OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — Two women are making an impact on the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) by being named the first females in two top senior staff positions. Secretary of Transportation Tim Gatz named Dawn Sullivan as Deputy Director and Terri Angier to the newly created position of Interagency Liaison. Additionally, Trenton January was selected as the Division Four Engineer, which includes the Oklahoma City metro.

Dawn Sullivan

Sullivan made history not once but twice by being the first female to attain the second highest position for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the first female to fill a senior staff position for the department. She has worked closely with former Deputy Director Russell Hulin and fully took over his responsibilities after his retirement on June 30. In this senior staff position, Sullivan will oversee all day-to-day administration and strategic planning for the department.

With more than 30 years dedicated to the department, Sullivan began her career as an engineering student at the Sand Springs Residency in 1988 and continued as a student engineer as part of the OU Bridge Design Squad. She then interned at various departments within the agency before becoming an Engineering Manager in Roadway Design. In 2007, Sullivan became the Division Engineer for the then-newly formed Environmental Programs Division. She was then named the Director of Capital Programs in 2016 where she remained until becoming Deputy Director.

Sullivan is a founding member of Women’s Transportation Seminar International, Oklahoma Chapter; a Co-Chair for the Oklahoma State Transportation Innovation Council; and is the Southern Plains Transportation Center advisory board Chairman. She has completed Gov. Mary Fallin’s Executive Development Program for State Officials and the National Transportation Advanced Leadership Institute certification.

She has a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the University of Oklahoma and has been a Professional Engineer since 1995.

Terri Angier

Angier’s new position is the Secretary of Transportation’s direct report serving as Interagency Liaison for ODOT, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission. She also will continue her responsibilities as Chief of the Media and Public Relations Division of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

As the Interagency Liaison, she will assist the Secretary of Transportation with interagency coordination and communication along with cross-agency resource leveraging, performance and efficiency initiatives among the agencies. Angier is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Central Oklahoma, teaching journalism, public relations, crisis management and, more recently, ethics courses.

With nearly 30 years at the department, Angier has consulted on crisis management and has helped with communication efforts during several major crisis events. During one of the worst, the 2002 Webbers Falls bridge disaster and rebuilding project, she was the primary public and media relations advisor for ODOT management and pushed hard to keep information timely and available.

She has managed the multi-million-dollar Oklahoma, Keep Our Land Grand statewide anti-litter campaign and also oversaw the public relations functions of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority from 1996 to 2001, during the state’s then largest turnpike system expansion. She also was involved in the strategies and public relations for the new Oklahoma City I-40 Crosstown from its inception to the opening in 2012.

Angier has been in involved and recognized in the transportation industry for many years with her most recent honor being named as “Woman of the Year” by the Oklahoma Chapter of Women’s Transportation Seminar International.

Born in Tehran, Iran, Angier obtained her secondary education in India and England. She earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and a master’s degree in journalism, both from the University of Oklahoma.

Trenton January

January was selected as the Division Four Engineer, where he will oversee the highway maintenance and construction activities for the nine counties in north-central Oklahoma, including the Oklahoma City metro.

January started his career as a temporary employee in 2006 at the Delaware County maintenance yard. While earning a civil engineering degree, he joined the Oklahoma State University Design Squad in 2008. In 2012, he was hired as an Engineering Manager at Division 2, headquartered in Antlers. While there he worked in the bridge, maintenance and traffic divisions as well as the Madill Residency. He was promoted to Division 4 Rural Construction Engineer in Perry in September 2017.

In 2018, January was named the Construction and Maintenance Engineer for the Oklahoma City Urban Area, which included the responsibilities of overseeing the daily maintenance and construction tasks of state highways and interstates in Oklahoma and Canadian counties. In this position he was involved in major projects including the historic I-235/Off-Broadway truss bridge move, the final phases of I-40 Crosstown Oklahoma City Boulevard project and an interchange and widening project at I-40 and Choctaw Road in eastern Oklahoma County.

January earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Oklahoma State University and currently resides in Stillwater.