Dorval R. Carter Jr., currently the Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at the Chicago Transit Authority, has been appointed as Chief Counsel to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Mr. Carter has held the top administrative support position for the second largest transit system in the United States since 2000 and will now return to Washington, D.C. to serve as FTA’s Chief Legal Officer.
In addition to his current position, Mr. Carter served as Acting President of the CTA prior to the appointment in March 2009 of President Richard L. Rodriguez. He has been responsible for directing and coordinating the principal planning and operating functions of CTA’s $1 billion operating budget and $3 billion five-year capital improvement program through the following departments: Human Resources; Operations Planning; Safety, Security and Risk Compliance; Business Information Systems; Program Management Office; Labor Relations; Purchasing and Warehousing; Media Relations, Customer Information and Customer Service; Diversity and Business Compliance Programs (DBE).
“Dorval is well respected by the Board and his colleagues. He is a seasoned professional with extensive transit experience who understands the challenges faced by older public transit systems such as CTA,” said CTA President Richard L. Rodriguez. “He has fought on behalf of CTA through some very tough budgets and I know that tenacity will serve him well at the national level.”
“On a personal level, he has been a tremendous resource. I have greatly appreciated his counsel and support as I transitioned into my position at the CTA. Although he will be missed, I look forward to a continued strong working relationship with him and am glad that public transit will have another ally in Washington D.C.,” Rodriguez added.
Prior to joining the CTA in 2000, Mr. Carter spent 10 years at the Federal Transit Administration where he was Assistant Chief Counsel for Legislation and Regulation and managed the office responsible for planning, directing, and supporting the Administration’s legislative and regulatory programs.
Before moving to Washington, D.C., he was the Regional Counsel of the FTA Region 5 office in Chicago. He was responsible for all contractual, labor, environmental and litigation matters as well as legal policy guidance to the executive staff which administered $650 million annually in federal mass transportation grants for 160 grantees over a six-state region that included Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Carter previously served as a member of the FTA’s Procurement Council and is a Senior Fellow on the Council for Excellence in Government. He is also a member of the Transportation Research Board where he serves on the Group 4 Legal Council, the Committee on Transit and Intermodal Transportation Law, and the Transit Cooperative Research Program.
Carter began his career with the Chicago Transit Authority as a staff attorney where he held various positions including General Attorney and Deputy General Attorney for Corporate Law.
He received his Juris Doctor degree from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Economics from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
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