Acting Deputy Regional Administrator, New England Region

Elisabeth Smeda is the FAA’s Acting Deputy Regional Administrator for the New England Region. She began serving in the role in June 2025. Previously, she was the Supervisory Senior Advisor for the New England Region Office of the Regional Administrator.  

Ms. Smeda joined the Department of Transportation (DOT) and FAA in 2017, where she first served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Transportation in DOT’s Office of Aviation and International Affairs. In this role, she was responsible for overseeing economic regulation of international aviation, the administration of small community aviation support programs, and fostering competition in aviation. From there, she became Senior Advisor to the FAA Administrator, helping to develop and refine major policy initiatives and advise on political implications of decisions. Ms. Smeda liaised with Congressional, private industry, and advocacy groups; managed crises and sensitive issues; developed and wrote key messages for speeches and press releases; and served as the FAA Administrator’s confidential counsel. 

Prior to her FAA experience, Ms. Smeda worked at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, as the International Industry Representative for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). She worked across eight time zones liaising between TSA and the airline industry in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tahiti, ensuring the airlines understood and were compliant with TSA’s policies and regulations. She focused on troubleshooting issues involving national laws that contradicted or made it difficult to abide with U.S. regulations and managing overseas crises. Before her tenure in Japan, she was a Senior Policy Analyst in TSA’s Office of Global Strategy, where she led policy experts and navigated complex issues pertaining to international transportation security programs and bilateral agreements. 

Prior to Federal service, Ms. Smeda spent 18 years as a technical writer and editor with Science Applications International Corporation, writing primarily for NASA. She also was an Adjunct Professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College. 

Ms. Smeda earned her Master’s degree in Teaching Writing and Literature from George Mason University and her Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism from Calvin University.