Alvin Brown, a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member and former mayor of Jacksonville, Fla. (2011-15), has been designated by President Joe Biden to serve as NTSB Vice Chairman, the independent safety agency reported Dec. 23.
The Senate confirmed Brown as the 47th Board Member last March. His term runs through 2026. Bruce Landsburg, who departed the NTSB in December 2023, was the previous Vice Chair.
Prior to joining the NTSB, Alvin Brown was Senior Advisor for Community Infrastructure Opportunities at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Brown began his career as a Senior Member of the White House leadership team under President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. As Al Gore’s Senior Advisor for Urban Policy, he advised the President and Vice President on a wide range of domestic issues. Brown also held the roles of Executive Director of the White House Community Empowerment Board and Senior Advisor to former Commerce Secretary Ron Brown.
Alvin Brown earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in business administration from Jacksonville University and a master’s degree from the Duke University Divinity School.
“I am honored to be named in this new role of Vice Chair of the NTSB,” Brown said. “The NTSB is the gold standard for public safety, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues at this federal agency to save lives and make transportation safer.”
The NTSB has five Board Members, each nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve five-year terms. The President designates a Board Member as Chair and another as Vice Chair for three-year terms. The Chair requires separate Senate confirmation.
Democrat Jennifer Esposito Homendy was confirmed both to a second term on the NTSB and as its chairperson earlier this year. In addition to Homendy and Brown, Tom Chapman, J. Todd Inman, and Michael Graham are also on the Board.
