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Commissioner Thomas K. Sorel
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Commissioner Thomas K. Sorel
Tom Sorel has been the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation since April 2008. He leads an agency of 5,000 people who are committed as servant leaders to uphold public needs and collaboration with internal and external partners to create a safe, efficient, and sustainable transportation system for the future. Prior to becoming Commissioner, Sorel worked for 30 years in numerous positions around the country with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. He served as the Division Administrator for the FHWA Minnesota Division Office, the Major Projects Team Leader in Washington D.C., the USDOT Intermodal Liaison for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, and the Director of Planning and Program Development in FHWA’s Regional Office in Albany, NY.
Sorel has a Master of Business Administration degree from Thomas College in Maine, a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Buffalo, New York, a certificate in conflict management from the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and a certificate in project management from George Washington University. He has also completed the Wharton Transportation Executive Program and the Federal Executive Institute Leadership for a Democratic Society.
At AASHTO, he currently serves as the President of the MidAmerica Association of State Transportation Officials and the Executive Committee. He chairs the Standing Committee on Highway Traffic Safety and also serves on the Standing Committee on Performance Measures.
Sorel lives in Woodbury, Minnesota with his wife and son.