HARRISBURG, PA—Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced last week he intends to officially nominate current Pennsylvania Department of Transportation executive deputy secretary Yassmin Gramian, P.E., to serve as secretary of the department.

If confirmed, Gramian will replace outgoing PennDOT secretary Leslie S. Richards, who will become general manager of SEPTA in January. Gramian will assume the role of acting PennDOT secretary effective Friday, Dec. 6, 2019.

Gramian joined PennDOT in June to serve as executive deputy secretary. She has more than 30 years of experience in operations, design and management of transportation infrastructure systems, including highway, tolling, bridge and railroad projects. She brings to her role at PennDOT strong working relationships with transportation authorities and governments across the Pennsylvania region, including the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Philadelphia International Airport, Delaware River Port Authority, SEPTA, AMTRAK and the City of Philadelphia.

She was most recently a senior vice president and business development director for international engineering firm WSP USA. She was responsible for growth of the company's transportation and infrastructure sector in the Northeast Region.

She previously served as senior vice president for a global architecture, civil engineering and construction management firm, with responsibility for operations across Pennsylvania—namely in Philadelphia, King of Prussia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.

In her career, she was responsible for several signature projects, including Philadelphia's Roosevelt Boulevard Multi-modal Corridor Program, SEPTA Subway Concourse Improvement Project, Amtrak's Keystone Corridor Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, PATCO Ben Franklin Bridge Track Rehabilitation, PennDOT's Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation Project's US-15 Susquehanna River Bridge and Philadelphia Airport Terminal F Modernization.

Her work in Pennsylvania has resulted in numerous awards, including 2013 Best Project award by the Engineering News-Record Mid-Atlantic and multiple awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Pennsylvania.

In her current role as PennDOT executive deputy secretary, she functions as the chief operating officer for the department and chief of staff to the secretary. She oversees five deputy secretaries and the development and implementation of strategies and policies in support of the secretary and Governor Wolf.

"Yassmin Gramian has proven herself a capable leader and knowledgeable infrastructure planner in her more than 30 years of experience as a project engineer," said Gov. Wolf. "Her experience working in PennDOT will allow for a seamless transition of leadership over a department that affects the daily life of millions of Pennsylvanians."

Instant Insights /

Governor Nominates Gramian as PennDOT Secretary

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