Idaho Transporation Board

Jerry Whitehead, Chairman, Boise

• Native Idahoan
• Established Western Trailers. President and owner since 1979
• Served in the Air National Guard
• Member of the Idaho Motor Carrier Advisory Committee from 1994-2009.
• Past chairman of the Idaho Trucking Association and Idaho Truck Pac Inc.
• Served on U of I National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology Advisory committee

Appointment: Serves at the pleasure of the Governor

Jim Thompson, Member, Sandpoint

• Represents District 1
• Professional Engineer, retired heavy construction manager with more than 30 years of experience, including owning his own company and consulting with other projects.
• Experience working in heavy construction managing pipelines, piling, shoring, and structural concrete.
• Served on the Engineering and Utilities Contractors Association board of directors, as well as the board of directors for the Pile Driving Contractors Association.
• Worked on civil projects for Exxon, Shell, Unocal, Pacific Refinery, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Cal-Trans, BART, City of San Francisco, San Francisco Airport, and Duke Energy (PG&E) power plant work.
• Graduated from the University of Idaho in 1966.
• Registered civil engineer in Idaho and California.

Appointment: 3/12/19 – 1/31/2025
Counties: Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai, Shoshone

Janice (Jan) Vassar, Member, Lewiston

• Represents District 2
• Member of the Public Transportation Advisory Council from 2007-2010.
• Past city manager for Lewiston from September 1992 to February 2006.
• Former director of Administrative Services for the city, executive assistant to the city manager, and city clerk.
• Various community volunteer work.

Appointment: 1/31/10 – 1/31/16
Reappointed: 2/1/16 – 1/31/22
Counties: Clearwater, Idaho, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce

Julie DeLorenzo, Member, Boise

• Represents District 3
• Co-owner DeLorenzo Consultants, real estate consulting.
• Founding member Keller Williams Realty Boise since 1999.
• National Association of REALTORS®: Director, Board of Directors; Chair, Federal Financing and Housing Policy Committee; member, Public Policy Coordinating Committee; member, Public Advocacy Advisory Group.
• Past president of the Idaho Association of REALTORS®
• Idaho REALTOR® of the Year 2003
• Past President, Board of Directors, Women’s and Children’s Alliance.
• Former: Boise School District Facilities Committee, Troop 100 Boy Scouts, Habitat for Humanity, Idaho Human Rights Education Center.

Appointment: 03/12 – 1/31/15
Reappointed: 2/1/15 – 1/31/21
Counties: Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Owyhee, Payette, Valley, Washington

Jim Kempton, Member, Albion

• Represents District 4
• Twin Falls native
• Vietnam veteran
• Graduated from the University of Idaho
• Served as assistant professor of physics, Air Force Academy
• Former liaison between the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Defense
• Five terms in the Idaho House of Representatives
• Represented Idaho on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council
• Former member of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission
• Former chairman of the House Transportation and Defense Committee
• Chaired the Forum on Transportation Investment
• Former member of the Governor’s Task Force on Transportation Investment

Appointment: 2/1/12 – 1/31/18
Reappointed: 2/1/18 – 1/31/24
Counties: Blaine, Camas Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, Twin Falls

Dwight Horsch, Member, Pocatello

• Represents District 5
• Dwight Horsch brings an extensive background in public service to the Idaho Transportation Board. A lifelong farmer in the Pocatello and Aberdeen areas, he is a former legislator and served on an advisory panel to the State Board of Education on vocational education issues. He also was a member of the Idaho Judicial Council and served on the Idaho State Soil Conservation Commission and its successor, the Idaho State Soil and Water Conservation Commission.
• He was elected to three terms in the Idaho House (1979-1984) and a term in the Idaho Senate (1985-86).
• Horsch also was president of the Potato Growers of Idaho and served on the National Potato Council.

Appointment: 6/1/11 – 1/31/15
Reappointment: 2/1/17 – 1/31/23
Counties: Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Caribou, Franklin, Oneida, Power

Robert “Bob” Hoff, Member, Idaho Falls

• Represents District 6
• Longtime Idaho Falls businessman and pilot. His family settled in Idaho Falls in 1903 on one of the first potato ranches in Idaho.
• Owner of Aero Mark Inc. in Idaho Falls, an aviation business he started in 1984.
• Inducted into the Idaho Aviation Hall of Fame in 2006 and is currently a member of the Board of that organization.
• Former member of the Idaho Aeronautics Advisory Board for 15 years, retiring from the board in 2010.

Appointment: 3/12/19 – 1/31/2020 (filling the remainder of a vacant position)
Counties: Bonneville, Butte, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Madison, Teton

Idaho Transportation Department
Director – Brian Ness
A life-long transportation professional, Brian W. Ness became Director of the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) in 2010. He is responsible for an annual budget of around $800 million and provides leadership and vision for 1,600 employees.

In April 2018, Director Ness was appointed to the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) Executive Committee. The TRB is a unit of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and serves as an independent adviser to the President of the United States, the Congress, and federal and state agencies on scientific and technical transportation issues of national importance.

In March 2017, he became chair of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) Special Committee on Research and Innovation. He was President of the Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (WASHTO) in 2016. In this position, he served as a regional representative to AASHTO’s Executive Committee. In addition, Director Ness sponsors the WASHTO Highway Transport Committee. He is also the creator and sponsor of WASHTO’s Emerging Leaders Program.

Director Ness chaired the AASHTO Special Committee on Transportation Security and Emergency Management (SCOTSEM) until August 2017. Through his leadership of SCOTSEM, he achieved national recognition for applying his organizational model to emergency management and security, which has helped reshape SCOTSEM’s strategic plan.

He is a member of the AASHTO Board of Directors, the WASHTO Board of Directors, and the Idaho Rural Partnership’s Board of Directors. He is also a member of the Pacific Northwest Economic Region Idaho Council.

Director Ness is a nationally recognized authority on organizational realignment and speaks regularly at national conferences for both the public and private sectors about how to structure a more effective and accountable state government. He leads a seminar each year on his “Nine Steps to a Results-Focused Culture” for the National Transportation Leadership Institute’s (NTLI) senior and executive-level management courses.

Director Ness was honored in 2012 as Leader of the Year by the Treasure Valley chapter of Women’s Transportation Seminar, and named Trine University’s (formerly Tri-State University) 2014 Alumni of the Year. He received the 2016 Navigator Award from the national organization, Route Fifty. The award, in the “Agency and Department Chiefs” category, is based on his citizen-focused approach to government and transformative style. In 2013, ITD earned AASHTO’s President’s Award for Administration for its realignment efforts. Since Director Ness joined the department, ITD has received nearly 140 national awards for its programs and projects, including the prestigious Francis B. Francois Award for Innovation.

Under Director Ness’ leadership, ITD began an employee-driven innovation program in 2014. Since that time, the department has implemented more than 1,000 innovations, saved nearly $9 million, created nearly 600 customer-service improvements, and saved 207,000 contractor and employee hours. The department was recognized in 2016 by the Idaho Technology Council as a finalist for Innovative Company of the Year.

Director Ness earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Tri-State University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Western Michigan University. He is a licensed professional engineer in Michigan and Idaho. Before becoming director at ITD, he worked for 30 years at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), holding a variety of positions in research, operations, aeronautics, construction, and project development. Director Ness ended his career with MDOT as the North Region Administrator/Engineer.

Chief Deputy – Scott Stokes
Scott Stokes, a 25-year Idaho Transportation Department veteran, became chief deputy in 2007 after a long tenure as district engineer in northern Idaho. As chief deputy, Mr. Stokes oversees the divisions of Aeronautics, Motor Vehicles, and Transportation Performance and has primary responsibility for much of the department’s daily operations.

Mr. Stokes is chairman of the Idaho Traffic Safety Council and is intimately involved in all facets of highway safety for the department. He is a leading advocate of the drive to achieve zero deaths on Idaho highways. In support of ITD’s strategic plan, Mr. Stokes also is engaged in the department’s internal and external efforts to promote economic opportunity through transportation and to increase mobility for Idaho travelers. He is a member of ITD’s four-person executive team and reports to the director.

A second-generation ITD employee, Mr. Stokes joined the department in 1992 and served as the state bridge engineer early in his career. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Brigham Young University and worked for a private engineering firm about eight years before joining ITD.

Chief Operations Officer – Travis McGrath
Travis McGrath started with ITD in late March 2017 as the new Chief Operations Officer after a national search following Jim Carpenter’s retirement. Travis came to ITD after more than 18 years with Golder Associates, a private-sector geotechnical and environmental engineering consulting firm. For the last seven years, he served as Golder’s Pacific Northwest and Alaska Operations Leader. In that role, he was accountable for the performance of a 180-person team across multiple offices.

Travis practiced in structural and geotechnical engineering early in his career, before specializing in transportation project risk assessment and risk management. He led risk assessments for a dozen state transportation agencies, FHWA, and FTA. McGrath brings a strong military background to this position. He served as a Combat Engineer officer on active duty and in the reserves for more than a decade. He led a line platoon during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and subsequently served as a heavy-equipment platoon leader and company operations officer. He is a strong communicator and consensus builder, with proven decision-making experience and an understanding of the engineering side of operations.

McGrath has a history of setting the vision and holding those around him accountable, with a passion for teamwork and continual improvement. Travis earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Seattle University in 1989, and a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas between 1993 and 1998. He is a registered Professional Engineer.

Chief Human Resources Officer – Brenda Williams
Brenda Williams brought an extensive background in human resources to the Idaho Transportation Department in October 2013 when she became the department’s Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). Recently, she was the Area Human Resources Manager for Republic Services (formerly Allied Waste Services), in Salt Lake City, where she provided strategic leadership for multiple states. She achieved key business objectives in the areas of development, succession planning, and performance management. Republic is a Fortune 500 company that specializes in environmental services with 31,000 employees in 40 states, including Idaho.

Williams was also the Director of Human Resources for Comcast Corp., (formerly AT&T Broadband), in Salt Lake City, for multiple locations throughout the state. She was instrumental in driving employee engagement through management and employee action teams. Williams was promoted to the position after serving as Director of Staffing and Organizational Development for AT&T Broadband.

Chief Administrative Officer – Charlene McArthur
After a successful career in the private sector, Charlene “Char” McArthur assumed the position of Chief Administrative Officer at the Idaho Transportation Department in October 2013. She previously served as the Global Corporate Controller for the Fluke Corp., a Danaher Operating Company located in Everett, Wash. She was responsible for the company’s financial reporting, internal control, and managing working capital targets of more than 20 subsidiaries throughout the world.

Char attributes her success to developing skilled, dedicated and engaged employees who strategically focus continuous improvement efforts on the organization’s strategic priorities. McArthur, a Boise native, graduated from Boise State University with a BBA in accounting. She has worked in both public accounting and private industry. Char is a licensed CPA.