Rosalie “Rosie’’ Johnson is the Acting Chair & Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJMVC). She was nominated to the post by New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill in January 2026.
In just her first several months on the job, Chief Johnson’s leadership has helped bring the NJMVC to new heights; recently being singled out by Governor Sherrill for special recognition for making significant improvements in REAL ID and other services.
While new to New Jersey Motor Vehicles, Rosie isn’t new to the world of motor vehicle administration, having served 10 years in leadership roles in the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles and another year as a motor vehicles consultant nationally. In fact, Governor Sherrill cited Rosie’s “wide breadth of experience in streamlining motor vehicle agency operations’’ when announcing her decision to nominate Chief Johnson, noting that she “scoured the country’’ in search of an accomplished, talented leader to improve services in the Garden State.
“I’m very passionate about MVC and DMV work and the lives that we change in a positive way because of the work that we do,’’ Chief Johnson says.
More challenges lie ahead at the New Jersey MVC, a primary one being the first state in the nation to implement a new law for mandatory licensing, registration, and insurance governing e-bikes.
Rosie credits her executive and senior staff along with the more than 2,500 dedicated rank-and-file Commission employees with the successes the NJMVC is enjoying. She has made a name for herself since joining the Commission by personally handing out donuts by the dozen in her face-to-face meet-and-greets at MVC headquarters in Trenton, as well as more than three dozen MVC agencies and other facilities located throughout the Garden State. She says the donuts are a great “ice breaker’’ and help her learn from frontline personnel about what can be improved in employee and customer satisfaction.
Chief Johnson says she is looking forward to taking on the leadership role as Vice President of AAMVA's Region 1 Board of Directors, an organization she considers integral to the success of all motor vehicle administrations across the United States and Canada.
Rosie is a proud U.S. Navy veteran and the widowed mother of two teenagers. She says transplanting her family from the Centennial State to the Garden State has been an exciting experience. The family plans to enjoy all their adopted Garden State has to offer, from visiting Revolutionary War historic sites and munching great pizza and bagels to taking day trips to the Jersey Shore.
In just her first several months on the job, Chief Johnson’s leadership has helped bring the NJMVC to new heights; recently being singled out by Governor Sherrill for special recognition for making significant improvements in REAL ID and other services.
While new to New Jersey Motor Vehicles, Rosie isn’t new to the world of motor vehicle administration, having served 10 years in leadership roles in the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles and another year as a motor vehicles consultant nationally. In fact, Governor Sherrill cited Rosie’s “wide breadth of experience in streamlining motor vehicle agency operations’’ when announcing her decision to nominate Chief Johnson, noting that she “scoured the country’’ in search of an accomplished, talented leader to improve services in the Garden State.
“I’m very passionate about MVC and DMV work and the lives that we change in a positive way because of the work that we do,’’ Chief Johnson says.
More challenges lie ahead at the New Jersey MVC, a primary one being the first state in the nation to implement a new law for mandatory licensing, registration, and insurance governing e-bikes.
Rosie credits her executive and senior staff along with the more than 2,500 dedicated rank-and-file Commission employees with the successes the NJMVC is enjoying. She has made a name for herself since joining the Commission by personally handing out donuts by the dozen in her face-to-face meet-and-greets at MVC headquarters in Trenton, as well as more than three dozen MVC agencies and other facilities located throughout the Garden State. She says the donuts are a great “ice breaker’’ and help her learn from frontline personnel about what can be improved in employee and customer satisfaction.
Chief Johnson says she is looking forward to taking on the leadership role as Vice President of AAMVA's Region 1 Board of Directors, an organization she considers integral to the success of all motor vehicle administrations across the United States and Canada.
Rosie is a proud U.S. Navy veteran and the widowed mother of two teenagers. She says transplanting her family from the Centennial State to the Garden State has been an exciting experience. The family plans to enjoy all their adopted Garden State has to offer, from visiting Revolutionary War historic sites and munching great pizza and bagels to taking day trips to the Jersey Shore.
