Gina Fiandaca, Boston's former transportation commissioner, will join Maura Healey's Cabinet next month as transportation secretary, a post that will put her in charge of helping to turn around the MBTA and address eastern Massachusetts' notorious traffic congestion problems.
Fiandaca was commissioner from 2015 until 2019 and since then has worked as assistant city manager of Austin, Texas.
Fiandaca will be joined atop the key secretariat by undersecretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt, executive director of the 128 Business Council and a former member of both the MassDOT Board and the MBTA Board.
According to Healey's transition team, Fiandaca worked as a transportation clerk for the City of Boston while in college and became director of the city's Office of the Parking Clerk before serving as commissioner during former Mayor Martin Walsh's administration.
Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.
In Texas, Fiandaca manages infrastructure and mobility departments, including Austin Transportation, that includes nearly 3,000 employees and a budget of more than $1 billion. Healey's team credited Fiandaca with securing passage of Project Connect, which will build a light rail system in Austin.
