Toks Omishakin
Toks Omishakin | |
|---|---|
| File:Adetokunbo Omishakin.jpg | |
| 33rd Director of California Department of Transportation | |
| Assumed office September 2, 2019 | |
| Governor | Gavin Newsom |
| Deputy | James Davis |
| Preceded by | Bob Franzoia |
| Deputy Commissioner of Tennessee Department of Transportation | |
| In office October 10, 2011 – September 1, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Ed Cole |
| Succeeded by | Preston Elliott |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Adetokunbo Omishakin July 24, 1976 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Julie Eledah |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Mississippi Valley State University (BA) Jackson State University (MA) |
Adetokunbo "Toks" Omishakin (born July 24, 1976) is an American government official currently serving as as California’s 4th Secretary[1] of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). He was appointed by California Governor Gavin Newsom to the role in February 2022.[2]. He previously serving as Director of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). He was appointed by California Governor Gavin Newsom on September 2, 2019[3]. He also previously served as Deputy Commissioner at the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and has served in senior transportation roles for multiple administrations.
Early Life
Omishakin was born in Knoxville, Tennessee to Nigerian immigrant parents. He was named after Adetokunbo Ademola, an attorney who later became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Along with three siblings, he lived in Ibadan and attended high school at Government College, Ibadan before moving back to America to complete high school.
Career
California
As Secretary of Transportation, he has oversight of 8 State Departments, Boards, and Commissions with more than 42,000 people and budgets that exceed $25 billion annually. The organizations include the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the California Department of Transportation, the California Highway Patrol, the Board of Pilot and Commissioners, the California Transportation Commission, the Department of Motor Vehicle Board, and California High-Speed Rail. He established 4 areas as key transportation priorities for the state—including Climate Action, Safety, Economic Prosperity, and Equity.
As Director of Caltrans where he served as chief executive, he managed a $17.5 billion budget and more than 22,000 employees that oversee 50,000 lane miles of highways, maintain more than 20,000 bridges, provides permitting of more than 250 public-use airports, fund 3 of Amtrak’s busiest intercity rail services in the country and provides transit support to more than 400 local and regional transit agencies. He and the executive leadership team in 2020 established Safety, Equity, and Climate Action as the foundational principles to guide all of the work at Caltrans.
Tennessee
He previously served as Deputy Commissioner at the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and has served in senior transportation roles for multiple administrations. As Deputy Commissioner he oversaw four departments including Planning, Environmental Services, Multimodal Division, and Freight and Logistics. He is established new Multimodal Policies for Complete streets and created new funding programs for multimodal projects and public transit across the state.
Prior to that, he served as Director of Healthy Living Initiatives in the Nashville Mayor’s Office. In that capacity, he led the development of Metro Nashville’s Complete Streets Policy and helped establish a more balanced approach to transportation planning and design for the city. This included spearheading the creation of two bicycle-sharing programs.
Omishakin is known[4] as a longstanding proponent of active transportation[5], an approach to transportation planning that prioritizes walkability, accessibility and cycling in all aspects of design. He has also identified highway traffic safety as a key priority throughout his career.
He is Chair of the Council on Active Transportation[6] for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), as well as a member of the Board of Directors for America Walks, a nonprofit organization advancing walkability in communities nationwide.
He attended Mississippi Valley State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Technology and later a Master of Arts degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Jackson State University before entering the public policy workforce. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Engineering Management from the University of Tennessee.
Personal Life
Omishakin married Julie Eledah, a nurse practitioner, in 2004 and they have two children.
References[edit]
- ↑ Garner, Meg. "Key TDOT official to lead California's transportation department".
- ↑ Garner, Meg. "Key TDOT official to lead California's transportation department". www.bizjournals.com. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- ↑ Garner, Meg. "Key TDOT official to lead California's transportation department". www.bizjournals.com. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- ↑ Curry, Melanie (4 September 2019). "Caltrans' New Director: Toks Omishakin Has Credentials in Active Transportation". Streetsblog California. StreetsBlog California. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- ↑ Cho, Aileen. "Ten Minutes With Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin". Engineering News-Record. BNP Media. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- ↑ "Omishakin, Anderson Kelliher Tapped to Chair AASHTO Committees". AASHTO Journal. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). 20 December 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
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