About me
C. Patrick Sankey is the chief executive officer of the International Road Federation and its educational foundation, the International Road Educational Foundation. He has over 25 years of management experience in organizations focusing on national and international transportation and construction industry issues. Prior to joining the IRF in 2000, Mr. Sankey was a vice president for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. He served as the project manager for the association’s international programs, and as the managing director of the engineering, education and public transportation officials divisions. During his tenure with the IRF, the organization has made significant improvements to its programs and services. As a leading purveyor of technology and knowledge transfer, the IRF has expanded its role in connecting key government officials around the world with best practices and the latest technologies on the market. Since Mr. Sankey’s arrival, the IRF’s ministerial and road directorate membership and affiliate count now spans 116 countries across six continents. The IRF Road Safety Training Program (est. in 1998 in a collaborative effort with the World Bank and U.S. Federal Highway Administration) has also expanded. The Program includes an international-based training option with multiple modules addressing hard and soft safety issues. The Program, entitled Safer Roads by Design™, provides classroom and hands-on in-the-field practical training. Mr. Sankey is actively engaged in a global public awareness campaign regarding road safety, which gained significant momentum with a presentation before the United Nations in 2004.Mr. Sankey also oversaw the expansion of the IRF Fellowship Program. This program affords the opportunity for road development professionals to pursue a post-graduate degree in a transportation construction-related curriculum. The program has expanded its enrollment to 1,166 students from 115 countries, while utilizing 90 universities in 13 countries around the world. Mr. Sankey is a native of the Washington, D.C. area and received his Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. He is a member of the American Society of Association Executives and resides in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife Frances and son Ethan. Founded in 1948 by road industry leaders in the United States, the IRF is an organization of public and private road development interests. The IRF’s enduring mission is to promote and advocate for the sustainable development and maintenance of better, safer roads and road networks worldwide. Working together with its members and associates, the IRF helps put in place technological solutions and management practices that provide maximum economic and social returns from national road investments.
