Director, Office of Economic and Strategic Analysis

John V. (“Jack”) Wells has been the Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Transportation since November 2004. He was previously (2001-2004) Chief Economist at the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Mr. Wells was formerly the Deputy Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (2000 – 2001), Democratic Staff Director of the House Subcommittee on Railroads (1995 – 2000), and Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the House Public Works and Transportation Committee (1993 – 1995).

From 1979 to 1993 he was an economist at the U.S. General Accounting Office, working on a wide range of issues in transportation, regulation, and science and technology. From 1975 to 1979 Mr. Wells was Assistant Professor of Economics at George Mason University. Mr. Wells has a B.A. from Harvard and a Ph.D. from Yale, both in Economics.