DELAWARE- Shanté Hastings was sworn in as Delaware’s twelfth Secretary of Transportation on Jan. 30 by Governor Matt Meyer. DelDOT says the Delaware State Senate unanimously approved Her nomination. According to DART, the nomination is important because Hastings is the first African American woman to hold this position.
Hastings has been with DelDOT since earning her civil engineering degree from the University of Delaware in 2000. The agency says she has served as its chief engineer since 2019 and as deputy secretary since 2021. In these roles, she managed the department’s $600 million annual Capital Transportation Program, personnel operations, legislative matters, and national transportation policies.
Her leadership in the field has been widely recognized. In 2013, she was awarded the Young Engineer of the Year Award, and in 2024, the Delaware Engineering Society named her Government Engineer of the Year. She also holds key positions in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, serving as Chair of the Innovation Management and Committee on Design. Hastings is Vice Chair of the Committee on Transportation System Operations.
To round out the department's leadership team, Hastings appointed Lanie Clymer as Deputy Secretary of Transportation and Mark Luszcz as Chief Engineer.
Lanie Clymer, DelDOT’s Director of Finance since 2017, has over 25 years of financial management experience in both public and private sectors. According to DelDOT, she oversees the department’s $1 billion annual budget and serves as a key financial liaison for federal agencies.
Mark Luszcz, a transportation engineer with nearly 30 years of experience, has been a Deputy Director at DelDOT since 2019. DelDOT says he has led key divisions, including Design, Construction, and Traffic Operations, and previously served as Chief Traffic Engineer. Both hold advanced degrees and have served in leadership roles for national transportation organizations.