Nathaniel P. Ford Sr. is a nationally recognized transportation leader and advocate for autonomous vehicles (AV) and innovation-driven mobility solutions. With a career spanning four decades, Ford has transformed public transportation systems across the country and earned a reputation as a visionary executive, advisor, and executive coach. Ford began his career at New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), mastering every aspect of the industry before serving as CEO of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority

(MARTA) and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). At MARTA, he introduced the first 100% transit smart card and led a multimillion-dollar transit-oriented development. In San Francisco, he launched the first real-time smart parking app and oversaw a regional authority managing the multibillion-dollar Transbay Terminal Development.

Since 2012, Ford has served as CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA), where he spearheaded a comprehensive transformation of the agency. Under his leadership, JTA evolved from a local road and bridge building and transit provider into a nationally acclaimed, multimodal organization. His 2014 route optimization initiative became a model for larger agencies nationwide.

A hallmark of Ford’s tenure at JTA is the development of the Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C), a pioneering autonomous vehicle program. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U2C gained global attention when JTA partnered with AV providers to deliver test kits to the Mayo Clinic. In 2025, JTA launched Neighborhood Autonomous Vehicle Innovation (NAVI), the first permanent, public AV service in the U.S., alongside a robust Transit Oriented Development (TOD) program connecting mixed-income housing to the 10.5- mile U2C system.

Ford’s influence extends nationally and globally. He has served as chairman of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) in 2022 and chairman of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) in 2017-2018. He currently serves as National Ambassador for the Union Internationale des Transports Publics (UITP) Policy Board and sits on the board of ITS America. His international consulting work spans Australia, Canada, China, England, France, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Sweden.

Ford’s leadership has earned him numerous accolades, including 2025 Leadership Jax, the 2023 Sharon Banks Award for Humanitarian Leadership in Transportation, the 2022 Honorable Ray LaHood Award, and APTA’s 2020 Outstanding Public Transportation Manager. He was named a White House Champion of Change in 2016 and inducted as a Thought Leader by the Eno Center for Transportation in 2019. In 2025, he was appointed Chair of APTA’s newly formed committee on Autonomous Vehicles Innovation.

Deeply committed to his community, Ford currently serves on the boards of the Sulzbacher Center, Baptist Hospital, Jacksonville University’s Davis College of Business & Technology, Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, and Cathedral District Jax-Inc. Mr. Ford holds an MBA from Jacksonville University and a Bachelor’s in Applied Science from Mercer University. He is a certified Master Executive Coach and has completed executive programs at Emory University and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

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