Elissa Konove is a public policy leader with 20 years of experience in transportation policy and programs at the federal, state, and local levels. She currently serves as the Deputy Division Administrator at the Federal Highway Administration (California Division). Previously, Elissa was the Undersecretary at the California State Transportation Agency. In this role, Elissa assisted in leading the agency team that oversaw transportation policies, programs, and departments to advance a vision to transform the lives of all Californians through a safe, accessible, low carbon, 21st century multimodal transportation system that enriched quality of life.

Prior to her appointment to the State Transportation Agency, Elissa was Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink). She previously held several positions at the Federal Highway Administration, including Chief Financial Officer, Acting Director of Field Services South and Director of the Office of Budget. Elissa also was a transportation program examiner and budget preparation specialist at the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President of the United States.

Elissa earned a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of California, Davis. She was a member of the inaugural cohort of the Coro Lead LA program.