Following last week’s abrupt departure of Baltimore’s transportation director, Mayor Brandon M. Scott is naming her replacement.
Scott on Monday announced he plans to appoint Veronica P. McBeth to be the new director of the Baltimore City Department of Transportation. McBeth, who currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation, is set to begin in her new role on Jan. 13, 2025.
“At this moment in our city’s history we need a transportation leader that will transform the operations of the department, bring new, inventive ideas that will modernize our transportation infrastructure and strengthen the delivery of the department’s core services – Veronica P. McBeth is that leader,” Scott said in a statement. “With a strong knowledge of transportation policy, experience leading transportation initiatives at all levels of government, including right here at the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, and her intentional commitment and focus on equity, Veronica will lead the department into the future.”
Before her position with the U.S. Department of Transportation, McBeth served as Senior Advisor at the Federal Transit Administration, Transit Bureau Chief at the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, Government Affairs Manager at the Maryland Transit Administration, and as a transportation planner in the private sector.
McBeth earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and her master’s of science in environmental law from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law.
“I am excited about this opportunity to come home and take all the best practices from around the country and make safe and impactful changes that my fellow Baltimoreans can see and experience daily. I want all residents to have a safe and reliable experience using our city’s transportation system where they live, work, worship, and play” McBeth said in a statement. “Baltimore is a top tier city that needs to show the capabilities of our transportation resources by proper planning, investment, funding, and execution. The infusion of money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was monumental and it’s my charge as Director to ensure that we have infrastructure investments that serve generations to come. I welcome this challenge and it is good to be home.”
Scott thanked Veobia Akilo, who was named the interim director of the Baltimore City Department of Transportation immediately after the departure of former director Corren Johnson last week. Akilo, the department’s chief administrative officer, will continue to lead in the interim until McBeth begins her new role next month.
