NYU Wagner

Allison L. C. de Cerreño is Director of the NYU-Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, and Research Scientist and Assistant Research Professor at New York University. She is also the Executive Director of the National Association of City Transportation Officials, Inc. (NACTO) and is a Research Associate at the Mineta Transportation Institute in San Jose, CA. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York. Her current research interests include high-speed rail, freight, intelligent transportation systems, and workforce development in public transportation.

Prior to joining the Rudin Center, Dr. C. de Cerreño was Director of Science & Technology Policy at the New York Academy of Sciences (1998-2002) where, among other responsibilities, she led two major efforts: one to develop pollution prevention plans for the New York/New Jersey Harbor, and one to boost technology-led economic development in the Tri-State Region.

Before the Academy, Dr. C. de Cerreño was Associate Director of Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (1996-1998). As Associate Director of the think-tank component of the Council, Dr. C. de Cerreño managed programs for a staff of 65 senior and junior-level professionals and a budget of approximately $6 million. With a long-standing interest and experience in educational issues, she directed the study group on "Reforming Education in Latin America," co-authoring the resulting monograph which was widely distributed during the Second Summit of the Americas in April 1998. Prior to assuming her role as Associate Director at the Council, Dr. C. de Cerreño was Research Associate for Latin America (1991-1996).

Active on a variety of boards and panels, Dr. C. de Cerreño is currently chairing the National Cooperative Freight Research Program Project-02, "Impacts of Public Policy on the Freight Transportation System," and will soon begin as a Member of the Board of Advisors to the ENO Transportation Foundation. She is a member of the I-95 Corridor Coalition’s Intermodal Committee, and a Member of the Transportation Research Board’s Committee on Intercity Rail Passenger Systems, for which she was Secretary in 2006. She is also the Treasurer for the American Youth Soccer Organization-Croton Chapter, and is a Parent Representative to the Croton-Harmon UFSD Committee on Special Education.

Dr. C. de Cerreño taught courses in international relations at Hunter College (1991-1994) and at City College (1996). Her  publications include High Speed Rail Projects in the United States: Identifying the Elements for Success - Parts 1 and 2 (San Jose, CA: Mineta Transportation Institute, 2005 and 2006); "The Dynamics of On-Street Parking in Large Central Cities," Transportation Research Record 1898 (January 2005): 130-137; Dividing The Pie: Placing the Transportation Donor-Donee Debate in Perspective (May 2003); and Pollution Prevention and Management Strategies for Mercury in the NY/NJ Harbor (July 2002). She is editor of Maintaining Solid Foundations for Hi-Tech Growth: Transportation & Communications Infrastructure in the Tri-State Region (2001); University-Industry-Government Relations: Obstacles and Opportunities (1999); and, Scientific Cooperation, State Conflict: The Roles of Scientists in Mitigating International Discord (1998). In addition to speaking on topics related to transportation in the local and national press, she has spoken about weapons proliferation and political and economic modernization in Latin America, and on technology-led economic development and education both in New York City and in Latin America. She has been interviewed on these topics in the local, national, and foreign press.