FACILITATOR

Rebecca Pettit is the Chief Counsel for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Appointed to this role in January 2026, she supports FMCSA’s mission of reducing crashes, fatalities, and injuries involving large trucks and buses. Pettit leads the agency’s team of attorneys responsible for providing legal support on regulatory and legislative affairs, adjudications, enforcement and litigation, procurement and grants, ethics, and employment matters.  

Prior to joining FMCSA, Pettit served as Deputy Chief Counsel for the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) within the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. During more than a decade with the FHP, Pettit served as a legal advisor to more than 1,900 troopers statewide, while supporting specialized units including Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, the Criminal Interdiction Unit, Traffic Homicide, the Specialized Investigations and Reconstruction Team, and the Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence. She also advised FHP’s Immigration Enforcement Section and worked closely with federal law enforcement partners. She played a key role in developing and evaluating proposed legislation, rules, and regulations affecting commercial motor vehicles and commercial driver licensing.

Earlier in her career, Pettit served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Florida Attorney General’s Office under the Honorable Pam Bondi and as an Assistant State Attorney in the Hillsborough County 13th Judicial Circuit under the Honorable Mark Ober. Pettit earned her Juris Doctor from the West Virginia University College of Law and is a proud Mountaineer.

Jim Smith is the Vice President of Safety & Compliance at TransForce, one of North America's leading CDL driver staffing companies. In this role, Smith oversees FMCSA regulatory compliance, driver qualification, drug and alcohol program administration, and the development of enterprise-wide safety policy — navigating the unique complexities of the staffing model's joint-employer framework across hundreds of client carriers.

Smith brings more than 25 years of progressive safety and operations leadership to his work. Before joining TransForce, he served as Senior Director of Fleet Safety at PepsiCo North America, leading large-scale fleet safety initiatives across one of the country's most recognized private fleets. Prior to PepsiCo, he spent more than a decade as a Regional Safety Manager at Penske Logistics, where he developed deep expertise in commercial fleet operations, driver risk management, and regulatory compliance across a multi-state region.

Smith's career began with 10 years of service in the U.S. Air Force Special Operations community, where he built a foundation of discipline, mission focus, and high-stakes decision-making that has defined his approach to safety leadership ever since.

Smith holds a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) designation and a Six Sigma Black Belt, and earned his education from the University of Arkansas and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. His expertise spans FMCSA Part 382/391 compliance, CSA/SMS methodology, the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, post-accident testing protocols, and driver risk analytics.