Kris Kolluri (born c. 1969) is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Gateway Development Commission, an agency formed under the auspices of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to construct a new railroad tunnel under the Hudson River connecting the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey.[1] Kolluri formerly served as head of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority, having taken office as of December 1, 2008, where he succeeded Scott Weiner.[2][3] He had previously served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), having been sworn into office on March 13, 2006. He spent one day, December 28, 2006 as acting Governor.

Kris Kolluri
CEO of the Gateway Commission
Assumed office
June 2022
GovernorKathy Hochul
Phil Murphy
Personal details
Born1969 (age 54–55)
Hyderabad, India
Political partyDemocratic
EducationRutgers University, Camden (BS)
Johns Hopkins University (MS)
Georgetown University (JD)

Prior to that, Kolluri specialized in redevelopment and transportation law as an attorney at Parker McCay of Marlton.

Kolluri was chief of staff to New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettiere. In this capacity, he served as counselor to the Commissioner and managed the development and implementation of the department's legislative and regulatory policies and communications strategies.

Before taking this post, Kolluri was Assistant Commissioner of Intergovernmental Relations under Commissioner Jamie Fox at the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Kolluri was in charge of legislative relations, customer advocacy and public outreach and the divisions of Policy, Legislation and Regulatory Actions, and Federal and International Transportation.

Prior to working in state government, Kolluri held a variety of top positions in Congressional offices. Most recently he served as senior policy advisor to House Democratic Leader Richard A. Gephardt, heading the Member Support Program which was established to help freshman Members of Congress design and implement long-term strategic initiatives. In early 1998, Kolluri was tapped to be special advisor to Congressman Gephardt on India and Indian-American affairs.

Before he worked for Congressman Gephardt, Kolluri served as Congressman Robert E. Andrews' Legislative Director and his principal staffer on the International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.

Kolluri received a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and Marketing from Rutgers University, a Master's degree in International Business from Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. degree from Georgetown University. He lives in West Windsor Township with his wife and two daughters.[3]

On December 28, 2006, Kolluri served as acting governor, while New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, the Senate president, Assembly speaker, and attorney general were all out of state. Under state law at the time, an acting governor had to be appointed whenever the governor is absent from the state.[4] Since a 2006 constitutional amendment, New Jersey has had a lieutenant governor, second in the line of succession.[5] The position was first filled by Kim Guadagno, elected with Chris Christie in November 2009.[6]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Skylar Woodhouse (April 18, 2023). "Long-Awaited NYC Gateway Tunnel Project Split Into Four Parts to Speed Work". Bloomberg News. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  2. ^ Staff. "Major staff changes in governor's office", The Star-Ledger, December 16, 2008. Accessed December 16, 2008.
  3. ^ a b "Kris Kolluri Appointed as CEO of SDA: DOT Commissioner to join Authority on December 1, 2008" Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Schools Development Authority press release dated November 6, 2008. Accessed February 22, 2011.
  4. ^ "N.J. Gets New Governor... For a Day" Archived 2007-03-12 at the Wayback Machine, WPVI-TV, December 28, 2006. Accessed June 25, 2007. "Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri will take over the post because Governor Corzine will be out of town. So will the Senate president, Assembly speaker and attorney general, all of whom are ahead of Kolluri in the line of succession."
  5. ^ "Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey".
  6. ^ "Kim Guadagno to become New Jersey's first lieutenant governor". 19 January 2010.