John F. Potts
DMP’s Transportation Group is led by John Potts, a transportation professional with over thirty-five years of experience as a transportation planner, manager, executive, and consultant. Mr. Potts began his career as a transportation planner with Alan M. Voorhees & Associates. Nearly 30 years ago, he participated in the development of ridership forecasts for the proposed rail service in the nation's capital, now known as Metrorail. Following his employment at Voorhees, he accepted public transportation management and consulting assignments with ATE Management & Service Company, Inc., and developed transportation plans for public transportation systems throughout the United States and internationally. Mr. Potts was responsible for the original Long Range Public Transport Plan for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Mr. Potts then held several senior executive positions with public transportation systems in Detroit, Michigan, Washington, DC, and New Orleans, Louisiana.
During his 13-year tenure with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Mr. Potts served as the Assistant General Manager for Administration and later for ADA. As Assistant General Manager for Administration, he was responsible for human resources, management information systems, civil rights (EEO, DBE and Title VI), planning, administrative services, parking, joint development and procurement. As Assistant General Manager for ADA, he designed and implemented the first coordinated paratransit system, known as Metro Access, in the Nation’s Capital, serving a population of over one million people and nine separate jurisdictions. As an executive, Mr. Potts served as the Director of the Detroit Department of Transportation (DOT) and the General Manager of the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority. Mr. Potts has significant experience in public transportation planning, operations, human resources, paratransit programs, and civil rights.
Under Mr. Potts’ leadership, the firm has conducted independent consulting studies for such clients as the Federal Transit Administration, the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the City of Alexandria, Virginia, and the Capital District Transportation Authority of Albany, New York.
Mr. Potts is a graduate of Harvard College. Over the years, he has held many leadership positions in both professional and civic organizations, including serving as a former Chair of the Management Committee of the National Capital YMCA, a former Chair of the Minority Affairs Committee of the American Public Transit Association (APTA), and a former member of the Board of Directors for the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) and APTA.
