Panelists & Speakers

John Porcari

Professional Title: Co-founder of EIP Former White House Port & Supply Chain Envoy Former Deputy Secretary of US DOT

Organization:

Sessions: Session 6

Biography

John D. Porcari is a nationally-recognized public and private sector infrastructure leader, delivering some of America’s most challenging projects and driving the adoption of equitable, community-serving infrastructure policies and projects at the local, state and federal levels. Porcari recently completed a temporary role as the White House Port & Supply Chain Envoy, leading a series of operational and structural changes to relieve the pandemic-induced global stresses on the US supply chain. This work included assembling a whole-of-government-and-industry team dedicated to unraveling short term bottlenecks, applying a systems approach to long term capacity and resiliency improvements, and launching FLOW (Freight Logistics Operations Works), the industry’s first data-sharing platform throughout the goods movement ecosystem. John is co-founder of the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP), a national non-profit dedicated to creating generational wealth for Historically Underutilized Businesses through public agency commitments to convert these businesses from subcontractors to prime contractors and joint venture partners. Porcari also chairs the policy board for the non-profit Center for Transportation & the Environment, a pioneer in electrifying transit fleets, port and airport ground handling equipment. Porcari previously served as Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation (2009-2014) after being nominated by President Obama and unanimously confirmed by the US Senate. As Chief Operating Officer of a department with 55,000 employees worldwide and an annual budget of $77 billion, he led the department’s highly successful implementation of the $48 billion transportation component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, TIGER grants and loan and credit programs by working directly with Governors, Mayors and County Commissioners across the country. Prior public sector leadership positions include twice serving as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation (1999-2002 and 2006-2009), restructuring America’s only truly multi-modal state transportation agency to incorporate the principles of Smart Growth, using Community Benefits Agreements to ensure equity in transit projects and successfully delivering a number of multi-billion dollar transit, airport, port, passenger/freight rail and highway projects throughout the state. Private sector roles include serving as President of the Advisory Services vertical of a Top 5 international architecture, engineering and construction management firm, building a team of over 500; serving on the board of directors of an international airport operator that recently delivered the new LaGuardia airport central terminal through a public-private partnership; and leadership roles in multiple infrastructure-related technology startups. Porcari also served in economic development and environmental planning positions at the state and local government level, and as COO and CFO for the University of Maryland.