Former ATA official named deputy at federal highway agency

FHWA oversees several federal aid programs, including the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) and National Highway Performance Program (NHPP). Funds from these programs can be used to improve the National Highway System, which handles approximately 55 percent of the country’s vehicle miles traveled and 83 percent of truck travel, including most of the heavy truck movement across multiple state lines, according to the agency.

As Associate Administrator for Highway Policy, Parker oversees the Office of Highway Policy Information, which serves as the federal source for surface transportation data to inform DOT and Congress on policies and performance goals. It is also tasked with “striving to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of data collection and analysis on travelers and the physical, operational and financial condition of our transportation system.”

Parker is also responsible for preparing major reports to Congress on highway policy and for forecasting travel trends for both the private and commercial sectors. She has led efforts at the agency to create a “national dialogue” on highway automation, including focus areas on truck platooning and automated truck freight delivery issues and their effect on traffic patterns and operations.

Before her time at ATA, Parker served as a senior adviser in the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor, as a staff member on Capitol Hill, and as an advocate for the National Association of Home Builders.