The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Maryland’s premier research institution aimed at advancing scientific knowledge of the environment, has appointed former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation John D. Porcari to its Board of Visitors. He is currently Senior Vice President and National Director of Strategic Consulting at Parsons Brinckerhoff.
Porcari served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation under the Obama administration from 2009-2013. He was responsible for managing all DOT operations, including operation of the nation’s airspace and air traffic control system; funding the interstate, national highway, transit and passenger rail systems; safety regulation and oversight of aviation; and the U.S. Maritime Administration. He twice served as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation, from 2007 to 2009 and from 1999 to 2003, which includes the Port of Baltimore, a sponsor of UMCES ballast water and other research. He was Vice President for Administrative Affairs at the University of Maryland 2003 to 2007, serving as Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer for the flagship campus of University System of Maryland.
Porcari received a master’s degree in public administration from the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, State University of New York at Albany, and a B.A. in political science from the University of Dayton. He has served on the board of directors of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the American Public Transportation Association, the World Trade Center Institute, and the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
