Elaine L. Chao
US Secretary of Transportation; Former US Secretary of Labor (2001-2009)
Elaine Chao is US secretary of transportation. Her second cabinet position, she was US secretary of labor from 2001 to 2009, the first Asian American woman appointed to the president’s Cabinet in American history. Chao’s career also includes serving as president and CEO of United Way of America, director of the Peace Corps, deputy US secretary of transportation, chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, and deputy maritime administrator in the US Department of Transportation. She has also worked in the private sector as a transportation banker. An immigrant who arrived in the United States speaking no English, Chao received her citizenship at the age of 19.
Previously
A wide-ranging discussion of administration priorities for roads, bridges, and other complexities that challenge the nation’s infrastructure.