCOM). From March 2006 to October 2007, Mr. Hess served as the Congressional Affairs Officer for the US Army Corps of Engineers, Directorate of Military and International Programs.
Before returning to the Corps of Engineers in March 2006, Mr. Hess served as a Senior Program Officer with the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering. Mr. Hess managed a national research program in the areas of bridge foundation and hydraulic design, geotechnical design, and construction engineering. Prior to his tenure at the Transportation Research Board, Mr. Hess served as the American Society of Civil Engineer's 1997-1998 Congressional Fellow. While on Capitol Hill, Mr. Hess worked for U.S. Senator Bob Graham as a senior policy advisor in the areas of transportation, innovative financing, and water resources development. Mr. Hess was involved in the development of an array of legislation, the largest being the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), a $220 billion transportation authorization bill.
From 1989 to 1997, Mr. Hess served as a Civil Works Engineer and Project Manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Hess directed the design and development of a number of water resource and transportation projects for the Corps of Engineers along the Mississippi, Des Moines and Illinois rivers. Before working for the Corps of Engineers as a civilian, Mr. Hess served as a U.S. Army Engineer Officer for five years. During his time on active duty with the U.S. Army, he completed assignments in Europe with the 1st Armored Division and at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mr. Hess holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Penn State University, a M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a M.S. in National Security Strategy from the National War College, and is a registered professional engineer in Illinois. He resides in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife, Anne, and their three children.