Applications Open: Executive Leadership Training Program for Transportation Professionals

Your Leadership Path Begins Here

NYU’s Rudin and C2SMART Centers are teaming up with the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) to launch an invigorated Executive Leadership Training Program (ELTP)—a rare opportunity for rising public-sector leaders to accelerate their careers and shape the future of mobility in the New York region.

Designed for mid-level professionals ready to take the next step, the ELTP invests directly in your growth as a leader. You’ll strengthen the skills that make high-impact executives—strategic thinking, cross-agency collaboration, innovation management—and gain the tools to influence your organization from day one. Even more, you’ll build meaningful relationships across regional agencies, creating a network of peers equipped to tackle today’s biggest planning and policy challenges together.

Over eight immersive full-day sessions spanning four months in early 2026, you’ll dive into emerging technologies, learn directly from regional executive leaders, and exchange best practices with experts from other major cities. You’ll step outside the classroom as well, with site visits to critical infrastructure across the metro area, giving you firsthand insight into the systems that keep New York moving.

This new ELTP builds on the success of the original NYU Rudin Center program (2008–2011), which helped cultivate many of the region’s most influential mobility leaders. Now, it’s your turn.

Application

The 2026 program runs March through June, featuring eight full-day, in-person sessions at the NYMTC offices in downtown Manhattan. The program is designed and supported by NYU’s Rudin Center for Transportation and the C2SMART Transportation Center.

Apply at this form by December 15, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Course Framework

Participants will gain access to executive seminars, high-level networking, hands-on site visits, and skill-building workshops organized around four core themes:

• March – Days 1 & 2: Executive Operations Management – Fundamentals and Applications
• April – Days 3 & 4: Technology Innovation – Fundamentals & Applications
• May – Days 5 & 6: Regional Executive Leadership – Challenges and Opportunities
• June – Days 7 & 8: Professional Development – Strategy and Implementation

Timeline (subject to change)

• November 17, 2025 | Applications open
• December 15, 2025 | Applications due
• January 20, 2026 | Admissions notice sent
• January 30, 2026 | Participant confirmation

Details

• Open to public-sector professionals with 10+ years of experience (or equivalent)
• Designed for professionals in the NY metropolitan area (travel and lodging are not subsidized)
• No program fee
• PE and AICP continuing education credits pending
• Participants must attend all sessions in person
• Questions? Contact rudin.center@nyu.edu

Building Leadership for Collaborative Planning

The ELTP is built with two transformative goals:

1. Empower rising public-sector professionals with the leadership capabilities needed to become the next generation of agency executives.

2. Foster region-wide collaboration, breaking down institutional silos and enabling more integrated planning, innovation, and policy across New York’s transportation ecosystem.

    

The curriculum spans critical leadership and management topics, including:

• Emerging technologies and future mobility tools
• Cross-city best-practice exchanges
• Executive-level decision-making and organizational leadership
• Contracting and procurement
• Risk management and emergency preparedness
• Communications and political strategy
• Immersive site visits for hands-on learning