Massachusetts Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca will step down early next month, Gov. Maura Healey’s office announced Monday.
Fiandaca, who started the job on Jan. 30, will end her tenure on Sept. 11, an administration spokesperson told State House News Service. She will continue to serve in an advisory role until the end of the year.
Undersecretary for Transportation Monica Tibbits-Nutt will take over as acting transportation secretary, according to State House News Service.
In statements, officials did not cite a reason for Fiandaca’s decision. She is the first departure from Healey’s cabinet, State House News Service reported.
The Democratic governor said she wished Fiandaca “well in all her future endeavors.”
Fiandaca “came to our administration with over four decades of experience in transportation and a proven track record of getting things done. She hit the ground running and has delivered on many of our key transportation priorities,” Healey said in the statement issued by her office.
“We are confident that the Department of Transportation will be in good hands and well-positioned to continue this important work with Monica Tibbits-Nutt as Acting Secretary, as she has a deep knowledge of our transportation system and a commitment to public engagement and equity,” Healey added.
Tibbits-Nutt previously served on MassDOT’s Board of Directors, and worked as a senior official at the MBTA from 2015 to 2021, NBC-10 in Boston reported.
In a statement obtained by NBC-10, Fiandaca said she was “grateful for the trust Governor Healey placed in me that led to significant progress in virtually every facet of transportation in the Commonwealth.
“Together, we have hired new leadership at the MBTA, implemented the Work and Family Mobility Act, reached approximately the half-way point with the Sumner Tunnel Restoration Project and helped drivers ‘ditch the drive’, and led efforts to obtain more than 2 billion dollars in federal funding,” Fiandaca said, according to NBC-10.
