Jurist Summer 2007.qxd - Howard University School of Law

“I intend to be a big player on foreign policy issues.”Representative Gregory Meeksprominence may be a common route, but fewlaw school students will follow this vocationalpath. Most will prefer to labor in the vineyards—private, solo, or corporate practice, or even governmentservice. Some may opt-out of a legalcareer all together.LESLIE ROGERSLeslie Rogers grew up in Montgomery, Alabama,and vividly remembers that he was just beginninghis formal education during the Montgomerybus boycott. His first forayinto transportation began betweenhis second and third year of lawschool. He was working as a summerintern with the U.S. Railway Association.After law school, he joined theUrban Mass Transportation Administration.He started out in the chiefcounsel’s office in Washington, D.C.,and became the regional counsel inDenver for a very short period. Henext moved to New York where heserved for 11 years as the regionalcounsel. In 1993, changing to the managementside, he was selected as the deputy regionaladministrator of San Francisco; in 1996, hebecame the regional administrator.Rogers has received numerous awards andcommendations. In 2000, he was selected to jointhe Senior Executive Service (SES). Members ofthe SES serve in the key positions just below thetop presidential appointees. SES leaders possesswell-honed executive skills and share a broadperspective of government and a public servicecommitment that is grounded in the Constitution.Some of Rogers’s recent achievementsinclude co-leading a trade mission to countriesin South and Central America, namely Colombia,Ecuador and El Salvador. He spoke of beingparticularly satisfied with having spent time inMississippi, where he engaged in efforts torespond to the devastation caused by HurricaneKatrina.Safe and efficient transportation systems areessential to the economic vitality of the UnitedStates and to the nation’s ability to compete in aglobal economy. Most important, such systemsimprove the quality of life of all Americans.Local and state governments subsidize the operationsof most public transit services. Those governmentsprovide matching funds to receive acapital grant of up to 80 percent from the FederalTransit Administration (FTA), an agency of theU.S. Department of Transportation. The FTAadministers programs that provide funding andsupport services to state and local agencies that,in turn, operate a wide range of public transportationservices.Charged with carrying out thismission, Rogers explained some ofthe challenges of a regional administrator:“When I deal with communitytransit agencies, a persistent problemis having them prioritize projects.Obviously, there are needs in everycommunity and proposed solutionsor responses to address those problems,but there is a finite degree offunding. Communities will try tohave three or four competing priorities, and wehave found over time that competition can beproblematic. That’s an external problem,” hesaid.Articulating a Vision“It is a challenge to any leader to continue toarticulate a vision, to remain positive, and toremain focused on the daily challenges,” Rogerssaid. “On any given day, and particularly in aregion like mine, there are crises in many differentcommunities. The challenge is to stayfocused and to devote the proper attention totrying to address all the competing interests.”Rogers has devoted a 30-year career to transportationissues. When asked what, if any, reflectionshe had on those 30 years, he responded:“I think it’s been time well spent, and I’ve hada great experience. My service has afforded mean opportunity to live in four major cities, Washington,D.C., Denver, New York, and now SanFrancisco. But I’ve also had the opportunity torespond to the needs of moderate and smallTHE JURIST 17