Full Name
Martin Whitmer
Job Title
Partner
Company
Whitmer & Worrall LLC
Speaker Bio
Martin Whitmer is a founding Partner of Whitmer & Worrall, LLC, a government relations and strategic consulting firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. Mr. Whitmer has a broad policy and political background which has allowed him to successfully promote and advance key legislative programs within the public policy arena and on Capitol Hill. Mr. Whitmer successfully works with both Republican and Democratic leaders due to his expertise transcending beyond political partisanship. While Mr. Whitmer has worked extensively on many different public policy issues, he has earned a distinguished reputation as one of Washington’s leading government relations strategists for the transportation industry.
Mr. Whitmer leads the firm’s transportation and infrastructure practice which has represented impressive corporate clientele, ranging from Virgin America, Honeywell Inc., and Penske Truck Leasing to transportation-related trade associations such as the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) and the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA). Mr. Whitmer most recently served on the President’s Transition Team for transportation policy implementation as team-lead from September 2016 through November 2016. Mr. Whitmer also serves on the Board of Directors at the Eno Transportation Foundation, alongside of former Secretaries of Transportation Mineta (Bush), Peters (Bush), and Burnley (Reagan).
Mr. Whitmer served as the Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Transportation following his appointment by President Bush to serve as a Special Assistant to Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. In this capacity, Mr. Whitmer oversaw a departmental staff of nearly 60,000, and a budget of $54 billion. He served as a Senior Advisor to the Secretary on all matters relating to highway, transit, trucking, safety, energy, and trade issues. Mr. Whitmer was also the principal architect of the Presidents’ Executive Order on Environmental Stewardship and Transportation Infrastructure Project Reviews, which streamlines the environmental review process for transportation projects.
Prior to joining the administration, Mr. Whitmer served as Vice President of Government Relations for the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). In this pivotal role, he served as ARTBA’s primary direct lobbyist on Capitol Hill and managed the ARTBA PAC as well as all political affairs. Mr. Whitmer was a key player in ARTBA’s legislative and coalition activities. Mr. Whitmer also served as the Director of the Public-Private Ventures Division, which implemented laws and regulations to expand innovative financing tools and leverage federal dollars for transportation projects.
From 1994 until 1997, Mr. Whitmer served as the Republican Legislative Representative for the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA). In this capacity, he focused on transportation market issues and joined with management organizations in an effort to remove the four transportation trust funds from the unified federal budget. He has also worked in the Capitol Hill
offices of Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX) and House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX). Mr. Whitmer worked for the 1988 and 1992 Bush-Quayle presidential campaigns, and has subsequently assisted with the campaigns of several key members of Congress.
Mr. Whitmer graduated from the evening program at the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law in 1999. Concurrent with his law degree, Mr. Whitmer also completed a Master’s degree in Public Policy. In 1992, he earned a B.A. from Georgetown University (major in government and a minor in English). Mr. Whitmer also graduated from the Kent School in Kent, Connecticut in 1988.
Among other acknowledgements, Mr. Whitmer is a member of the Virginia State Bar, and he completed the 2014 Boston Marathon as well as the 1993 Marine Corps Marathon. Mr. Whitmer is an Eagle Scout and was awarded the prestigious 9/11 Transportation Medal by Secretary Mineta. He is from Dallas, Texas and currently lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and three wonderful children.
Mr. Whitmer leads the firm’s transportation and infrastructure practice which has represented impressive corporate clientele, ranging from Virgin America, Honeywell Inc., and Penske Truck Leasing to transportation-related trade associations such as the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA) and the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA). Mr. Whitmer most recently served on the President’s Transition Team for transportation policy implementation as team-lead from September 2016 through November 2016. Mr. Whitmer also serves on the Board of Directors at the Eno Transportation Foundation, alongside of former Secretaries of Transportation Mineta (Bush), Peters (Bush), and Burnley (Reagan).
Mr. Whitmer served as the Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Transportation following his appointment by President Bush to serve as a Special Assistant to Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. In this capacity, Mr. Whitmer oversaw a departmental staff of nearly 60,000, and a budget of $54 billion. He served as a Senior Advisor to the Secretary on all matters relating to highway, transit, trucking, safety, energy, and trade issues. Mr. Whitmer was also the principal architect of the Presidents’ Executive Order on Environmental Stewardship and Transportation Infrastructure Project Reviews, which streamlines the environmental review process for transportation projects.
Prior to joining the administration, Mr. Whitmer served as Vice President of Government Relations for the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). In this pivotal role, he served as ARTBA’s primary direct lobbyist on Capitol Hill and managed the ARTBA PAC as well as all political affairs. Mr. Whitmer was a key player in ARTBA’s legislative and coalition activities. Mr. Whitmer also served as the Director of the Public-Private Ventures Division, which implemented laws and regulations to expand innovative financing tools and leverage federal dollars for transportation projects.
From 1994 until 1997, Mr. Whitmer served as the Republican Legislative Representative for the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA). In this capacity, he focused on transportation market issues and joined with management organizations in an effort to remove the four transportation trust funds from the unified federal budget. He has also worked in the Capitol Hill
offices of Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX) and House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX). Mr. Whitmer worked for the 1988 and 1992 Bush-Quayle presidential campaigns, and has subsequently assisted with the campaigns of several key members of Congress.
Mr. Whitmer graduated from the evening program at the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law in 1999. Concurrent with his law degree, Mr. Whitmer also completed a Master’s degree in Public Policy. In 1992, he earned a B.A. from Georgetown University (major in government and a minor in English). Mr. Whitmer also graduated from the Kent School in Kent, Connecticut in 1988.
Among other acknowledgements, Mr. Whitmer is a member of the Virginia State Bar, and he completed the 2014 Boston Marathon as well as the 1993 Marine Corps Marathon. Mr. Whitmer is an Eagle Scout and was awarded the prestigious 9/11 Transportation Medal by Secretary Mineta. He is from Dallas, Texas and currently lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and three wonderful children.
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