R. Earl Lewis

R. Earl Lewis, Jr became MDOT Maryland Transit Administration’s (MTA) first Director of Zero Emission Bus Infrastructure in March of 2023. He has been with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) for over 22 years. He is proud to be a member of the MTA Team of Transit Professionals that successfully moved the MTA’s 7 Battery Electric Buses (BEBs) into revenue service in late January 2024. This is the beginning of a large-scale transition by MTA to a primarily Zero Emission Transit Bus fleet over the coming years and decades. Earl was part of the MTA Team that recently was awarded the APTA 2025 Bus Emergency Management Gold Award for its’ Battery Electric Bus First Responder Training Program.

After nearly a 20-year career working in the Gas and Electric Utility Industry, Earl first joined MDOT in May of 2003 where he began his transit career as the Manager of Fixed Guideway Rail Safety Oversight. He also was the first Program Manager for Federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants for MTA; a role he maintained for over a decade. He served as an Assistant Secretary for Administration at MDOT before moving to MTA in 2006. Earl spent nearly a decade between 2006 and 2016 at MDOT MTA. He served in several roles, including Deputy Administrator of Transit Operations and as the Deputy Chief of the Office of Safety, Environment and Emergency Preparedness.

After a decade at MTA, he was appointed as the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Deputy Secretary of Policy, Planning and Enterprise Services in January 2016 (MTA’s parent organization). For over 7 years he also chaired the State of Maryland’s Zero Emission Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council (ZEEVIC) and served on the National Capital Region
Transportation Planning Board. He often represented MDOT on the Maryland Commission on Climate Change and other State Councils and Commissions. He was named National Corporate Executive of the Year in 2018 by the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials and received the WTS Baltimore Chapter Ray LaHood Man of the Year Award in 2018 for his support of careers for women in transportation. He also was named the State Government MBE Executive of the Year in 2019 by the Maryland Washington Minority Contractor’s Association (MWMCA).