PHX Reporter

Following a competitive nationwide recruitment process, Phoenix City Manager Jeff Barton announced on Monday that Joseph (Joe) T. Brown, PE, has been chosen as the city's next Street Transportation Director. Brown will start in his new role effective November 20, 2023.

Brown comes to Phoenix after serving as Commissioner of the Suffolk County (NY) Department of Public Works, and has more than 30 years of diverse management and engineering experience in transportation, sanitation, traffic management, structures, construction, maintenance, operations and planning, and emergency response.

"I'm excited to have Joe join the city's management team," Barton said. "His background and many years of experience working with transportation infrastructure will be an important asset as Phoenix continues to grow and improve. He also has a proven record with improving roadway safety, which is a critical focus for our community."

In his role at Suffolk County, Brown oversaw 13 divisions and was the Chair of the County Sewer Agency and County Dredging Committee. Prior to working for Suffolk County, he was Director of the Long Island Region of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT).

Brown also spent time as the Director of the New York City Region of NYSDOT, and was the Director of the NYSDOT Lower Manhattan Reconstruction Office that was charged with rebuilding the transportation and utility network in Lower Manhattan after the impacts of the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center.

Brown managed some of NYSDOT's largest projects in the New York metropolitan area, including reconstruction of the West Side Highway at the World Trade Center, the Kosciuszko Bridge on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, and the Robert Moses Causeway over the Great South Bay Bridge.

A strong advocate for the Vision Zero and Complete Streets initiatives, Brown developed a plan that reduced fatalities on Long Island highways by more than 30 percent.

Brown holds a bachelor's degree in structural engineering from Northwestern University, is a veteran of the U.S. Army Combat Engineers and was a 9-11 first responder.

Brown will replace current Street Transportation Director Kini Knudson, who is scheduled to retire on October 20, 2023. Knudson has served in various roles with the city since 2000.

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