Deputy Federal Transit Administrator Therese McMillan addresses infrastructure finance at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club, Friday, June 20

Deputy Federal Transit Administrator Therese McMillan will deliver the keynote address at the Norman Y. Mineta Transportation Finance Policy Summit at the Commonwealth Club of California, 595 Market St., San Francisco, on Friday, June 20. She will discuss transportation policy, including the GROW AMERICA Act, the types of transportation services that should be funded, and how the Act is expected to accomplish its goals. The free summit, open to the public, begins at 9 a.m. with the Deputy Administrator’s keynote, followed by Q&A and a panel discussion. Retired Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta will introduce Deputy Administrator McMillan, and retired Deputy Secretary of Transportation Mortimer Downey will moderate the panel discussion. To register, go to commonwealthclub.org and click on the event.

The two-hour summit, with Continental breakfast at 8:15 a.m., is sponsored by the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI), a transportation policy research organization created by Congress. It is affiliated with San Jose State University’s College of Business.

“Americans can readily see the effects that population growth has had on our transportation infrastructure,” said Rod Diridon, executive director of MTI. “No sooner do we widen our highways, do they become congested again. There must be a better way to solve that problem. Further, how can we fund any planned improvements when the Highway Trust Fund will be insolvent this summer? GROW AMERICA was created to address the most pressing issues, and Deputy Administrator McMillan will provide insight.”

Asha Agrawal, PhD, director of MTI’s National Transportation Finance Center, will also reveal the latest results from the Institute’s fifth annual telephone survey of American taxpayers, What Do Americans Think about Federal Tax Options to Support Public Transit, Highways, and Local Streets and Roads? Results from Year Five of a National Survey.

Other summit participants include Steve Heminger, executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, who will address state and regional issues; and Michael Melaniphy, president and CEO of the American Public Transportation Association, who will address national issues.

For more information and free registration, go to http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2014-06-20/mineta-national-policy-summit

ABOUT THERESE McMILLAN

Therese McMillan, Deputy Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), joined the agency in 2009. She leads a staff of more than 500 in the Washington DC headquarters office and 10 regional offices throughout the US. She worked with FTA staff in allocating $8.78 billion for 1,072 Recovery Act grants that created or retained over 12,500 jobs and strengthened and enhanced public transportation for working Americans and their communities. Deputy Administrator McMillan also leads a special task force on Civil Rights. She also serves on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities with fellow DOT colleagues, EPA and HUD. Previously, she was the Deputy Executive Director-Policy at the San Francisco Bay Area Region's Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Serving in that role for nine years, she was responsible for strategic financial planning and MTC’s management of federal, state and regional fund sources for transit, highways, roadways and other modes; state and federal legislative advocacy, and public affairs and community outreach. Ms. McMillan received her BS degree in Environmental Policy and Planning Analysis from the University of California, and a joint MCP/MS in city planning/civil engineering science from UC Berkeley.

ABOUT THE MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE (MTI)

MTI conducts research, education, and information transfer programs focusing on surface transportation policy and management issues, especially related to transit. MTI was established by Congress in 1991 as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act and won national re-designation competitions in 2002, 2006 and 2011. The Institute is funded by Congress through the US DOT Research and Innovative Technology Administration, by the California Legislature through Caltrans, and public and private grants. In 2006 the US Department of Homeland Security selected MTI as a National Transportation Security Center of Excellence. The internationally respected members of the MTI Board of Trustees represent all major surface transportation modes. MTI is affiliated with San Jose (CA) State University’s College of Business.