Former Administrator of The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to Join The Bloomberg School As A Distinguished Policy Scholar

Mark Rosekind, PhD, MS, MPhil, the fifteenth administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation joined the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as a Distinguished Policy Scholar on September 1.

The Distinguished Policy Scholar program in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health Policy and Management invites former public officials to share their policy experiences with Bloomberg School students, faculty, and others in the Johns Hopkins community, through teaching, advising, and other engagements. As a Distinguished Policy Scholar, Rosekind’s work will focus on transportation safety and policy, technology, driver performance, and public health. 

A world-renowned expert in transportation safety, Rosekind served as administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from December 2014 to January 2017. Prior to leading the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Rosekind served as a board member of the National Transportation Safety Board from June 2010 to December 2014. Rosekind will continue to serve as the Chief Safety Innovation Officer at Zoox, an autonomous vehicle and on-demand transportation service start-up company.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Rosekind as the incoming Distinguished Policy Scholar,” says Shannon Frattaroli, PhD, MPH, associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management and director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy. “He brings a wealth of experience to our transportation safety work in the Center and his appointment will accelerate our New Mobility Initiative, which focuses on advancing safe and equitable access to new mobility innovations.”

At the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Rosekind developed the first Federal Automated Vehicle Policy, a framework for manufacturers, developers, and other stakeholders in the safe design, development, testing, and deployment of automated vehicles. He also launched the Road to Zero Coalition, a group of national road safety experts and professional leaders who developed a comprehensive report that outlines strategies to end roadway deaths in the U.S. by 2050. The report, Road to Zero: A Plan to Eliminate Roadway Deaths, published in 2018, seeks to eliminate road fatalities through three major initiatives—Doubling Down on What Works, Accelerating Advanced Technology, and Prioritizing Safety—across the full range of stakeholders, including government entities, public health organizations, advocacy and community groups, businesses, and professional associations. 

“Dr. Rosekind’s scientific background, coupled with his extensive experience in policymaking at the highest levels of government, uniquely position him to do high impact work at Johns Hopkins as a Distinguished Policy Scholar,” says Colleen L. Barry, PhD, MPP, Fred and Julie Soper Professor and Chair of the Department. “Until recently, the impact of transportation on public health had been underappreciated. In his role as policy scholar, Dr. Rosekind will engage faculty and students on issues related to transportation and health, including injuries, air quality, and as a way to access essential goods and services.”

Rosekind also directed the Fatigue Countermeasures Program at the NASA Ames Research Center and was chief of the Aviation Operations Branch in the Flight Management and Human Factors Division from 1990 to 1997.

“Working with the tremendous faculty, students, and others at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health presents an incredible opportunity to advance safety initiatives, policy, and research that can improve people’s health and save lives,” said Rosekind. “This collaboration will build on the distinguished work produced at the School, with the intent to extend its reach and impact even further.”

Previous Distinguished Policy Scholars include Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, the nineteenth U.S. Surgeon General and previous Vice Admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Michael Botticelli, MEd, former director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, former Congressman Henry Waxman, JD, of California, and former Governor Ronnie Musgrove, JD, of Mississippi.

Rosekind earned his BA from Stanford University, his MS, MPhil, and PhD from Yale University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University Medical School.

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