With more than 20 years of experience as a transportation professional, Solomon Caviness is an industry leader in infrastructure and operational programming. His career in transportation systems programming includes collaboration with federal, state, and local governments to improve the quality of life for all. He has helped agencies execute 21st-century infrastructure using innovative delivery approaches. His experience includes tolling, urban planning policy, capital project delivery, infrastructure operations and maintenance, and developing multimodal transportation strategies.
Commissioner Caviness currently leads a workforce of over 150 public servants responsible for 95,000 street signs, 1,100 traffic signals, 1,400 miles of sidewalks, 155 bridges, and 4,500 lane miles throughout the City of Atlanta. He is an honorary member of Atlanta's "Pothole Posse" and serves on the Intelligent Transportation Society of America board. The Commissioner has previously served on several transportation committees and other industry committees. He has led forums focused on transportation policy, planning, operations, infrastructure maintenance, and the use of innovative strategies to improve coordination across jurisdictional boundaries.
Before joining the Atlanta Department of Transportation, Commissioner Caviness led the Middlesex County Department of Transportation, where he delivered a multimillion-dollar capital program. As the leader of Middlesex County's first Department of Transportation, Commissioner Caviness oversaw the County's Office of Engineering, Planning, Public Works, and the Middlesex County Area Transit (MCAT) service. He established Middlesex County as the first Vision Zero County in New Jersey.
Commissioner Caviness received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Tennessee, and an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business.
Mr. Caviness is a proud Atlanta native. He is married to Leticia Caviness and the doting father of two girls.
James Garland is the Assistant Commissioner at the Atlanta Department of Transportation (ATLDOT), where he provides executive leadership across a broad portfolio that includes planning, operations, engineering, and project delivery. In this role, he is helping shape a more efficient, responsive, and high-performing organization by strengthening internal coordination, improving business processes, advancing strategic priorities, and supporting the delivery of transportation improvements that better serve the City of Atlanta.
He brings almost 25 years of senior leadership experience in transportation, infrastructure, and public-sector administration at the federal, regional, and local levels. Prior to joining ATLDOT, he held executive and senior leadership roles within the U.S. Department of Transportation, including the Federal Railroad Administration in the Senior Executive Series, as well as key roles with the Federal Transit Administration, Federal Highway Administration, and the Houston-Galveston Area Council/Metropolitan Planning Organization. Across these roles, he led complex organizations and multidisciplinary teams responsible for transportation planning, capital program implementation, engineering oversight, grant management, regulatory coordination, and policy execution.
Throughout his career, Mr. Garland has built a strong reputation for improving organizational effectiveness, leading through complexity, and aligning strategy with execution. His leadership has consistently focused on building stronger teams, modernizing systems, improving decision-making, and creating clearer pathways for implementation in challenging public-sector environments, including collaboration with the private sector.
At ATLDOT, he draws on that experience to help lead a large and diverse portfolio of responsibilities while positioning the organization for greater efficiency, stronger performance, and long-term success. His career reflects a deep capacity to lead complex public institutions, manage cross-functional operations, and drive organizational transformation at scale. He earned his undergraduate degree from Dillard University and his masters degree from Columbia University.
