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Biographies
District Six Secretary & Directors
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Gus F Pego, P.E.
District Six Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation
On May 8th 2008 the Florida Department of Transportation Secretary, Stephanie Kopelousos, appointed Gus Pego, P.E. as District Six Secretary. In his new capacity, Mr. Pego will be responsible for the overall planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance of the State Highway System in Miami Dade and Monroe Counties. He is now the steward of a budget exceeding $2.5 billion five year work program with a recently streamlined staff of 573, not counting contractors and consultants secured to carry out much of the ongoing projects we see today on our roadways.
A seasoned civil servant of 29 years with the Department of Transportation, Mr. Pego has served the community working through the ranks in positions of increasing levels of responsibility within the district’s development and operations divisions. In his capacity as District Secretary, Mr. Pego also serves on the Department’s Executive Board and as a Board Member of the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) and the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).
As Director of Transportation Operations since 1996, Pego has been responsible for all the roadway and bridge construction, traffic operations and maintenance of the State Highway System, which includes the District’s Intelligent Transportation System, one of the largest in the nation. In addition, Pego has lead all recovery efforts in both counties and has always played a key role in restoring our community throughout the devastations sustained by natural disasters, such as Hurricane Andrew.
Born in New Jersey, Gus moved with his parents to Miami in 1958, graduated from Southwest Miami Senior High and went on to Miami-Dade Community College. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida. He has also served on numerous task forces and committees comprised of industry professionals, government officials and the Department which has netted him extensive recognition from his peers and other community leaders, addressing common challenges and implementing solutions to improve the delivery of our Transportation System.
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Click here to download Secretary Pego 's biography sheet.
Gary L. Donn, P.E.
FDOT District Six Director of Transportation Support & Miami Intermodal Center Program
Gary L. Donn is a devoted public servant of the South Florida community with a career spanning over 25 years as a Professional Engineer with the Florida Department of Transportation. Since 1996, he has been the Director of Transportation Support for the Florida Department of Transportation, District Six, in Miami and recently was appointed Program Director of the Miami Intermodal Center (MIC) in the spring of 2005.
In his senior management position at District Six, he is responsible for the leadership and direction of all District programs related to the Transportation & Public Transportation Planning, Work Program Development, and Administration offices.
Additionally, in his new leadership role as Program Director of the Miami Intermodal Center, Donn assumes the role of providing the guidance and overseeing the resources necessary for the MIC to implement its $1.7 Billion dollar mission of designing and building Miami-Dade County's first ground transportation hub. He brings to this position a record of accomplishment in public sector planning and management, as well as a commitment to promoting efficient and effective transportation improvements in South Florida.
Prior to becoming a director at District Six, from 1991 to 1996, Donn served as District Environmental Management Engineer where he directed and managed the District Environmental Management Office to insure compliance with the policies, procedures and the rules of the Department, local governments and the FHWA. During his tenure, the PD&E studies for U.S. 1 South, Okeechobee Road, and S.R. 836 Extension were completed among many others.
As District Production Manager, from 1988 to 1991, Donn directed and managed the Consultant Project Management and In-house Design sections. During this time he oversaw, among others, the development of the I-95 projects, the Dadeland North Parking Garage, and the NW 41st Street Interchange with the Florida Turnpike.
From 1982 to 1988, Donn held significant leadership positions in management and engineering divisions with both District Six in Miami and District Four in Fort Lauderdale. During this time he was, in order of occurrence: Senior Consultant Design Project Manager, Senior Project Development and Environmental Manager, Assistant District Design Engineer, and Assistant District Maintenance Engineer.
Upon graduating in 1979 with a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Donn joined the Florida Department of Transportation, District Six, as a Professional Engineer Trainee and subsequently became a Design Squad Leader. Donn's dedication to building a better community is seen through his long-term commitment to the Florida Department of Transportation.
Born in California and raised since the age of 12 in Hialeah, Florida, this lifelong South Florida resident attended Hialeah High School. He also possesses a long-term commitment to the Miami Dolphins as a season ticket holder since 1979. Donn is married to Catherine, a landscape architect from Connecticut, who works as an engineering assistant with the firm Craven Thompson & Associates. He has two children, Dustin, a freshman at Florida Atlantic University, and Danielle, a sophomore in high school. He and his family are members of the St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Miramar, Florida.
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Click here to download Mr. Donn's biography sheet.
Debora M. Rivera, P.E.
FDOT District Six Director of Transportation Operations
On November 14, 2008, Debora M. Rivera was appointed to the position of Director of Transportation Operations for the Florida Department of Transportation District Six. In this capacity Ms. Rivera is responsible for all Construction, Traffic Operations and Maintenance activities in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.
Ms. Rivera’s career with the department began over 20 years ago in Maintenance where she was quickly recognized for her willingness to take on difficult challenges and try new approaches to doing business. After a series of promotions into engineering management positions within Maintenance, Traffic Operations, and Planning, Ms. Rivera was appointed to the position of District Right of Way Manager where she was responsible for the acquisition of property for some of the District’s most important projects including the Miami Intermodal Center, the S.R. 826/836 Interchange, and the Port of Miami Tunnel. During her time in Right of Way, the district successfully negotiated many complex and high value parcels, and was a state-wide leader in innovative practices.
In 2006, Ms. Rivera was named the District Traffic Operations Engineer where she was responsible for the implementation of the Strategic Highway Safety Plan, administration of the Community Traffic Safety Program, development of the District’s Intelligent Transportation System, and operation of the Traffic Management Center. In addition, Ms. Rivera was the Project Leader for 95 Express – the first variably-priced, congestion management project in Florida.
Ms. Rivera received both her Bachelor of Science in Engineering and her Master of Business Administration from the University of Florida. She is a registered professional engineer, a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, a member of Miami-Dade County’s Community Image Advisory Board, and a member of the University of Florida’s Center for Multimodal Solutions for Congestion Mitigation External Advisory Board. Ms. Rivera is a recipient of the department’s Dorothy M. Ryan Award, and was recently honored by the Transportation Research Board with their Outstanding Achievement in Project Management Award.
Born and raised in Miami, Ms. Rivera is married and has two sons.
Click here to download Ms. Rivera biography sheet.
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