Blakey has held four previous Presidential appointments, two of which required Senate confirmation. From 1992 to 1993, Blakey served as Administrator of the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). As the nation's leading highway safety official, she was charged with reducing deaths, injuries, and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. Prior to her service at NHTSA, she held key positions at the United States Department of Commerce, the United States Department of Education, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the White House, and the United States Department of Transportation.[2] For instance, in 1989 she was appointed as a Member of the Commission on Presidential Scholars. Prior to that, she was Deputy Assistant to the President for Public Affairs and Communications Planning at the White House. Prior to this she was director of public affairs and special assistant to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. From 1982 to 1984, she was Director of Public Affairs at the National Endowment for the Humanities. Previously Ms. Blakey served as director of that agency's youth programs and in its Office of Planning and Policy Assessment.