Governor Gianforte Announces Leadership Change at Department of Transportation

Governor's Office

HELENA, Mont. - Governor Greg Gianforte today announced that Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) Director Chris Dorrington will transition out of his role on October 1 to pursue an opportunity in the private sector. The governor is expected to announce his replacement in the coming weeks.

"Chris Dorrington is the kind of changemaker you want in state government," Gov. Gianforte said. "His exceptional ability to lead made lasting impacts at the DEQ and MDT. From reducing permitting backlogs to ensuring we had the right leaders in each agency division to best serve the people of Montana, Dorrington always stepped up to the plate. His commitment to efficiency and customer service will continue to serve the state for years to come. I wish Chris great success in his future endeavors and thank him for his years of dedicated service with the administration."

Dorrington assumed the role as director of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in 2021 and prior to that led DEQ's Air, Energy, and Mining Division for four-and-a-half years. Before serving at DEQ, from 2006 to 2016, he was a leader in the Montana Department of Transportation Planning Division. In June 2024, the governor appointed him as director of MDT.

As DEQ director he helped advance Gov. Gianforte's priorities to improve the state's permitting processes. Under Dorrington's leadership, permitting processes became clearer, more consistent, and well-communicated, while upholding the state's obligation to protect our natural resources. A particular hallmark of Dorrington's term was improving the proactive customer experience for the people of Montana.

Dorrington also served as chair of the governor's Housing Task Force where improvements were researched and implemented in each of the executive, legislative, and local jurisdiction approaches to housing.

As MDT director, Dorrington has realigned the agency structure, instilled a values-based leadership model, improved time to decision metrics to meet the constant and growing demand for a safe, reliable Montana transportation system, and improved transparency of operations for stakeholders and the public. Employee safety metrics have also steadily improved, meaning MDT's most important resource, its people, leave work each day safe and healthy.

"I have worked hard for the citizens, our stakeholders and our agency staff. For 20 years absolutely great things have been accomplished by dedicated, intelligent and hard-working people I have been blessed to work alongside. My greatest hope is that everyone I've worked with will continue to hold our work and the importance of our relationships in the highest regard," Director Dorrington said.

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