Haley Murphy on Leading ATSSA into the Year Ahead

As ATSSA Chair, Haley Murphy talks about what she’s focused on this year and the key steps she plans to take to support the industry and make roads safer

At the ATSSA Conference 2026, Gavin Jenkins, Senior Managing Editor of Roads & Bridges, sits down with Haley Murphy, Chair of the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA), to discuss her service-driven leadership approach and priorities for the year ahead.

Murphy talks about how strengthening industry connections and member engagement supports ATSSA’s mission to advance roadway safety. She also explains how policy, funding, and advocacy play a direct role in protecting roadway workers and the traveling public.

About the Author

Gavin Jenkins, Head of Content

Head of Content

Gavin Jenkins is an award-winning journalist based in Pittsburgh. His work has appeared in The New York TimesThe Washington PostThe AtlanticVICE, Narrative.lyPrevention, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Beijing Review

In 2020, two stories he wrote for Pitt Med Magazine earned three Golden Quill Awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. “Surviving Survival” won Excellence in Corporate, Marketing and Promotional Communications – Written, Medical/Health, while “Oct. 27, 2018: Pittsburgh’s Darkest Day, and the Mass Casualty Response” won Excellence in Written Journalism, Magazines – Medical/Health, as well as the Ray Sprigle Memorial Award: Magazines, a Best in Show award.

After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in 2003, he covered sports for the Bedford Gazette, in Bedford, Pa., and the Martinsville Bulletin, in Martinsville, Va. In 2006, he returned to Pittsburgh to write for Trib Total Media. Based out of the Kittanning Leader Times, he worked for the Trib for two years, and then he moved to Shenzhen, China, to teach English and freelance. After two years in China, he earned an MFA in nonfiction from the University of Pittsburgh.

When he's not at work, he's usually playing with his border-collie mix, Bob.

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