Yassmin Gramian Will Serve as PennDOT Chief, Gov. Tom Wolf Says
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Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced that Yassmin Gramian will serve as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
Gramian currently is executive deputy secretary, serving as chief operating officer and overseeing five deputy secretaries. She has held several roles in the private sector that involved overseeing transportation and infrastructure projects.
.@GovernorTomWolf announced today his intention to nominate @PennDOTNews Executive Deputy Secretary Yassmin Gramian, P.E., to serve as secretary of the department.https://t.co/IEQd5AKLnI
— Office of the Governor (@GovernorsOffice) November 27, 2019
“Yassmin Gramian has proven herself a capable leader and knowledgeable infrastructure planner in her more than 30 years of experience as a project engineer,” Wolf said Nov. 27. “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.”
Gramian was involved in projects such as the Roosevelt Boulevard Multimodal Corridor Program in Philadelphia, terminal renovation at Philadelphia International Airport, track rehabilitation on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and improvements to Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor, which runs from Philadelphia to Harrisburg.
Gramian
Prior to joining PennDOT, Gramian was senior vice president overseeing Mid-Atlantic business development at WSP USA. An engineer by training, Gramian earned her degrees from the University of Michigan and Dartmouth College.
Gramian will succeed PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards, who will become general manager of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in January. Richards is replacing Jeffrey Knueppel, whose contract with SEPTA will terminate at the end of the year.
“Leslie Richards’ leadership has been instrumental in getting Pennsylvania back on the right track after years of infrastructure disinvestment,” Wolf said. “Her strategy-based infrastructure investments and use of technology have allowed for improvements to the commonwealth’s 40,000 miles of roads that will benefit Pennsylvanians for years to come.”
Gramian has served on the boards of the Port of Philadelphia, the American Council of Engineering Companies of Pennsylvania and the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association’s policy committee. She will assume the role of acting secretary Dec. 6.
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