Acting Executive Director

Jamie Pfister serves as Acting Executive Director of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in Washington, D.C., directing the daily operations of the agency in support of public transportation services in communities across the United States. She supports the FTA Administrator in providing leadership and establishing direction on public transportation policies, budgets, and strategic priorities. She guides the management of the agency's annual budget of more than $20 billion and the 550 people who work with FTA's stakeholders.

Previously, Ms. Pfister served as FTA’s Associate Administrator for Regional Services. In that role, she provided leadership to FTA’s 10 regional offices, supporting communication and coordination to help administer the multi-billion-dollar federal transit program, including performance management, risk management, and data-driven decision making at the regional level.

Prior to that, she worked as Associate Administrator for Regional Operations and Program Delivery at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In that role, Ms. Pfister oversaw the agency’s 10 regional offices and grant management and operations office. She was responsible for about two-thirds of NHTSA’s budget, about $600 million annually, to help State Highway Safety Offices advance traffic safety across the country.

Prior to joining NHTSA, Ms. Pfister spent 16 years at the FTA and served in a variety of roles. She oversaw the safety of one of the country’s largest heavy rail systems – Washington DC’s Metrorail – and the delivery of FTA’s grant portfolio of approximately $7 billion. During her tenure at FTA, she also spent nine years in FTA’s Atlanta office working closely with the state transportation departments and transit stakeholders across eight southern states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

Ms. Pfister has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a master’s degree in business administration from Georgia State University.