Selika Talbott, Adjunct Professor, American University 

Selika Talbott is a Professorial Lecturer at American University researching and speaking in the areas of Policy and Regulation concerning Vehicle Automation. She most recently was the Director of Executive Operations and Senior Advisor to the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Prior to that position, she was the Director of Field Operations for FMCSA.

Talbott has also served as a gubernatorial appointee as the Deputy Administrator of Operations for the State of New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission overseeing 1800 employees of the commission and the more than 25 million transactions yearly with the Commission and the public. She served as the First Black Woman Municipal Republican Chair of Marlboro Township, a Trustee of the Lincoln Club, and as an Officer of the Federation of Republican Women in New Jersey. She was the Deputy Campaign Manager of a Congressional Campaign and ran for office herself in 2009.

Talbott earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, as well as a law degree, from Hofstra University. She has taught continuing legal education at Fordham Law School, piloted summer internship programs for students, and is published in the area of product liability, and autonomous and electric vehicles. Talbott and her husband are the parents of 4 children.

Talbott spoke at the March 2021 training session.