Roger Bohnert

Director of Outreach & Project Development
Build America Bureau, U.S. Department of Transportation
Washington, DC


Roger Bohnert brings a diverse transportation operations, project delivery and policy background to the Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau (the "Bureau"). He entered the Senior Executive Service in the Department of Transportation in 2003.

Roger is the Director of Outreach and Project Development in the new Build America Bureau within the Office of the Secretary of Transportation. The mission of the Bureau is to improve transportation infrastructure investment through increased technical assistance to project sponsors, expanded access to DOT credit programs and enhanced utilization of private capital in public-private partnerships.

As Director of Outreach and Project Development, Roger’s team serves as the single point of contact for project sponsors seeking to modernize or build transportation infrastructure. The Bureau serves as the single point of contact for states, municipalities and project sponsors. The Bureau helps sponsors utilize federal transportation expertise, access federal transportation credit programs and explore ways to secure private capital in public private partnerships.

Prior to his appointment to the Bureau, Roger served as the Deputy Associate Administrator of the Maritime Administration’s Office of Intermodal System Development, where he led initiatives to develop and fund port modernization projects. He was the architect of the new StrongPorts program, which helps the Nation’s ports meet their modernization and expansion needs. Roger was the agency lead for the TIGER discretionary grant program, which has allocated nearly $600 million to nearly fifty port and marine transportation projects since 2009. Roger also oversaw development of the America’s Marine Highway Program, which seeks to expand the use of our nation’s coastal and inland waters to transport freight and passengers more efficiently.

Prior to joining the Maritime Administration, Roger was the Acting Director of the Office of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response and Military Assistant to the Secretary of Transportation. While in the Coast Guard, he spent over thirteen years aboard Cutters, and sailed as Commanding Officer of two vessels. His last assignment in the Coast Guard was as the Military Assistant to the Secretary of Transportation. He was licensed as Master, vessels of unlimited tonnage, on all oceans.