Tara Lanigan

Tara Lanigan is the Senior Director for Strategic Partnerships at the Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3), a National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center (ERC) housed at Columbia Engineering. She previously served as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) and Policy Advisor in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R). While at the Department, she helped launch the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) discretionary grant program, which funds purpose-driven technology innovation projects for state and local governments. While a PMF, she also completed a rotation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality as Deputy Director for Sustainability. Prior to joining federal service, Tara led policy and business development at May Mobility, an autonomous driving technology company. She began her career at VC-backed startups focused on e-commerce and real estate technology. She holds a Master of Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, both from the University of Michigan.