Carolyn Flowers, former head of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA), has been appointed by infrastructure firm AECOM to lead its transit practice in North America.
“I’m tremendously excited about pursuing my career in public transportation on the private sector side of the table,” Flowers commented. “AECOM’s presence in the industry is widely known and respected and I’m looking forward to leading its continuing efforts to provide its transit industry clients with creative, thoughtful and successful solutions to the challenges they face.”
Most recently, Flowers served as acting administrator in the FTA. Prior to joining the FTA, she served as chief executive officer/director of public transit for the Charlotte Area Transit System, where she was responsible for countywide bus and rail transit planning and management.
She began her public transportation career at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) in 1993, where she served for 19 years. She worked in budget, administration and operations at LACMTA, and was appointed chief operations officer.
Flowers has served on numerous professional boards, including co-chairing the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Reauthorization Task Force, and she has received numerous awards for her commitment to advancing public transportation nationwide. She also has been active in the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) and the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS).
Flowers earned a bachelor of science and an MBA at University of California Los Angeles.
“Carolyn brings a breadth of understanding and experience to this position that will provide our clients with industry-leading insight into the challenges facing public transportation, and solutions that will help them meet the challenges they face throughout North America,” said Fred Werner, president, design and consulting services at AECOM.
“Most importantly she brings a unique understanding of client needs and stakeholder expectations in the areas of policy, public-private partnerships and creative collaboration among various stakeholders and the business community. We are excited that her leadership, experience and expertise will help AECOM continue to help our clients shape and deliver better communities and transit systems for the future,” added Werner.