Polly Trottenberg

Polly Trottenberg is Deputy Secretary at the US Department of Transportation (USDOT). As the number two official and Chief Operating Officer, she supports Secretary Buttigieg on providing leadership, strategic vision, and management for USDOT. Trottenberg has helped lead the agency’s implementation of the landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which created over 40 new programs to invest in all modes of transportation, including the creation of a national EV charging network. She also helps lead the agency’s efforts on roadway safety, technology, and cybersecurity.

In 2023, Trottenberg also served as the Acting Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, helping to oversee the agency and form a new leadership team while focusing aviation safety, air traffic control staffing, and increased investments in the agency’s infrastructure and technology.

Trottenberg served as New York City’s Transportation Commissioner for seven years, where she ran a complex 5,800-person agency responsible for the safe, efficient, and equitable operations of New York City’s transportation network. In NYC, she helped implement the landmark Vision Zero program, the first in the U.S., taking a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to significantly reduce traffic fatalities and injuries. She also led the NYCDOT through COVID-19 response and recovery, prioritizing transforming City streets to promote livability, sustainable transportation, and economic recovery.

Trottenberg served at USDOT in the Obama Administration as the Assistant Secretary and Under Secretary for Policy. She also served in the Senate for 12 years for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Majority Leader Charles Schumer, and Senator Barbara Boxer. Trottenberg graduated from Barnard College and received her Master's in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.