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Tag: Department of Rail and Public Transportation

Va. appoints new DRPT director

Tiffany Robinson is the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s new director, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday.

Robinson succeeds Zach Trogdon, who has served as acting director since Jennifer DeBruhl retired July 1.

Robinson has almost 15 years of experience in state and local government, according to a DRPT news release issued Tuesday. She was most recently deputy chief of staff in Youngkin’s office, a role she has held since September 2023.

“I am very excited to welcome Tiffany Robinson to lead DRPT,” W. Sheppard Miller III, the state’s secretary of transportation, said in a statement. “Her extensive background in public policy, strategic operations and community development fully equip her to advance Virginia’s rail and public transportation goals.”

Before joining Virginia state government, Robinson was secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, where she managed more than 1,800 employees and a $1.7 billion operating budget. Robinson previously served as deputy chief of staff in the Maryland’s governor’s office under former Gov. Larry Hogan, and before that as assistant secretary in the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.

“I am honored to join the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation and am excited to lead such an important agency that plays a vital role in connecting communities and enhancing mobility across the commonwealth,” Robinson said in a statement.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Youngkin names director of rail, public transit agency

Gov. Glenn Youngkin has appointed Jennifer DeBruhl to lead the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation permanently. She has been leading the agency on an interim basis since March.

DeBruhl, who succeeds former DRPT director Jennifer Mitchell, is on the Commonwealth Transportation Board, serves as chair of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority Board and sits on several other transportation boards around Virginia. She joined DRPT in 2016 as chief of public transportation and before that spent more than 20 years at the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

“I’m honored to be the next director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation as the agency marks its 30th anniversary,” DeBruhl said. “While the transit and rail industry has been challenged by COVID-19, Virginia has an opportunity to think about the best ways to serve residents moving forward, and I’m eager to work with our partners to find ways to improve. We’ll be focusing on metrics, evaluation, innovation and accountability to provide useful services to the commonwealth.”

DeBruhl went to Virginia Commonwealth University and there she earned a bachelor’s degree in urban studies, a master’s in urban and regional planning, and a certificate in public management.