{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Stephanie Pollack | image = Stephanie Pollack.jpg | caption = Official portrait, 2021 | birth_date = | birth_place = East Hanover, New Jersey, U.S.<ref name="commonwealth">{{cite web |last1=Mohl |first1=Bruce |title=The evolution of Stephanie Pollack |url=https://commonwealthmagazine.org/politics/the-evolution-of-stephanie-pollack/ |website=CommonWealth Magazine |accessdate=June 6, 2020 |date=April 10, 2017}}</ref> | education = Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, BS)<br>Harvard University (JD) | spouse = Kenneth Snow | office = Deputy Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration | president = Joe Biden | party = Democrat | term_start = January 27, 2021<ref name="massdot-pr">{{cite web |title=Governor Baker Appoints Jamey Tesler Acting DOT Secretary Following MassDOT Secretary Stephanie Pollack's Appointment to the Federal Highway Administration {{!}} Mass.gov |url=https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-baker-appoints-jamey-tesler-acting-dot-secretary-following-massdot-secretary |website=www.mass.gov |language=en}}</ref> | term_end = February 1, 2023 | alongside = | 1blankname = | 1namedata = | predecessor = Mala Parker | successor = Andrew Rogers | office1 = Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation | governor1 = Charlie Baker | term_start1 = January 2015<ref name="mit">{{cite web |last1=Dunn |first1=Peter |title=Stephanie Pollack '82 |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2016/02/23/162013/stephanie-pollack-82/ |website=MIT Technology Review |accessdate=June 6, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> | term_end1 = January 26, 2021<ref name="massdot-pr" /> | predecessor1 = Richard A. Davey | successor1 = Jamey Tesler | office2 = | term_start2 = | term_end2 = | predecessor2 = | successor2 = | website = }}
'''Stephanie Pollack''' is an American government official who served as the deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. Pollack also served as acting administrator pending Senate confirmation of administrator nominee Shailen Bhatt. From 2015 to 2021 Pollack served as the secretary and CEO of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Pollack previously worked for the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), the Greater Boston Institute, BlueWave Strategies, and Northeastern University before starting her position at MassDOT. Pollack was the first female secretary of transportation in Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Aloisi |first1=James |title=Pollack is solid and stunning choice |url=https://commonwealthmagazine.org/transportation/pollack-solid-stunning-choice/ |website=CommonWealth Magazine |accessdate=June 16, 2020 |date=January 13, 2015 |quote=Stephanie will be the Commonwealth’s first female secretary of transportation and, while several women have held high positions within the secretariat, having a woman at the top of the organization will bring its own refreshing change to a massive agency that touches nearly everyone’s lives.}}</ref>
== Education == In 1982, Pollack received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and a Bachelor of Science in public policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She graduated ''magna cum laude'' with a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1985.<ref name="globe">{{cite web |last1=Stout |first1=Matt |last2=Staff |first2=Joshua |title=She's the master of explaining transportation disaster. And so far, Stephanie Pollack is not going anywhere - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/07/03/she-master-explaining-transportation-disaster-and-far-stephanie-pollack-not-going-anywhere/Kc5e2ysQI7SDqazWKTK1iP/story.html?event=event12 |website=BostonGlobe.com |accessdate=June 6, 2020}}</ref><ref name="mbta">{{cite web |title=Stephanie Pollack - People - MBTA |url=https://www.mbta.com/people/stephanie-pollack |website=www.mbta.com |accessdate=June 6, 2020}}</ref>
== Career == Pollack began work with the Conservation Law Foundation as a sophomore at MIT, doing policy research on coal-fired power plants. Pollack continued to work at the CLF after graduating from Harvard, rising to senior VP and acting president before departing in 2006.<ref name="mit" /> She also worked as a senior strategy consultant for groups including the Boston Transportation Department and Massport.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gov. Baker Names Northeastern's Pollack as Massachusetts Transportation Secretary |url=https://news.transportation.org/Pages/011614MassaDOT.aspx |website=news.transportation.org |accessdate=June 6, 2020}}</ref> When the Commonwealth of Massachusetts negotiated Big Dig mitigation with Pollack and ultimately claimed they could not afford her proposals, Pollack stated "They can't just say, 'We're broke.'"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://commonwealthmagazine.org/transportation/for-pollack-and-beaton-past-makes-for-awkward-prologue/|title=For Pollack and Beaton, past makes for awkward prologue|website=commonwealthmagazine.org|date=August 31, 2015}}</ref>
In 2004, Pollack took a position at Northeastern University as a senior research associate and senior director at the Center for Urban and Regional Policy and an adjunct professor for the Northeastern University School of Law.<ref>{{cite web |title=Stephanie Pollack - Professor of Practice in Law, Policy and Society |url=http://www.igert-id.neu.edu/people/profile.php?pid=43 |website=www.igert-id.neu.edu |accessdate=June 6, 2020}}</ref> During this time Pollack also served on the board of the Newton Transportation Advisory Committee and the MassDOT Transportation Advisory Committee.<ref>{{cite web |title=East Coast Greenway - Stephanie Pollack |url=https://www.greenway.org/people/stephanie-pollack |website=www.greenway.org |accessdate=June 6, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
thumb|Portrait of Pollack from her time as Massachusetts secretary of transportation
In January 2015, Pollack was chosen by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker to lead the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Transit and Equity Advocate Stephanie Pollack to Lead MassDOT |url=https://usa.streetsblog.org/2015/01/14/transit-and-equity-advocate-stephanie-pollack-to-lead-massdot/ |website=Streetsblog USA |accessdate=June 6, 2020 |date=January 14, 2015}}</ref> Pollack described her appointment as surprising, given fundamentally different policy views between Baker, a lifelong Republican, and her own liberal views as a Democrat.<ref name="governing">{{cite web |last1=Vock |first1=Daniel |title=Massachusetts' Unlikely Transit Team |url=https://www.governing.com/topics/transportation-infrastructure/gov-massachusetts-transit-stephanie-pollack.html |website=www.governing.com |date=March 23, 2016 |accessdate=June 6, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="commonwealth" />
In January 2021, it was announced that Pollack was appointed to serve as deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stout|first=Matt|title=State transportation chief Stephanie Pollack is leaving for a top Federal Highway Administration job - The Boston Globe|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/01/21/metro/state-transportation-boss-stephanie-pollack-leaving-work-federal-highway-administration/|access-date=2021-07-27|website=BostonGlobe.com|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Controversies == Pollack received criticism for lapses at Massachusetts Department of Transportation's Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) that led to a crash that killed seven people in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-08-04|title=RMV scandal: What we know about the failures within the registry before New Hampshire crash that killed 7|url=https://www.masslive.com/politics/2019/08/rmv-scandal-what-we-know-about-the-failures-within-the-registry-before-new-hampshire-crash-that-killed-7.html|access-date=2020-08-24|website=masslive|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-12-05|title=Rep. William Straus On Baker Administration's Claims About The RMV: 'The Information Was In Front Of Them'|url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2019/12/04/rep-william-straus-on-baker-administrations-claims-about-the-rmv-the-information-was-in-front-of-them|access-date=2020-08-24|website=News|language=en}}</ref> The RMV director and RMV consultant Fast Technologies LLC both claimed they had sent information about the RMV data issues to Pollack prior to the crash. A year later, Pollack acknowledged responsibility for the scandal and pledged to fix the issues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/18/metro/morally-do-i-feel-responsible-yes/|title='Morally, do I feel responsible... Yes.' - The Boston Globe|website=BostonGlobe.com}}</ref>
Pollack also received backlash for an expedited $100,000 private bathroom at MassDOT Headquarters in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wells|first=Jon|date=2018-02-20|title=State spends $100,000 for small bathroom in transportation building|url=https://www.wcvb.com/article/state-spends-dollar100000-for-small-bathroom-in-transportation-building/18242214|access-date=2021-07-27|website=WCVB|language=en}}</ref> The controversy has become known as MassDOT's "Golden Bathroom" or "Toilet-Gate".<ref>{{cite web |title=A Brief History of the $100,000 MassDOT Toilet |date=February 5, 2021 |url=https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2021/02/05/massdot-toilet-100000/}}</ref> Pollack initially refused to speak to the press about the bathroom, but later released a memo stating "We should have been more careful".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Anderson|first=Karen|date=2018-02-27|title='We should have been more careful' - MassDOT responds to $100,000 bathroom revelation|url=https://www.wcvb.com/article/we-should-have-been-more-careful-massdot-responds-to-dollar100000-bathroom-revelation/18745059|access-date=2021-07-27|website=WCVB|language=en}}</ref>
== Personal life == Pollack met her husband Kenneth Snow while at MIT.<ref name="mit" /> She has three children, all of whom are studying engineering.<ref name="mit" /> Pollack has lived in Newton, Massachusetts, for over 20 years and is a strong advocate of car free transportation.<ref name="newton">{{cite web |last1=Gotsis |first1=Chloe |title=Newton person of the week: Stephanie Pollack |url=https://www.wickedlocal.com/x248718901/Newton-person-of-the-week-Stephanie-Pollack |website=Wicked Local |accessdate=June 6, 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Pollack is an observant Orthodox Jew.<ref name="commonwealth" /> Pollack has been a Democrat since she first registered to vote at age 18.<ref name="commonwealth" />
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline}}
{{Charlie Baker cabinet}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollack, Stephanie}} Category:American Orthodox Jews Category:American public transportation executives Category:Massachusetts secretaries of transportation Category:Living people Category:MIT School of Engineering alumni Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:People from East Hanover, New Jersey Category:Northeastern University faculty Category:Massachusetts Democrats Category:Women in Massachusetts politics Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:United States Department of Transportation officials Category:American women academics Category:21st-century American women