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Finch Fulton

Finch Fulton is a government affairs advisor in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. He is a member of the Public Policy and Law practice group.

Prior to joining the firm, Finch served as vice president of policy and strategy for a Pittsburgh-based autonomous truck company. He led their regulatory, legislative, communications, marketing, and standards development strategies. Finch was also previously deputy assistant secretary for policy, and the nominee to be assistant secretary for transportation policy, at the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT).

There, Finch co-led the development of the USDOT's infrastructure proposal, which set the foundation for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, organized and advised on the Department's discretionary grant programs, and developed the Department's automated vehicle, drone, and advanced technology policies.

  • Board Member and Treasurer: BEST Robotics (May 2021 - Present)
  • Board Member and Treasurer: Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE) (Oct 2021 - Present)
     
  • July 2023: 2023 Automated Road Transportation Symposium; presentation on the history of automated vehicle policy and what is coming next from the Federal government 
  • May 2023: International Foodservice Distributors Association; presentation on AVs, EVs and the Future of Trucking
  • August 2022: SAE Tomorrow Today podcast on re-engineering the supply chain with automation
  • April 2022: Fireside Chat with FMCSA Chief Council Earl Adams Jr. on automated truck regulations
  • May 2021: PAVE Fireside Chat hosted by Ohio LG Jon Husted and featuring Brett Roubinek, President of the Transportation Research Center
  • January 2020: Roundtable discussion on automated vehicle development and data sharing the Governors Meeting: Automotive and Autonomous Mobility Policy at the World Economic Forum in Davos
  • January 2020: CES panel “What’s Next for Vehicle Automation”
  • October 2019: ITS World Congress on automated vehicles and the 5.9GHz spectrum
  • October 2019: Regulatory Perspectives on Autonomous Mobility at the Autonomous Mobility Summit in Singapore 
  • October 2019: USDOT Access and Mobility for All Summit - Inclusive Design Challenge
  • May 2019: September 2019: The Hill’s Future of Mobility Summit panel discussion
  • May 2019: World Economic Forum Drones and Aerial Mobility Global Council roundtable
  • March 2019: SXSW fireside discussion with Secretary Elaine Chao introducing the New and Emerging Transportation Technology (NETT) Council
  • December 2018: G7 Multistakeholder Conference on Artificial Intelligence on “Unleashing Innovation - Reducing Barriers to Innovation” discussion paper breakout session in Montreal
  • October 2018: USDOT unveiling of Automated Vehicles 3.0: Preparing for the Future of Transportation 
  • July 2018: Automated Vehicle Symposium plenary speech on USDOT’s AV research activities
  • March 2018: FAA UAS Symposium speech “Legislation and Regulation -- Who’s in Charge of What?”
  • January 2018: CES Panel on “The Key to UAS Integration”
  • December 2017: Western Governors Association Winter Meeting in Arizona - presentation on Federal AV efforts
Additional Thought Leadership Pages
  • Locomation’s Voluntary Safety Self-Assessment (May 2022)
  • Eno Guest Op-Ed: The Current State of Public Policy for Autonomous Trucking (May 2021)
     
Additional News & Event Pages
  • Quoted, “Self-driving truck rule to address safety, human supervisors,” CQ News, 20 February 2024
  • Quoted, “New ITS America resources consolidate autonomous vehicle best practice,” Traffic Technology Today, 9 November 2023
  • Quoted, “In California, the specter of self-driving trucks brings a backlash,” Automotive News, Auto Jobs Now, 4 May 2023
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