Jeff, Gloria
Gloria Jeff
Gloria Jeff is an advocate for minorities in the environmental and engineering fields. As an engineer and urban planner, Jeff brings an interdisciplinary approach to her work. She is the Livability Director at the Minnesota Department of Transportation, focusing on the agency’s technical aspects and the environmental and social side. She serves on committees and studies at organizations, including her alma mater, the University of Michigan, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Transportation Research Board. Jeff’s leadership has helped the Minnesota Department of Transportation receive awards such as the “Employer of the Year” award in 2004.
Born in 1952, Gloria Jeff and her younger brother grew up in Detroit, Michigan, with parents Harietta Jeff, a former Registered Nurse, and D. Lee Jeff, a former television repair technician. As a preteen, she witnessed her godparents being displaced from their community by the government due to an urban renewal project, which sparked her interest in the environmental field.
Following high school, Jeff enrolled at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor’s School of Engineering, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1974. Following her undergraduate degree, she enrolled in the university’s master’s program, concentrating in Civil Engineering and Urban Planning. She completed her Master of Urban Planning, Transportation Planning, and Planning Administration in 1976. For Jeff, studying engineering was supplementary to the career she wanted to pursue in urban planning.
After graduating, Jeff worked as a Junior Engineer for the Detroit Board of Water and Sewage. She was responsible for the design of pump stations and general engineering for water and sewage infrastructure. This position served as her first real introduction to work in the environmental field. Still, Jeff’s career progressed due to her ongoing interest and passion in communities and how they are shaped.
In 1997, Jeff joined the Federal Highway Administration as the Deputy Administrator, overseeing operations, policy development, implementation, and management of a 3,400-person workforce. In addition, she helped manage the agency’s $27 billion budget. Upon leaving the Federal Highway Administration in 2000, Jeff was the Vice President of Parsons Brinckerhoff, where she led the transportation programs for the Atlantic District of the organization.
In 2003, Jeff became the Director of the Michigan Department of Transportation. In this role, she was responsible for all transportation in Michigan, including operation and construction. She was also responsible for the compliance and shaping of environmental regulations. Her leadership of the agency earned her the Michigan Department of Transportation “Employer of the Year” and a “Diversity Leadership Award” in 2004. She expanded the department’s focus beyond highways to include the transportation needs of businesses, residents, and visitors.
In 2006, Jeff left the Michigan Department of Transportation, and since 2008, Jeff has been a Principal Consultant in the Transportation Division of Calloway-Consulting LLC. Jeff provides policy, advice, and white paper preparation on transportation-related topics for the Washington, D.C.– based agency.
In 2010, she became the Associate Director of Transportation Operations Administration at the District of Columbia Department of Transportation. In 2013, she was briefly the Co-Director of the Summer Transportation Institute at South Carolina State University, where she was responsible for the day-to-day operations, including the development and facilitation of curriculum and field trips. After her summer with the institute, Jeff served as the Principal Planner at the Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization from 2013 to 2018. She was the project manager for a regional vanpool study and a long-range transportation plan.
In 2018, Jeff joined the Minnesota Department of Transportation. She is the Livability Director and Office Director of Rethinking I-94 at the Minnesota Department of Transportation. At the organization, she provides strategic leadership, serves as a liaison between elected and appointed officials, and oversees transportation plans.
Jeff feels she is blessed to be in a career of her choice, not one that she was forced to take. So far, her career highlight is her current position. She has the opportunity to shape statewide policy and delivery of statewide services in a manner that reflects the importance of moving people from point A to B in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way. Jeff says that her most significant achievement was negotiating technical assistance and technology transfer between the United States Department of Transportation and the Ministry of Transport in the Republic of South Africa. Despite all her success and meaningful contributions to the transportation sector, Jeff feels the best is still to come for her career.
Jeff credits her mentors with helping her to advance in her career. One of these was her Sunday school teacher, also an engineer. He helped her understand the impact engineering has on people’s everyday lives. Her mentors have provided her with opportunities and helped her understand the dynamics of public policy and organizations.
As a recipient of impactful mentoring and support, Jeff knows how important it is to have someone to go to for guidance. She seeks to help other people of color in her places of employment by assisting them in understanding organizational hierarchies and decision-making processes. In every position Jeff has held, she has mentored underrepresented young professionals and makes it a point to support diversity efforts wherever possible. Since 1980, Jeff has supported the recruitment and retention of minority engineering students at the University of Michigan. In addition to this, Jeff is involved in diversity studies and oversight committees at the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Planning Association, the Transportation Research Board, the Federal Highway Association, and the Michigan Department of Transportation.
For minorities considering a career in the environmental field, Jeff offers encouragement, stating that “it is essential that they become involved. Those that make decisions in our urban and rural environments need to reflect the experiences and backgrounds of those who will be affected” (2005).
Minnesota Department of Transporation. (n.d.). Livability Initiative. https://dot.state.mn.us/livability/index.html
Taylor, Dorceta (Ed.). 2005. The Paths We Thread: Profiles of the Careers of Minority Environmental Professionals. Minority Environmental Leadership Development Initiative, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.