The Research and Innovative Technology Administration manages the Department of Transportation’s research and development programs, with the ultimate goal of creating technologies that can be used to improve the country’s transportation networks. The agency also compiles statistics, publishes reports and provides education in transportation-related fields.
The Research and Innovative Technology Administration was created by the Norman Y. Mineta Research and Special Programs Improvement Act, which sought to build “a more focused research organization” for the Department of Transportation, in addition to speeding up the process for delivering new technologies to the public. President George W. Bush signed the act into law on Nov. 30, 2004. It is named after Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, who served from 2001 to 2006.
The Research and Innovative Technology Administration, or RITA, contains eight subdivisions beneath the Office of the Administrator, some of which were autonomous until RITA’s creation. All told, the agency helps coordinates research efforts worth some $1 billion annually.
The Office of Governmental, International and Public Affairs serves as a liaison to other governmental entities, both in the United States and abroad, as well as the public at large.
The Office of the Chief Counsel advises the administrator on legal matters.
The Office of Management and Administration oversees the remaining two RITA subdivisions, both of which are fee-based service organizations. The John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center provides logistical and analytical support to governments, industry and academia. It receives no appropriation from Congress, being entirely funded by its projects. The Transportation Safety Institute is the second subdivision, conducting and developing “worldwide safety, security and environmental training, products and/or services for both the public and private sectors.” For example, the institute’s Aviation Safety Division trains investigators of aircraft accidents. There are also programs for cargo inspection, the transportation of hazardous materials and general traffic safety. The institute is funded through tuition, fees and financial agreements signed with those it serves.
Shulman is from Seattle, where she graduated from the Lakeside School in 2006. She then went east for college, earning a B.A. in international studies in 2010 and an M.A. in American foreign policy, international economics from Johns Hopkins University in 2011.
Shulman’s first federal job was in May 2011 in the Department of Energy in the Presidential Management Fellow Program, serving as a special assistant in the office of the secretary. In September 2012, Shulman moved to the Office of Management and Budget in the Natural Resources, Energy and Science Program.
In April 2013, Shulman took a job in the White House as deputy press secretary and executive secretary for the Domestic Policy Council, moving up to deputy press secretary in November. In July 2014, Shulman was named the council’s deputy chief of staff.
She moved to DOT in June 2015, first as a policy adviser in the office of the secretary, then, in April 2016, as senior policy adviser. While at DOT, Shulman worked on the Smart City Challenge, in which medium-sized cities were given the opportunity to come up with plans for integrated efficient transportation systems optimizing technology and data.
President Obama has nominated Gregory D. Winfree, who is deputy administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) in the Department of Transportation, to take the agency’s top job. He has served at RITA, which manages the department’s research and development programs with the goal of creating technologies to improve transportation, since March 2010.
Born in New York circa 1964, Winfree earned a B.S. in Communications and Public Relations at St. John’s University in 1986 and a J.D. from Georgetown University in 1989, where he served as a lead articles editor for The Tax Lawyer, the A.B.A. journal of taxation.
Embarking on an in-house career, Winfree was senior litigation counsel at Union Carbide from 1993 to 2000, and director of litigation at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which is now part of Pfizer, from 2000 to 2004.
From 2004 to 2010, Winfree was chief litigation counsel for Freeport-McMoRan Corporation, which through its subsidiary, Phelps Dodge, is one of the world’s largest producers of copper, gold and other industrial and precious metals. During these years, Winfree resided in Phoenix, Arizona, where he also founded the Eight Iron Golf Apparel Company to market his two patents, registered in 1995, for a “sport shirt or other garment provided with a load-distributing shoulder yoke for relieving the strain resulting from carrying a golf bag.”
Winfree was also the co-founder of Charting Your Own Course (CYOC), a professional networking organization for minority in-house attorneys.
Winfree left the private sector for public service again in 2010, serving as chief counsel at RITA from March 2010 to August 2011, as deputy administrator since June 2011, and as acting administrator from September 2011 to January 2012.
The Research and Innovative Technology Administration manages the Department of Transportation’s research and development programs, with the ultimate goal of creating technologies that can be used to improve the country’s transportation networks. The agency also compiles statistics, publishes reports and provides education in transportation-related fields.
The Research and Innovative Technology Administration was created by the Norman Y. Mineta Research and Special Programs Improvement Act, which sought to build “a more focused research organization” for the Department of Transportation, in addition to speeding up the process for delivering new technologies to the public. President George W. Bush signed the act into law on Nov. 30, 2004. It is named after Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, who served from 2001 to 2006.
The Research and Innovative Technology Administration, or RITA, contains eight subdivisions beneath the Office of the Administrator, some of which were autonomous until RITA’s creation. All told, the agency helps coordinates research efforts worth some $1 billion annually.
The Office of Governmental, International and Public Affairs serves as a liaison to other governmental entities, both in the United States and abroad, as well as the public at large.
The Office of the Chief Counsel advises the administrator on legal matters.
The Office of Management and Administration oversees the remaining two RITA subdivisions, both of which are fee-based service organizations. The John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center provides logistical and analytical support to governments, industry and academia. It receives no appropriation from Congress, being entirely funded by its projects. The Transportation Safety Institute is the second subdivision, conducting and developing “worldwide safety, security and environmental training, products and/or services for both the public and private sectors.” For example, the institute’s Aviation Safety Division trains investigators of aircraft accidents. There are also programs for cargo inspection, the transportation of hazardous materials and general traffic safety. The institute is funded through tuition, fees and financial agreements signed with those it serves.
Shulman is from Seattle, where she graduated from the Lakeside School in 2006. She then went east for college, earning a B.A. in international studies in 2010 and an M.A. in American foreign policy, international economics from Johns Hopkins University in 2011.
Shulman’s first federal job was in May 2011 in the Department of Energy in the Presidential Management Fellow Program, serving as a special assistant in the office of the secretary. In September 2012, Shulman moved to the Office of Management and Budget in the Natural Resources, Energy and Science Program.
In April 2013, Shulman took a job in the White House as deputy press secretary and executive secretary for the Domestic Policy Council, moving up to deputy press secretary in November. In July 2014, Shulman was named the council’s deputy chief of staff.
She moved to DOT in June 2015, first as a policy adviser in the office of the secretary, then, in April 2016, as senior policy adviser. While at DOT, Shulman worked on the Smart City Challenge, in which medium-sized cities were given the opportunity to come up with plans for integrated efficient transportation systems optimizing technology and data.
President Obama has nominated Gregory D. Winfree, who is deputy administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) in the Department of Transportation, to take the agency’s top job. He has served at RITA, which manages the department’s research and development programs with the goal of creating technologies to improve transportation, since March 2010.
Born in New York circa 1964, Winfree earned a B.S. in Communications and Public Relations at St. John’s University in 1986 and a J.D. from Georgetown University in 1989, where he served as a lead articles editor for The Tax Lawyer, the A.B.A. journal of taxation.
Embarking on an in-house career, Winfree was senior litigation counsel at Union Carbide from 1993 to 2000, and director of litigation at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which is now part of Pfizer, from 2000 to 2004.
From 2004 to 2010, Winfree was chief litigation counsel for Freeport-McMoRan Corporation, which through its subsidiary, Phelps Dodge, is one of the world’s largest producers of copper, gold and other industrial and precious metals. During these years, Winfree resided in Phoenix, Arizona, where he also founded the Eight Iron Golf Apparel Company to market his two patents, registered in 1995, for a “sport shirt or other garment provided with a load-distributing shoulder yoke for relieving the strain resulting from carrying a golf bag.”
Winfree was also the co-founder of Charting Your Own Course (CYOC), a professional networking organization for minority in-house attorneys.
Winfree left the private sector for public service again in 2010, serving as chief counsel at RITA from March 2010 to August 2011, as deputy administrator since June 2011, and as acting administrator from September 2011 to January 2012.
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