Daniel P. Matthews

Transportation
Daniel P. Matthews
Chief Information Officer

Transportation Department Chief Information Officer Daniel P. Matthews is a self-professed baseball nut. He roots for the Red Sox, holds Washington Nationals season tickets and subscribes to the Yogi Berra adage, "It ain't over till it's over."

At budget time, that becomes a mantra for Matthews, who came out of retirement to take the job as Transportation's top geek in 2003. "You've got to play the game all the way. One inning doesn't constitute a game," he says. "The process can be trying, but we have to continue on, we have to finish telling our story and ensure that people understand what value it is that [we're] bringing to the Department of Transportation." For Matthews' team, the value added is $2.6 billion worth of information technology investments annually.

The money is spent not only to keep the bureaucracy motoring along, but also to make transportation safer, simpler and smarter. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's campaign on seat belt use and the Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic control system are two examples. "FAA's use of IT to keep the traveling public safe is a record unequaled by any other nation on the face of the Earth. That's rewarding for everyone that works in IT at the department," he says.

Lately, what consumes most of Matthews' day is Transportation's impending move to a new facility in September 2006. The agency has a 15-year, $825-million lease on an 11-acre site in Washington's redeveloping Anacostia Waterfront. More than 5,600 workers will move there. "That's a daunting task to provide IT support in a facility that will be 1.3 million square feet and house all the headquarters personnel," Matthews says. He looks forward to being done with that project so he can spend a little time gazing out the window as a new stadium for the home team rises virtually next door to Transportation's new home.