DOTD Secretary Dr. William D. Ankner
Dr. William D. Ankner was appointed secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development
in 2008 by Governor Bobby Jindal. Dr. Ankner comes to Louisiana from the Missouri Transportation
Institute, where he had served as executive director since 2004. Prior to that job, he was the
director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation from 1996-2003. Dr. Ankner also has
served as director of finance, management and budget for the Delaware Department of Transportation
(1993-1996); director of policy, capital programming and authorities at the New Jersey Department
of Transportation (1990-1993); and as supervisor of corporate strategic planning and supervisor of
transportation police at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (1982-90). He also served an
earlier stint at the New Jersey Department of Transportation as director of policy and legislation
(1980-82), and he began his transportation career as a faculty fellow for the Federal Highway
Administration in 1979.
Dr. Ankner took an untraditional route to the transportation industry. He was an instructor of
philosophy at St. Mary's College of Maryland when a quest to find transportation options for a
Head Start program led him to a second career.
Dr. Ankner holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Stonehill College of North Easton, Mass.,
and a Master of Arts degree and Ph.D., both in philosophy, from the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Ankner is active in a number of professional organizations including the Northeast
Association of State Transportation Officials, where he served as president and past vice president;
the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials; and the Transportation
Research Board, where he has served as a member of the executive committee and chair of the finance
subcommittee. He also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Rhode Island.
Dr. Ankner and his wife, Joan, have been married for 38 years. They have two sons and a
10-year-old granddaughter. In his free time, Dr. Ankner enjoys movies, jazz and fresh seafood.
