Jennifer Mitchell
Executive Vice President, Strategy & Planning
Jennifer is Executive Vice President, Strategy & Planning. She joined Amtrak in December 2024 and is responsible for setting the long-term strategic vision for the company, which includes a goal to double ridership by 2040 by attracting more riders and serving new communities. Her portfolio includes the Planning, Infrastructure Access, State Partner, Network Development and Host Railroad functions.
Jennifer is an accomplished transportation industry leader whose three-decade career has spanned the private and public sectors. She has extensive experience in successfully negotiating complex agreements with public and private sector partners and developing plans for major capital projects.
From April 2022 through November 2024, she served as deputy administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), providing executive leadership and direction on agency operations and policy matters, including safety and rail development activities. Jennifer also oversaw implementation of the FRA’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provisions, including the development of new discretionary funding programs and railroad development activities.
Prior to moving to the FRA, Jennifer served as director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) for eight years. She led a team that developed the groundbreaking Transforming Rail in Virginia program, a public-private partnership to expand passenger rail capacity in the fast-growing Richmond-Washington corridor over a decade. She also advanced planning and construction of a new Long Bridge across the Potomac River to relieve a critical freight and passenger rail bottleneck.
Jennifer was instrumental in efforts at DRPT to secure dedicated regional funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, establish the Metro Safety Commission through an interstate compact, create the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) and develop Virginia’s SmartScale multimodal transportation funding program.
Earlier in her career, Jennifer held positions where she developed financial plans and funding strategies for major capital projects with several U.S. transportation agencies. She also worked with the DRPT and Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on the financial planning and project development activities to advance the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project in Northern Virginia.
Jennifer has served on various boards and commissions, including the VPRA, American Public Transportation Association and the Women’s Transportation Seminar International.
Jennifer holds a Bachelor of City Planning from the University of Virginia and a Master of Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Executive Vice President, Strategy & Planning
Jennifer is Executive Vice President, Strategy & Planning. She joined Amtrak in December 2024 and is responsible for setting the long-term strategic vision for the company, which includes a goal to double ridership by 2040 by attracting more riders and serving new communities. Her portfolio includes the Planning, Infrastructure Access, State Partner, Network Development and Host Railroad functions.
Jennifer is an accomplished transportation industry leader whose three-decade career has spanned the private and public sectors. She has extensive experience in successfully negotiating complex agreements with public and private sector partners and developing plans for major capital projects.
From April 2022 through November 2024, she served as deputy administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), providing executive leadership and direction on agency operations and policy matters, including safety and rail development activities. Jennifer also oversaw implementation of the FRA’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provisions, including the development of new discretionary funding programs and railroad development activities.
Prior to moving to the FRA, Jennifer served as director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) for eight years. She led a team that developed the groundbreaking Transforming Rail in Virginia program, a public-private partnership to expand passenger rail capacity in the fast-growing Richmond-Washington corridor over a decade. She also advanced planning and construction of a new Long Bridge across the Potomac River to relieve a critical freight and passenger rail bottleneck.
Jennifer was instrumental in efforts at DRPT to secure dedicated regional funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, establish the Metro Safety Commission through an interstate compact, create the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) and develop Virginia’s SmartScale multimodal transportation funding program.
Earlier in her career, Jennifer held positions where she developed financial plans and funding strategies for major capital projects with several U.S. transportation agencies. She also worked with the DRPT and Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on the financial planning and project development activities to advance the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project in Northern Virginia.
Jennifer has served on various boards and commissions, including the VPRA, American Public Transportation Association and the Women’s Transportation Seminar International.
Jennifer holds a Bachelor of City Planning from the University of Virginia and a Master of Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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