President Obama announced on Aug. 1 the nomination of Deborah Hersman to the position of chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a role she has been serving in since 2009.
Hersman is currently serving as acting chairman of the board until her nomination is confirmed by the Senate. If confirmed, she would serve another two-year term as board chairman through August 2015 and as a board member for another five-year term, through December 2018.
Hersman holds a commercial driver’s license with the school bus, passenger and air-brake endorsements. She has served as a member of the NTSB since 2004, when she was nominated by President Bush. Hersman was a senior professional staffer for the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation from 1999 to 2004 and served as staff director and senior legislative aide to Rep. Bob Wise (D-WV) from 1992 to 1999. Hersman contributed to the passage of the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999.
