Operating PrinciplesWho We Are:
John Bobo - Vice President
Currently leading AkinsCrisp Public Strategies' Washington, DC office, John Bobo is engaged in a variety of business development, government affairs, public relations and communications work for technology companies, transportation-related businesses, non-profits and other government agencies. In October 2007, John left the Bush Administration to join AkinsCrisp Public Strategies bringing with him a combination of 17 years of public service, non-profit and media experience.
Previously, John served as the top official for US Department of Transportation's newest agency, the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA). A portal for new technology into the Department, RITA is the research, development and technology advisor to the Secretary of Transportation. RITA also coordinates the $1 Billion in RDT funding across all DOT agencies.
While at RITA, John oversaw the reorganization, management and coordination of the agency, and he helped to develop various domestic and international policy issues such as: transportation safety, transportation infrastructure investments, public private partnerships, congestion mitigation, Intelligent Transportation Systems and spectrum policy issues on position, navigation & timing.
In 2007, John was awarded the Secretary's Gold Medal for Outstanding Achievement for his leadership at RITA.
First appointed to the US DOT by the White House in May 2004, John served in the immediate Office of the Secretary of Transportation in a variety of roles. He was Director for the Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance (ODAPC), which writes regulations and provides official interpretations of regulations governing workplace drug & alcohol testing of employees in transportation industries. Currently, that is the world's largest workplace drug & alcohol testing program. He also reorganized and managed the Secretary's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), implementing the Secretary's small and disadvantaged business policies and goals, meeting goals in accordance with the Small Business Act, and providing opportunities, technical assistance and financial services to the small and disadvantaged business community.
In 2006, he received the DOT Secretary's Award for Executive Leadership.
Prior to his federal service, John was Director of the National Traffic Law Center (NTLC), a non-profit funded through government and corporate grants, in Alexandria, VA. NTLC provides research, training and technical assistance to law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, researchers and traffic safety professionals across the country on issues of impaired driving. A unit of the American Prosecutors Research Institute (APRI) and the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), John produced multiple courses at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, SC.
In 2003, John launched and hosted The People's Attorney a weekend radio show on 1150 AM WMET in Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the NDAA, the show featured prosecutors from across the country on various criminal justice issues, e.g. death penalty, child abuse, serial killers, domestic violence, etc.
Prior to moving to the DC area in 2002, John had served as a prosecutor for the State of Tennessee for close to 10 years, first in Hamilton County (11th Judicial District) and later in Blount County (5th Judicial District). John prosecuted all types of cases from first degree murder down, but his primary area of focus was narcotics prosecutions, vehicular homicides and impaired driving related offenses.
Previously, John also served as Legal Editor for the Chattanooga Times. He led a team of reporters and wrote breaking news, investigative pieces, features and analysis of legal issues. He has had published articles appear in national magazines such as the ABA Journal, and for over two and half years, he also wrote a weekly humor column taking an irreverent look at Parenting.
John received his Juris Doctorate from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis in 1991, and he was licensed and admitted to practice to the state bar of Tennessee in 1991. He also has a degree in English from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1987.
John grew up in Chattanooga, TN, but he currently lives in the Washington, DC metropolitan area with his wife and three children.
