Governor Mike Easley appointed Lyndo Tippett as Secretary of the N.C. Department of Transportation in January 2001 and re-appointed him for a second term in January 2005. Prior to his appointment, Tippett served on the N.C. Board of Transportation for eight years as the chairman of the Audit and Contract Committee. He also currently serves as chair of the N.C. Turnpike Authority.

Tippett is a native of Emit, N.C. and a long-time resident of Fayetteville. He earned his bachelor of science degree with a concentration in accounting from Barton College, and is a Certified Public Accountant, having worked with the firm of Tippett, Padrick, Bryan and Merritt in Fayetteville prior to his appointment. Tippett began his career as a CPA with Ernst and Young in the Raleigh office.

During his first seven years as transportation secretary, Tippett’s proudest accomplishments include the development of North Carolina Moving Ahead!, a $700 million transportation program to improve safety and mobility across the state; and the creation of the Ecosystem Enhancement Program, a nationally recognized partnership with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Through the EEP, the state has protected more than 40,000 acres of high-quality assets throughout North Carolina, which are used for mitigation in the Department of Transportation highway construction program. The EEP has also supplied mitigation for NCDOT projects years in advance of construction, allowing the department to move forward with nearly $4 billion in improvements without a single delay due to mitigation permitting problems.

Tippett continues to lead the department’s efforts to improve transportation project delivery, seek innovative solutions to meet the state’s growing transportation needs, protect the environment, implement the statewide long-range transportation plan and expand public transportation.

Tippett and his wife Lou have two children, Kellon and Walt, and a daughter-in-law Sally Scott, as well as three grandchildren, Walt, Hill and Sarah.