Brian W. Ness is a life-long transportation professional. He worked for the Michigan Department of Transportation for 30 years before becoming the director of the Idaho Transportation Department in 2009. Director Ness is President of the American Road and Transportation Builder’s Association (ARTBA) Transportation Public Officials Division. He is a member of the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) Executive Committee and also serves on their Subcommittee on Planning and Policy Review (SPPR). He is a member of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) Board of Directors, the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (WASHTO) Board of Directors, and the Idaho Rural Partnership’s Board of Directors. He is a member of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region Idaho Council, and was appointed by the Governor to chair the Idaho Autonomous and Connected Vehicle Testing and Deployment Committee. He chaired the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Special Committee on Transportation Security and Emergency Management until August 2017 and was President of the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in 2015. In this position, he served as a regional representative to AASHTO’s Executive Committee. In addition, Director Ness sponsored the WASHTO Highway Transport Committee, and was the creator and sponsor of WASHTO’s Emerging Leaders Program. Director Ness is a nationally recognized authority on organizational realignment and speaks regularly at national conferences for both the public and private sectors about how to structure a more effective and accountable state government.