Stephanie Pollack | |
---|---|
Deputy Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration | |
In office January 27, 2021 [1] –February 1, 2023 | |
President | Joe Biden |
Preceded by | Mala Parker |
Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation | |
In office January 2015 [2] –January 26,2021 [1] | |
Governor | Charlie Baker |
Preceded by | Richard A. Davey |
Succeeded by | Jamey Tesler |
Personal details | |
Born | East Hanover,New Jersey,U.S. [3] |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Kenneth Snow |
Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS,BS) Harvard University (JD) |
Stephanie Pollack is an American government official who served as the deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. Pollack also served as acting administrator pending Senate confirmation of administrator nominee Shailen Bhatt. From 2015 to 2021 Pollack served as the secretary and CEO of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Pollack previously worked for the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF),the Greater Boston Institute,BlueWave Strategies,and Northeastern University before starting her position at MassDOT. Pollack was the first female secretary of transportation in Massachusetts. [4]
In 1982,Pollack received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and a Bachelor of Science in public policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She graduated magna cum laude with a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1985. [5] [6]
Pollack began work with the Conservation Law Foundation as a sophomore at MIT,doing policy research on coal-fired power plants. Pollack continued to work at the CLF after graduating from Harvard,rising to senior VP and acting president before departing in 2006. [2] She also worked as a senior strategy consultant for groups including the Boston Transportation Department and Massport. [7] When the Commonwealth of Massachusetts negotiated Big Dig mitigation with Pollack and ultimately claimed they could not afford her proposals,Pollack stated "They can't just say,'We're broke.'" [8]
In 2004,Pollack took a position at Northeastern University as a senior research associate and senior director at the Center for Urban and Regional Policy and an adjunct professor for the Northeastern University School of Law. [9] During this time Pollack also served on the board of the Newton Transportation Advisory Committee and the MassDOT Transportation Advisory Committee. [10]
In January 2015,Pollack was chosen by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker to lead the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. [11] Pollack described her appointment as surprising,given fundamentally different policy views between Baker,a lifelong Republican,and her own liberal views as a Democrat. [12] [3]
In January 2021,it was announced that Pollack was appointed to serve as deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. [13]
Pollack received criticism for lapses at Massachusetts Department of Transportation's Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) that led to a crash that killed seven people in 2019. [14] [15] The RMV director and RMV consultant Fast Technologies LLC both claimed they had sent information about the RMV data issues to Pollack prior to the crash. A year later,Pollack acknowledged responsibility for the scandal and pledged to fix the issues. [16]
Pollack also received backlash for an expedited $100,000 private bathroom at MassDOT Headquarters in 2018. [17] The controversy has become known as MassDOT's "Golden Bathroom" or "Toilet-Gate". [18] Pollack initially refused to speak to the press about the bathroom,but later released a memo stating "We should have been more careful". [19]
Pollack met her husband Kenneth Snow while at MIT. [2] She has three children,all of whom are studying engineering. [2] Pollack has lived in Newton,Massachusetts,for over 20 years and is a strong advocate of car free transportation. [20] Pollack is an observant Orthodox Jew. [3] Pollack has been a Democrat since she first registered to vote at age 18. [3]
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston,Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network includes the MBTA subway with three metro lines,two light rail lines,and a five-line bus rapid transit system;MBTA bus local and express service;the twelve-line MBTA Commuter Rail system,and several ferry routes. In 2023,the system had a ridership of 239,981,700,or about 731,200 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024,of which the rapid transit lines averaged 255,800 and the light rail lines 63,600,making it the fourth-busiest rapid transit system and the third-busiest light rail system in the United States. As of the first quarter of 2024,average weekday ridership of the commuter rail system was 100,400,making it the fifth-busiest commuter rail system in the U.S.
The Massachusetts Turnpike is a controlled-access toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). It is concurrent with the entirety of Interstate 90 (I-90) within the state,and is the longest Interstate Highway in Massachusetts,spanning 138 miles (222 km) along an east–west axis.
The Green Line is a semi-metro system run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in the Boston,Massachusetts,metropolitan area. It is the oldest MBTA subway line,and with tunnel sections dating from 1897,the oldest subway in North America. It runs underground through downtown Boston,and on the surface into inner suburbs via six branches on radial boulevards and grade-separated alignments. With an average daily weekday ridership of 137,700 in 2019,it is the third-most heavily used light rail system in the country. The line was assigned the green color in 1967 during a systemwide rebranding because several branches pass through sections of the Emerald Necklace of Boston.
The Silver Line is a system of bus routes in Boston and Chelsea,Massachusetts,operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). It is operated as part of the MBTA bus system,but branded as bus rapid transit (BRT) as part of the MBTA subway system. Six routes are operated as part of two disconnected corridors. As of 2019,weekday ridership on the Silver Line was 39,000.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates 152 bus routes in the Greater Boston area. The MBTA has a policy objective to provide transit service within walking distance for all residents living in areas with population densities greater than 5,000 inhabitants per square mile (1,900/km2) within the MBTA's service district. Much of this service is provided by bus. In 2023,the system had a ridership of 91,459,700,or about 310,700 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
Lechmere station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line light rail station in Lechmere Square in East Cambridge,Massachusetts. It is located on the east side of Monsignor O'Brien Highway near First Street,adjacent to the NorthPoint development. The accessible elevated station has a single island platform,with headhouses at both ends. It opened on March 21,2022,as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX). Lechmere station is served by Green Line D branch and E branch service.
Ruggles station is an intermodal transfer station in Boston,Massachusetts. It serves Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) rapid transit,bus,and commuter rail services and is located at the intersection of Ruggles and Tremont streets,where the Roxbury,Fenway–Kenmore,and Mission Hill neighborhoods meet. It is surrounded by the campus of Northeastern University. Ruggles is a station stop for the Orange Line subway,as well as the Providence/Stoughton Line,Franklin/Foxboro Line,and Needham Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system. Thirteen MBTA bus routes stop at Ruggles.
The Framingham/Worcester Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system runs west from Boston,Massachusetts to Worcester,Massachusetts through the MetroWest region,serving 17 station stops in Boston,Newton,Wellesley,Natick,Framingham,Ashland,Southborough,Westborough,Grafton,and Worcester. It is the third longest and third busiest line in the MBTA Commuter Rail system. Service on the line is a mix of local and express trains serving Worcester plus short-turn Framingham locals.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) oversees roads,public transit,aeronautics,and transportation licensing and registration in the US state of Massachusetts. It was created on November 1,2009,by the 186th Session of the Massachusetts General Court upon enactment of the 2009 Transportation Reform Act.
The history of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and its predecessors spans two centuries,starting with one of the oldest railroads in the United States. Development of mass transportation both followed existing economic and population patterns,and helped shape those patterns.
The Green Line Extension (GLX) was a construction project to extend the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line light rail system northwest into Somerville and Medford,two inner suburbs of Boston,Massachusetts. The project opened in two phases in 2022 at a total cost of $2.28 billion. Total ridership on the 4.3-mile (6.9 km) extension is estimated to reach 45,000 one-way trips per day in 2030.
South Coast Rail is a project to build a new southern line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system along several abandoned and freight-only rail lines. The line will restore passenger rail service between Boston and the cities of Taunton,Fall River,and New Bedford,via the towns of Berkley,and Freetown,on the south coast of Massachusetts. It includes passenger service to some of the southern lines of the former Old Colony Railroad and the New York,New Haven and Hartford Railroad.
Assembly station is a rapid transit station in Somerville,Massachusetts. It serves the MBTA's Orange Line. It is an infill station,located on a section of the Orange Line that has been active since 1975. The station,which opened on September 2,2014,was the first new rail station on the MBTA subway system since 1987. Assembly station is meant to provide convenient access to Assembly Square - a major retail and residential development located on the site of a former Ford assembly plant - and the adjacent Assembly Square Marketplace.
Richard A. Davey is an American attorney and transportation executive. He was the Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation from September 2011 to October 2014 and previously the General Manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority from March 2010 to September 2011. He was also the President of the New York City Transit Authority from 2022 to 2024.
Union Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located in the Union Square neighborhood of southeastern Somerville,Massachusetts. The accessible terminal station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Union Square Branch,which parallels the Fitchburg Line. It opened on March 21,2022,as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX),which added two northern branches to the Green Line.
The CapeFlyer is a passenger rail service in Massachusetts between Boston and Cape Cod that began in 2013. It is operated by the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA) in collaboration with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The service runs on the weekends,beginning Friday evenings and including holidays,between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend.
Eric Philip Lesser is an American lawyer and politician who served in the Massachusetts State Senate. Before representing his hometown of Longmeadow,Massachusetts,and neighboring communities in the Greater-Springfield area,he worked as a White House aide during the Obama administration. Lesser is one of the originators of the White House Passover Seder. In the 2022 Massachusetts race for Lieutenant Governor,Lesser lost the Democratic primary to Kim Driscoll.
The Connecticut River Line is a railroad line owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT),running between Springfield and East Northfield,Massachusetts.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Boston was part of an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Massachusetts city of Boston. The first confirmed case was reported on February 1,2020,and the number of cases began to increase rapidly by March 8. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency on March 10. Mayor Marty Walsh declared a public health emergency on March 15. By March 21,more than a hundred people in Boston had tested positive for COVID-19. Most early cases were traceable to a company meeting held in late February by the biotechnology firm Biogen in Boston.
The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts.
Stephanie will be the Commonwealth's first female secretary of transportation and, while several women have held high positions within the secretariat, having a woman at the top of the organization will bring its own refreshing change to a massive agency that touches nearly everyone's lives.