Madeleine McDonnell to be a Featured Speaker at our September 15, 2026 Gathering in NYC

It is with great pride that BuildIT announces that Madeleine McDonnell will be a featured speaker at our September 15, 2026 ‘Gathering’ in NYC.

Madeleine McDonnell serves as the Chief of Strategy and Operations at the Gateway Development Commission (GDC), where she directs strategic initiatives and organizational operations for the historic bi-state agency. In this role, she plays a vital part in delivering the Hudson Tunnel Project, the nation's most critical infrastructure development. Ms. McDonnell has previously served as the agency's Deputy Chief Program Officer and Chief of Staff, helping build its core organizational framework and secure historic federal funding.

Prior to her work at GDC, she spent eight years at the New York City Department of Transportation, culminating in her role as Chief of Staff from 2019 to 2022. Her extensive public sector career also includes impactful policy and leadership roles with the NYC Mayor’s Office, the NYC Department of Small Business Services, the Roosevelt Institute, and the Office of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Ms. McDonnell holds a Master of Public Administration from the NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University.

The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) is a bi-state public authority managing the largest infrastructure initiative in the United States: the Gateway Program. Operating as a partnership between New York, New Jersey, and Amtrak, the GDC is tasked with overseeing the funding, planning, and construction of critical rail improvements along the Northeast Corridor.

GDC’s mission and impact include:

Hudson Tunnel Project: The GDC is the primary sponsor overseeing the construction of a new, state-of-the-art, two-tube passenger rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River.

Infrastructure Rehabilitation: The commission is simultaneously directing the complete overhaul and modernization of the existing, century-old North River Tunnel.

Transit Resiliency: These massive structural efforts will eliminate systemic regional rail bottlenecks, double trans-Hudson passenger capacity, and fortify the transit link that powers 20% of the U.S. economy.

Full event details: build-it.world/the-gathering-nyc-2026