Director of Planning and Modal Programs

Caroline Mays serves as director of Planning and Modal Programs. In this role, she is responsible for the management and control of the Aviation, Maritime, Public Transportation, Rail, and Transportation Planning and Programming divisions.

Mays is a recognized regional, state, and national leader experienced in multimodal transportation planning and programming, policy, and project development. She was responsible for TxDOT’s statewide multimodal freight, international trade, and statewide corridor planning programs and was instrumental in establishing the multimodal freight planning program, developing the first multimodal Freight Mobility Plan, and the Texas-Mexico Border Transportation Master Plan.

Previously, she worked for the Atlanta Regional Commission MPO where she created the freight planning program, managed the development of an award-winning Atlanta Regional Freight Mobility Plan, and oversaw the Intelligent Transportation System planning program. She also worked as a transit planner for Rockland County, New York.

Mays is a member of the Transportation Research Board, where she contributes to technical and research programs. She has been an active member of standing technical committees including the Committee on Agriculture and Food Transportation as chair, the Freight Systems Group, and the Intermodal Freight Transportation Committee. She has served as chair on three National Cooperative Research Program panels. Mays is the vice chair of AASHTO’s Special Committee on Freight and represents AASHTO and the United States on the World Road Association’s Freight Committee.

Mays is a member of the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Certified Planners. She received her bachelor’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Waterloo and a master’s degree in science in planning from the University of Toronto.