Rodney E. Slater

Rodney E. Slater, a former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, is a partner at Squire Patton Boggs, a Washington-based legal firm. He is co-chair of the organization's transportation, shipping, and logistics practice. Mr. Slater focuses on many of the policy and transportation objectives set under his leadership at the Department of Transportation during President Bill Clinton's administration. These include aviation competition and congestion mitigation, maritime initiatives, high-speed rail corridor development, and overall transportation safety and funding.

Under Mr. Slater's leadership, the federal transportation budget doubled and the scope and definition of the department expanded to include a focus on safety, mobility and access, economic development and trade, the environment, and national security. From 1993 to 1997, Mr. Slater served as director of the Federal Highway Administration. In that role, he oversaw the development of a financing program that resulted in hundreds of transportation projects being completed ahead of schedule and with greater cost efficiencies.

Prior to his work at the federal level, Mr. Slater was the director of government relations for Arkansas State University and held several state positions under then-Gov. Bill Clinton. In addition, Mr. Slater served as secretary-treasurer of the Arkansas Bar Association, was a special liaison to the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday Commission, and held a seat on the Arkansas State Highway Commission. He is an independent director of Verizon Communications, Kansas City Southern, Transurban International, and the International Advisory Board of Atkins, a global design, engineering, and project management consultancy. Mr. Slater is also a member of the United Way Worldwide and a Trustee of the National Urban League.

Mr. Slater earned his bachelor's degree at Eastern Michigan University in 1977 and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arkansas in 1980. He holds a license to practice law in Arkansas and the District of Columbia.