On Friday April 6, 2018, former Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx spoke to student members and guests of the USC Price School’s County of Los Angeles Executive Leadership Development Program as well as interested members of the general public. Moderated by Professor Roberto Suro, the discussion started with a look at Secretary Foxx’s time as a councilmember and mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, and concluded with insight from Foxx on how to be a strong public leader while he was Transportation Secretary. During his tenure as an elected official in local government, Foxx advocated for the creation of a streetcar line that would connect an underserved neighborhood to Charlotte’s central business district. His experience engaging the public and building support for this historic project (now known as the CityLYNX Gold Line) assisted him in his role as the 17^th Secretary of Transportation.

As Transportation Secretary in the Obama Administration, he worked to promote innovation and equity not just in individual projects, but also institutionally across the entire department. For example, his office started the Smart City Challenge competition, in which cities across the country were asked to develop ideas using data and new technologies to improve their transportation systems (for more information see https://www.transportation.gov/smartcity).

Having seen the digital divide in Charlotte, Foxx included a requirement that cities address how this technology will help underserved communities. As a black man growing up in a single-family household, he reminded the students to draw upon their life experiences as motivation to improve their communities. Additionally, he encouraged these student leaders to look for enthusiasm and innovative spirit in their employees and to encourage new ideas and creativity.

Foxx is now a Founder and Managing Partner of Related Infrastructure, an infrastructure-related investment group targeting technologies and services in the transportation sector.

About the Author:

Lauren Deaderick is a second year graduate student at the USC Price School of Public Policy pursuing dual degrees in Master of Planning and Master of Public Policy. She previously worked for the USDOT Volpe Center as a transportation planner and currently interning at the City of Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus. She can be reached at [email protected].