GHSA Media Contacts

Jonathan Adkins was named Chief Executive Officer of the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) in 2023 after serving as Executive Director since 2014. GHSA is the national nonprofit that represents state highway safety agencies. GHSA members are charged with implementing their governors’ highway safety plans and administering federal behavioral highway safety funds.

Adkins is responsible for directing the organization’s Washington headquarters office, serving as the association’s chief liaison with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and other federal agencies, and representing the organization on Capitol Hill and with private-sector partners. He frequently represents the states’ viewpoints on highway safety solutions in the media and before Congress, federal agencies and industry partners. Adkins is regularly quoted by a variety of publications, including Politico, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

Under his leadership, GHSA has expanded its scope and influence by adding new programs, member services and staff. Adkins has built partnerships with a variety of leading organizations in the automotive, insurance and consumer products industries, and has leveraged those relationships to develop tools for state highway safety agencies. Adkins also launched GHSA's Consulting Services Initiative, through which the organization assists states in managing their highway safety programs.

Adkins began his work with GHSA in 2000. Prior to being named Executive Director, he served as GHSA’s Communications Director as well as Deputy Executive Director. Adkins has served on a variety of boards and in appointed roles within highway safety and the broader community, including the National Organizations for Youth Safety, the Road to Zero Coalition and the National Lifesavers Conference. Currently, he serves as Chair of the Board of the National Alliance to Stop Impaired Driving (NASID) and on the Board of Youthcast Media Group, a nonprofit that trains high school and college students from underserved communities to write about and report on often overlooked health and social issues, such as traffic safety.

Adkins holds a political science degree from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. Outside of work, he volunteers time with Dickinson College, West Virginia University and The Matthew Shepard Foundation, among others. Adkins and his husband, Ben, live in the Logan Circle neighborhood in Washington, D.C.

Media inquiries should be directed to Adam Snider, Director of Communications, at 202-580-7930 or asnider@ghsa.org.

Pam Shadel Fischer has more than 30 years of experience addressing behavioral safety issues at the local, state and national levels through advocacy, education, enforcement, grassroots outreach, policy and planning. She manages many of GHSA’s key partnerships and oversees the association’s Consulting Services Initiative, which provides fee-based program and management assistance to state members through a pool of seasoned traffic safety professionals. She researches and writes best practice publications for GHSA (11 to date, addressing teen driving, pedestrian and bicyclist safety, drowsy and high-risk impaired driving, and micromobility) and serves as a subject matter expert for other behavioral safety research reports and projects. She also works to bring national visibility to highway safety through public speaking engagements, implementation of unique partnerships and other outreach.

Prior to joining GHSA, Fischer was principal of her own consulting firm which for nearly a decade helped state and federal agencies as well as nonprofit organizations address the behavioral safety issues that put all roadway users at risk. From 2007 to 2010, she served as Governor’s Representative and Director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic, following a 20-year career with AAA New Jersey.

Fischer holds a B.A. in English from Lebanon Valley College, an M.A. in Leadership and Public Administration from Centenary University, where she is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Social Services, and a Certificate in Advanced Management from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also a nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technician.

Media inquiries should be directed to Adam Snider, Director of Communications, at 202-580-7930 or asnider@ghsa.org.

Adam Snider is GHSA’s Director of Communications, with responsibility for developing and executing strategies to enhance the association’s visibility and increase awareness of highway safety priorities. He builds and cultivates relationships with a wide array of reporters to promote coverage of key traffic safety issues, leading to coverage in publications such as the Associated Press, the New York Times, CNN, the Washington Post, Reuters, Politico, Vox and many more. He also manages the association’s website and social media channels.

With nearly 20 years of experience in communications, advocacy and journalism, Adam is passionate about telling creative stories that shine a light on important transportation safety topics often overlooked in the national discourse. Before joining GHSA, Adam led public affairs and media relations for the Electrification Coalition and the American Association of Airport Executives.

Adam has focused on transportation for his entire career. Prior to his work in public affairs, he reported on congressional and regulatory action on highway safety and other transportation issues at Politico, where he was a founding author of the Morning Transportation newsletter. His reporting at Politico was cited for outstanding coverage by the Nieman Journalism Lab and the Washington Post.

Adam earned a B.A. in English from Clemson University. He and his wife, Emma, live in the Fort Totten neighborhood of Washington, D.C., with their daughter and son.