New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has nominated Priya Jain, an Indian American civil engineer and business professional with deep experience delivering complex programs globally, to be the next Commissioner of the Department of Transportation
“Jain will be critical in delivering faster commutes and safer roads; reduced barriers, delays, and costs in New Jersey’s permitting process; key infrastructure improvements ahead of the FIFA World Cup,” according to an announcement from the governor’s office.
“I am thrilled to announce Priya Jain as my nominee for Commissioner of the Department of Transportation,” said Sherrill. “A proud Morris County resident, she has advanced large-scale transportation and major projects across New Jersey and the globe and understands how to build new infrastructure from the ground up.”
“With Priya at the helm and Kris Kolluri overseeing both the Turnpike Authority and NJ TRANSIT, we are going to reimagine and streamline how transit is run in the state of New Jersey,” she said. “Together, we’ll cut through red tape and make sure we’re fixing our aging roads and bridges, reducing delays on NJ TRANSIT, expanding bus services to communities across the state, and continue progress on the Gateway Project.”
“I am honoured to be nominated as the next Commissioner of the Department of Transportation. New Jerseyans rely on our transit systems each and every day and as Commissioner,” said Jain. She plans to work closely with the Governor “in order to reduce commute times, make our roads and bridges safer, and improve access to transit all across the state. We will cut through red tape and permitting delays in order to finish what we started and build the Gateway Tunnel, expand transit access in South Jersey, and repair aging roads across the state.”
Sherrill “is taking a different approach to transportation in the Garden State and Priya is the perfect choice to help us reach those goals. Together, we’ll seek to reduce delays, improve communication with riders, fix aging roads and bridges, and speed permitting times to get new projects underway quickly. I look forward to working with Priya as we prepare for America’s 250th and FIFA World Cup, build the Gateway Tunnel, and improve access to mass transit options across the state,” said Kris Kolluri, CEO and President of NJ Transit and Executive Director of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.
Priya Jain most recently served as the President of Americas for Mace Consult, where she led strategic growth and operational excellence across the region. With a distinguished career spanning leadership roles in global engineering and consultancy firms, Jain brought deep expertise in business development, strategy, and organizational transformation.
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Prior to joining Mace, Jain served as Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer at Atlas, driving enterprise-wide growth initiatives. Before that, she spearheaded Atkins’ expansion in North America as Senior Vice President for Sales and Strategy.
She previously held senior leadership roles at CH2M, managing and delivering major client programs. Earlier in her career, she also worked as an engineer on original ARC Tunnel project, progressing early permitting, environmental reviews, and enabling infrastructure.
Beyond her corporate leadership, Jain has demonstrated inclusive management building high performing teams to drive infrastructure improvements and community development benefits.
She serves on the Advisory Board for Civil Engineering at City College of New York. She also previously served on the Foundation Board of the International Bridge, Tunnel & Turnpike Authority.
Jain earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and master’s degree in physics from Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University at Buffalo.