Kris Kolluri

Kris Kolluri, well known Commissioner of transportation for New Jersey was the first NRI (non-resident Indian) to become the governor of a US state for only a day.Kris Kolluri was named Commissioner of transportation for New Jersey by Governor Jon Corzin and sworn into office on March 13, 2006. Now as head of the Department of Transportation for the State, Kolluri will oversee some 3,900 employees and a budget of $2.6 billion. There are 2,344 miles of state-maintained roadways and 2,454 state bridges in New Jersey and Kolluri's Department of Transportation is charged with the construction, operation, maintenance and management of the state's transportation infrastructure.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 for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, in charge of legislative relations, customer advocacy and public outreach and the 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