Obama nominates Miller as STB member

President Barack Obama yesterday nominated Debra Miller as a Surface Transportation Board (STB) member to serve a term that would expire on Dec. 31, 2017. If her appointment is confirmed by the Senate, Miller would replace Commissioner Francis Mulvey, whose term has expired.

Miller is a senior associate at transportation consulting firm Cambridge Systematics Inc. The company's clients include the Federal Transit Administration, Amtrak, MTA Long Island Rail Road, CSX Corp., Norfolk Southern Corp. and 44 state transportation agencies.

A Democrat, she previously served as secretary of transportation for Kansas from 2003 to 2012, the state's first female and longest-serving transportation secretary. Prior to that, Miller was director of planning and development at the Kansas Department of Transportation and a planner at HNTB Infrastructure Solutions.

The STB's three members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Each member serves a five-year term.