New Speakers Announced for Mineta Forum Commemorating 25th Anniversary of 9/11

Twenty-five years after the events of September 11th transformed transportation, security, and our national understanding of leadership in times of crisis, San José State University’s Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI), in partnership with United Airlines, will host the Mineta Forum on Transportation Policy & Leadership: Honoring a Legacy of Service on September 9th in Washington, D.C. 

MTI is pleased to announce an expanded lineup of speakers for the Forum, bringing together national leaders, members of the Mineta family, and those who worked alongside Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta to reflect on his extraordinary legacy and the leadership lessons of September 11, 2001. 

MTI Executive Director Dr. Karen E. Philbrick will guide the afternoon as emcee, with Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson, President of San José State University, the Honorable James H. Burnley IV, 9th U.S. Secretary of Transportation, and the Honorable Rodney Slater, 13th U.S. Secretary of Transportation, welcoming attendees to this historic gathering. Secretary Mineta’s sons, Delta Air Lines Captain Bob Brantner and Alum Rock Counseling Center CEO David Mineta, will take the stage for “A Son of San José: The Legacy of Norman Y. Mineta,” sharing personal reflections on their father, and the journey that took him from childhood incarceration at Heart Mountain to leadership that forever changed the nation. 

For “In the Room That Day: Leadership on 9/11,” former Mineta senior advisors John Flaherty, Michelle Poché Flaherty, and Genie Norris Murphy will reunite to share perspectives from the team at the center of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s response to the September 11 attacks. As Secretary Mineta’s Chief of Staff, John Flaherty served as one of his closest senior advisors during the crisis, helping coordinate the Department’s response and representing transportation leadership in high-level national security and counterterrorism efforts that followed. Deputy Chief of Staff Michelle Poché Flaherty coordinated policy and operational response across DOT agencies in the days and weeks after the attacks, while Senior Advisor Genie Norris Murphy played a key role in the Department’s response and later served as Secretary Mineta’s on-site representative at Ground Zero. Both Poché Flaherty and Norris Murphy received the U.S. Department of Transportation’s September 11 Medal for their service. Together, they offer a rare firsthand account of how transportation leaders navigated unprecedented decisions in the midst of a national crisis. 

Captain Wendy Morse and Sara Nelson will center the experiences of pilots and flight attendants in “The Day the Skies Closed: Frontline Perspectives from 9/11,” exploring the immediate and lasting impact of September 11 on aviation’s frontline workforce. Both represented United crews during this defining period and have since risen to national leadership roles in their respective unions: Morse now serves as First Vice President and National Safety Coordinator of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), while Nelson serves as International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA). 

The evening will continue with the Mineta Legacy Initiative Networking Reception, where Dr. Philbrick and endowment co-chairs Jeff Morales and Lynda Tran will share how the program carries Secretary Mineta’s values and example forward through a new generation of leaders. Secretary Mineta’s sons, SkyWest Airlines Captain Stuart Mineta and Realtor Mark Brantner, will deliver personal reflections about their father and former U.S. Maritime Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy David Matsuda will reflect on Secretary Mineta’s enduring impact on our nation.

Join us to hear from the voices of those who knew Secretary Mineta, worked with him during defining moments in American history, and continue his legacy of public service. Registration is currently open for this event until Friday, September 4th, 2026. More information can be found here. 

Event Details

Date: 

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

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For media inquiries or to request event coverage, please contact Alverina Weinardy at alverina.weinardy@sjsu.edu or 408-924-7566.

ABOUT THE MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE

At the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) at San Jose State University (SJSU) our mission is to increase mobility for all by improving the safety, efficiency, accessibility, and convenience of our nations’ transportation system. Through research, education, workforce development and technology transfer, we help create a connected world. Founded in 1991, MTI is a university transportation center funded by the US Department of Transportation, the California Department of Transportation, and public and private grants, including those made available by the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (SB1). MTI is affiliated with SJSU’s Lucas College and Graduate School of Business.

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