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From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues

Peters, Mary E. (b. 1948)

Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation from 2006 to 2009, Mary E. Peters served in President George W. Bush’s administration. She led an agency with almost 60,000 employees and managed a $61.6 billion budget that oversaw air, maritime, and surface transportation. Maintaining a safe and efficient transportation system involved guarding it from terrorist threats to aircraft, seaports, and infrastructure.

Peters began her career as a secretary in the Arizona Department of Transportation. Between 1985 and 1998, she advanced as a contract administrator, deputy director for administration, and deputy director. Arizona governor Jane Hull appointed her director of the agency in 1998 and she served until 2001. President George W. Bush appointed her head of the Federal Highway Administration, where she served until 2005. She is credited with making highways safer by promoting enhanced guardrail, rumble strip and other crash prevention technologies. She also led a national campaign to improve safety in work zones.

Peters earned her BA from the University of Phoenix.

See also: Cabinets, Women in Presidential

References: “Mary E. Peters,” http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/print/mpeters-bio.html (accessed September 19, 2012); “Mary E. Peters,” http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/administrators/mpeters.htm (accessed September 19, 2012).

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
"Peters, Mary E. (b. 1948)." From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, edited by Suzanne O’Dea, Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0755.
APA 7th
Peters, Mary E. (b. 1948). From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, In S. O’Dea (Ed.), Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0755.
CMOS 17th
"Peters, Mary E. (b. 1948)." From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, Edited by Suzanne O’Dea. Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0755.