Dorval R. Carter, Jr.
Dorval Carter leads the nation’s second-largest transit agency and is co-chair of the Equity in Infrastructure Project.
President, Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago, IL
Dorval R. Carter, Jr. is President of the Chicago Transit Authority, one of the largest public transportation systems in the US, serving the City of Chicago and 35 surrounding suburbs. Appointed as CTA President in 2015, he has led the way for unprecedented investment in CTA: more than $8B of projects completed, begun or announced, including the largest construction project in CTA history—the Red and Purple Modernization—the largest railcar order in the agency’s history, and the reconstruction/rehabilitation of more than 40 rail stations.
Carter is co-chair of the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP), which focuses on utilizing infrastructure investments to create more opportunities for Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBS), aiming to build generational wealth and reduce racial wealth gaps.
Prior to becoming CTA President, Carter served as the Acting Chief of Staff to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, managing a department with more than 55,000 employees and a $70 billion budget that oversees air, maritime and surface transportation.
Prior to that, Carter served as Acting Deputy Administrator for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as well as FTA’s Chief Counsel, where he provided support to the Department of Transportation’s General Counsel on legal matters concerning the federal transit program.
In 2022, Carter was elected chair of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). He currently serves as APTA’s Immediate Past Chair.
Carter has received numerous awards and honors, including APTA’s 2021 Outstanding Public Transportation Manager Award, the same year that CTA was recognized with the Outstanding Public Transportation System Award—two of the highest honors in the North American public transportation industry. Carter was also recognized with the 2021 Thomas B. Deen Distinguished Lectureship Award from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Transportation Research Board (TRB). In 2019, he was presented with the 2019 Motorola Foundation Excellence in Public Service Award from the Civic Federation of Chicago.
A graduate of Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he is Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Carter also holds a Juris Doctor degree from Howard University School of Law. He is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., as well as the Illinois and Federal bar associations.