Polly Trottenberg
Polly Trottenberg was named Dean of NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service in 2025 where she also serves as Global Distinguished Professor.
A nationally recognized public sector leader and transportation expert, she has a three-decade career at all levels of government. Prior to joining Wagner, she served as the Deputy Secretary, under Pete Buttigieg, at the U.S. Department of Transportation, leading the implementation of the landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provided generational transportation investments, with a focus on mobility, accessibility, economic growth, roadway safety, resiliency and project delivery. In 2023, she also served as the Acting Administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Trottenberg served for seven years as New York City’s Transportation Commissioner, overseeing the safe and efficient operations of the City’s transportation network, implementing the landmark Vision Zero program and leading the NYCDOT through COVID-19. She served on the Board of the New York City MTA, the nation's largest transit agency, for five years.
Trottenberg served at USDOT in the Obama Administration and for Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Charles Schumer, and Barbara Boxer. Trottenberg also worked for the Aviation Departments at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Massport, and in the Massachusetts State Senate. She holds an M.P.P. from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. from Barnard College.
A nationally recognized public sector leader and transportation expert, she has a three-decade career at all levels of government. Prior to joining Wagner, she served as the Deputy Secretary, under Pete Buttigieg, at the U.S. Department of Transportation, leading the implementation of the landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provided generational transportation investments, with a focus on mobility, accessibility, economic growth, roadway safety, resiliency and project delivery. In 2023, she also served as the Acting Administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Trottenberg served for seven years as New York City’s Transportation Commissioner, overseeing the safe and efficient operations of the City’s transportation network, implementing the landmark Vision Zero program and leading the NYCDOT through COVID-19. She served on the Board of the New York City MTA, the nation's largest transit agency, for five years.
Trottenberg served at USDOT in the Obama Administration and for Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Charles Schumer, and Barbara Boxer. Trottenberg also worked for the Aviation Departments at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Massport, and in the Massachusetts State Senate. She holds an M.P.P. from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. from Barnard College.
