The Federal Transit Administration announced Wednesday that Veronica Vanterpool will serve as the organization's new deputy administrator.

In a Wednesday news release, the FTA announced that Vanterpool, who has worked as a senior adviser to the Biden administration since August 2021, will now serve as deputy administrator to continue promoting advocacy for climate change, equity, innovation, safety and workforce development within the administration. 

"Throughout her career, Veronica has been a stalwart advocate for public transportation and the riders who most depend on buses and rail for their economic livelihoods," FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez said, according to the news release. "As deputy administrator, I know she will continue to pursue new initiatives and advance existing priorities at the FTA during this era of unprecedented funding made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This is an exciting and critical time for our industry."

As part of her role as senior adviser, Vanterpool managed and provided executive direction on the agency's work toward goals outlined for the FTA by the Biden-Harris administration. She also provided supervision and advice for the development of FTA's first strategic plan to be published in more than 20 years, according to the news release.

Vanterpool has a history of working for transit authorities, spending 15 years in transportation leadership roles in the New York metro region before serving as the first chief innovation officer at Delaware Transit Corporation, and working for the U.S. Department of Transportation.