Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr. is the Chief Executive Officer of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA), in Jacksonville, Florida. His distinguished career in the public transportation industry spans nearly four decades and includes tenures leading the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA).

Ford is a champion for innovative multimodal transportation solutions, complete streets, walkable neighborhoods, public-private partnerships and transit-oriented development. He is known for being a thought leader and is often tapped by national and international groups to share his industry-leading insight on transportation matters through trade and study missions around the world.

During his nine years in Jacksonville, Ford and the JTA have received numerous awards for his transformational and community-focused initiatives in the Northeast Florida community. He was named APTA Outstanding Public Transportation Manager in 2020, the same year the JTA won the APTA Innovation Award for its innovative response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Eno Center for Transportation named Ford its Thought Leader for 2019. President Barack Obama named Ford a White House Champion of Change in 2015. Ford was named an “Ultimate CEO” by the Jacksonville Business Journal, and is an inductee in the First Coast Business Hall of Fame. He is also the 2016 recipient of the Jacksonville Urban League’s Clanzel T. Brown, Sr. Award. Under his leadership, the JTA received the APTA Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award in 2016.