Nicole R. Nason

Nicole Nason
Dedicated Public Servant

Nicole R. Nason serves as the 20th Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) at the U.S. Department of Transportation. She brings two decades of executive experience to the role, having previously served in leadership posts at both the U.S. Departments of State and Treasury. Ms. Nason leads a Modal Administration of over 2700 employees that is responsible for the Nation’s $49 billion Federal-aid highway program. FHWA also manages over $400 million in research projects related to road safety, innovative construction materials, autonomous vehicles, and resiliency.

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Previously, Ms. Nason served as the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Administration at the Department of State where she was responsible for worldwide logistics infrastructure, emergency management readiness, language services, domestic real property and facilities, and overseeing more than $9 billion in global contracting activities. She also served simultaneously as the Acting Director of the Overseas Building Operations Bureau (OBO), which designs and constructs U.S. embassies, consulates, and residences around the world. In this role, she led the efforts for the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, Israel.

Ms. Nason previously served in other roles at the Department of Transportation, notably as the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Assistant Secretary for Government Affairs. She is a two-time gold medal winner, the Department’s highest honor.

Earlier in her career, she also worked as counsel for the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and Government Relations Counsel at MetLife, Inc. She founded the Nason Group consulting firm in 2009, representing such diverse clients as GE Transportation and FIRST, a global non-profit robotics competition.

A black belt in karate, Ms. Nason created Project Koe in 2014, empowering women and improving health and fitness using traditional Japanese martial arts techniques. Her TEDxTalk “Finding Your Inner Kiai” can be found on YouTube.

She previously served on the Board of Directors of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Shakespeare on the Sound. She is a member of the Board of Advisors for the School of Public Affairs at American University.

Ms. Nason earned a B.A. in political science at American University and a J.D. at Case Western Reserve University.