Rodney Slater
Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor
James Lee Witt Associates

Rodney E. Slater is currently a partner in the premier public policy law firm, Patton Boggs LLP, with a focus on promoting a more secure, environmentally sound, and sustainable global transportation infrastructure. Patton Boggs is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in Northern Virginia, Anchorage, Dallas, Denver and Doha.
 
He came to Patton Boggs after serving in the cabinet of President William J. Clinton, as U.S. Secretary of Transportation since 1997.
 
During his tenure as Transportation Secretary, Mr. Slater championed and received bipartisan congressional support for the passage of several historic legislative initiatives, including the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), which guaranteed a record $200 billion in surface transportation investment through 2003, and the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21), which provides a record $46 billion to provide safety and security of the nation’s aviation system. Under his leadership, the federal transportation budget doubled and in the department’s “best-in-government” strategic and performance plans, the scope and definition of transportation was expanded to include a focus on safety, mobility and access, economic development and trade, the environment and national security. In addition, Slater provided his expertise to countries around the world focusing on safety and security issues for improving global transportation and critical infrastructure. During his tenure, the U.S. negotiated nearly 40 “Open Skies” agreements with countries around the world, far expanding the U.S.’s reach in the aviation community and promoting U.S. carrier access to foreign markets and competition in international markets. He built multilateral relations with European, African, Asian and Latin American governments, creating opportunities for U.S. businesses to expand globally. He helped create a world-class transportation system in the U.S. for aviation, maritime, highway and rail and transit and held the first-ever International Transportation Symposium attended by more than 90 countries.
 
During President Clinton’s first term, Slater was named Federal Highway Administrator in the U.S. Department of Transportation, where, as the agency’s first African-American Administrator in its century-long history, he oversaw the development of an innovative financing program that resulted in hundreds of transportation projects being completed years ahead of schedule with greater cost efficiencies.
 
Prior to his federal service, Slater held several prominent positions in state government. Upon graduation from law school, he became an assistant Attorney General of Arkansas, and remained in that position until 1982. In 1983, then Governor Clinton tapped Slater to handle economic and community affairs areas for the Governor, and then later as special assistant for community and minority affairs. In 1987, Clinton named Slater to the Arkansas Highway Commission, where he became chairman in 1992. During this time, Slater served as director of government affairs for Arkansas State University.
 
He attended Eastern Michigan University on a scholarship, where he was captain of the football team and a star of Eastern Michigan’s national championship forensics team, graduating in 1977. He went on to attend the University of Arkansas School of Law, earning a J.D. degree in 1980.
 
Slater is a renowned public speaker on a multitude of issues, including global transportation and critical infrastructure, international transportation negotiations and labor-management issues for aviation, transit, rail, maritime and highway issues.
 
Slater and his wife, Cassandra Wilkins, have a daughter, Bridgette Josette.