NDOT director named VP of national organization

Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 | 3 p.m.

Nevada Department of Transportation Director Susan Martinovich claps during a press conference with Senator Harry Reid, with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and RTC of Southern Nevada General Manager Jacob Snow, holds a press conference about a proposed high-speed train that would go from Las Vegas to Southern California in downtown Las Vegas Thursday, July 2, 2009.

Nevada Department of Transportation Director Susan Martinovich was elected this week as vice president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

The association elected Martinovich and a new president, Mississippi Department of Transportation Executive Director Larry L. "Butch" Brown, at its annual meeting Monday in Palm Desert, Calif.

Martinovich is the first female vice president for the Washington, D.C.-based association, which represents highway and transportation departments in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

The president and vice president are elected by association members to serve one-year terms and may not be re-elected to consecutive terms. Brown served as the association’s vice president last year.

Gov. Jim Gibbons appointed Martinovich to direct the state’s transportation department in June 2003.

She joined the department as a rotation engineer more than 25 years ago and now oversees the department’s 1,700 employees and $674 million annual operating budget.

In the national association, Martinovich also serves as chairwoman of the Standing Committee on Research, vice chairwoman of the Standing Committee on Highway Traffic Safety and chairwoman of the Leadership and Engineering Management Committee, as well as a member of other committees.