Jennifer Mitchell was appointed as Deputy Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration in April 2022. In that role, she provides executive leadership and direction on agency operations and policy matters, including the agency’s safety and rail development activities.

Ms. Mitchell has over 25 years of experience working in the transportation industry in both the public and private sectors.  Prior to joining the FRA, she served for eight years as Director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DPRT) where she led several strategic initiatives.  These include landmark agreements between CSX, Norfolk Southern Railway and Amtrak to significantly expand passenger rail service in the State over the next ten years, as well as advancing construction of the new Long Bridge across the Potomac River. Jennifer also helped lead the creation of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission in collaboration with Maryland and the District of Columbia.  She played a key role in securing dedicated regional funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, development of a new transit ridership incentive grant programs, and creation of the Commonwealth’s SmartScale multimodal transportation funding program.

Ms. Mitchell has served on boards of the American Public Transportation Association, Women’s Transportation Seminar, and the Eno Transportation Foundation. In 2018 she was named by Railway Age as a Woman of the Year, and in 2020 she was named by the Council of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) as a Woman that Moves the Nation. She holds a Bachelor of City Planning degree from the University of Virginia and a Masters in Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.