NYSDOT OFFICIAL WINS NATIONAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

Honored For Contributions to Public Transit in New York State and Across Country

New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Commissioner Joan McDonald today announced that department Chief Financial Officer Ronald L. Epstein has received the President’s Transportation Award for Public Transportation from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The award recognizes individuals who have performed exemplary service fostering and advancing activities that benefit transportation nationwide or on a regional basis.

“This award is a great honor for Ron and the entire Department,” Commissioner McDonald said. “Ron Epstein works tirelessly on all of our transportation financing issues and his passion for public transportation is second to none. He is a strong advocate for investing in all transportation modes and a proven collaborator with our transit partners across the state and across the nation.”

Epstein was tapped as NYSDOT’s CFO in 2009, responsible for developing the Department’s annual budget, steering its financial policies, managing resource allocation and ensuring fiscal accountability.

Prior to that, Epstein directed NYSDOT’s Public Transportation Bureau. He was responsible for developing, analyzing, and coordinating state and federal public transportation policy initiatives, funding proposals, legislation, and regulations. 

On the national stage, Epstein has been a key voice in discussions about transportation funding and public transit initiatives. Through his involvement in transit policy development, he has helped ensure that virtually identical federal reauthorization proposals were sent to Congress from state transportation departments and transit authorities. He has contributed to several technical publications on transportation finance and transit infrastructure investment requirements.

Epstein was recently appointed to the Committee on Transportation Investments in Response to Economic Downturns for the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies (TRB) and has served on several other TRB panels. He is a member of the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Executive Committee and Board of Directors and is also the vice chairman of AASHTO’s Standing Committee on Public Transportation (SCOPT).

Epstein earned a B.A. from the State University of New York at Cortland and an M.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He lives in Glenmont with his wife Karin and their two children.

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