
FTA 13-02
Thursday, May 9, 2002
Contact: Bruce Frame
Tel.: (202) 366-4319
Regional Federal Transit Administrator Named For Pacific Northwest
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Richard F. Krochalis today was appointed regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for Region 10, which includes the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska. U.S. Federal Transit Administrator Jennifer Dorn announced the appointment.
“Rick has an outstanding record of accomplishment in the complex areas of planning and construction management for a number of public service agencies,” Administrator Dorn said. “His leadership and his ability to solve problems and to improve public transportation will be a real asset in the region and to FTA’s senior management team.”
Mr. Krochalis served for the past 10 years as director of design, construction and land use for the city of Seattle. In that position, he improved the performance of Seattle’s primary regulatory agency, which is responsible for land use and construction permitting, environmental review and enforcement activities. Under his direction, the agency refined its processes to use new technologies and techniques to serve its customers better and faster and provide quality oversight and service for Seattle’s fast-growing urban development.
From 1972 until 1992, Mr. Krochalis served as an officer in the U.S. Navy in a series of facilities construction and management positions, including program manager for the Navy homeport at Everett, WA, and planning and real estate director for the Navy’s West Coast operations. He holds a master’s degree from Harvard University in city and regional planning and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in environmental systems engineering. Mr. Krochalis is a past President of the Washington State City Planning Directors Association and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and the Seattle District Council of the Urban Land Institute.
As FTA’s regional administrator, Mr. Krochalis will lead a Seattle-based regional staff responsible for the implementation and oversight of grants and the provision of technical and financial assistance to local and state public transportation provider agencies in the four-state region. The Federal Transit Administration is the agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation that assists communities, large and small, to provide public transportation services that meet locally determined mobility needs.
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