Jessica Mathew

Jessica Mathew is currently a Senior Advisor for Special Projects and Initiatives at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). In this role, she is advancing several high priority policy initiatives including expanding climate adaptation and mitigation planning, containing capital project costs, and improving bus service within New York City. In addition, she is supporting several megaprojects including Penn Station Reconstruction and the Interborough Express.

Prior to this, she was the Assistant Commissioner for Strategic Initiatives at the New York City Department of Design and Construction where she led the development and implementation of DDC’s Strategic Blueprint for Construction Excellence, a comprehensive plan to streamline capital project delivery. She had leading roles in the delivery of the City’s coastal resiliency projects and creation of a smaller, safer, and fairer criminal justice system. She was also instrumental to the City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic including leading forward planning for the city’s vaccination efforts as part of the interagency Vaccine Command Center.

Previously, she planned capital investments at the NYC Department of City Planning; partnering with other City agencies to develop NYC’s Ten-Year Capital Strategy at the citywide scale and managing the $1 billion Neighborhood Development Fund dedicated to capital improvements in neighborhoods undergoing comprehensive zoning and land use changes. Prior to that, she was a Leadership Fellow and Special Assistant to the Executive Director at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Jessica holds graduate degrees in urban planning from Columbia University and mechanical engineering from Drexel University.