Austin, Texas, United States
I am passionate about researching and developing grounded transportation solutions and examining how organizations work, and change over time in response to developments in transportation policy. For over two decades I have devoted my career to advancing transportation solutions rooted in data-driven research, real-world applications, and sustainable growth. I have worked with community advocacy groups, metropolitan planning organizations, state DOTs, local and national research institutions, and the federal government over the course of my career and have intersected with many who share my passion for grounded solutions and innovations in the realm of transportation. My role has often been one of connnector and analyst, drawing insights from conversations at conferences, engagements with fellow citizens, and analytical surveys all aimed and trained on this wonderfully mercurial topic that cuts across political party lines, urban and rural boundaries, and even adjacent topic areas such as health, technology, housing, and utilities. My interest also has grown within transportation to develop solutions ensuring long-term goals and visions can be achieved realistically within organizational functions, structures, and resources, including workforce applied to the objectives and activities associated with these goals and visions. I have witnessed how organizational efforts to adapt to change can have positive and negative outcomes which are always rooted in the human experience and perceptions that are influenced by a multitude of quantitative and qualitative factors. My personal story which has led me down this career path is closely aligned with my mom's entrepreneurial spirit of innovation as a jewelry designer, and my father's humanism-inspired social service as a state of Louisiana social worker. I firmly believe that government can be both the problem and the solution and that the finest broad shades of our collective experience inform where we want policy and good governance to take us, especially in the wonderful realm of transportation.
Project management and research for FHWA, State DOT, and MPO clients focused on resilience improvement planning, urban and rural planning, congestion management, safety action plans, freight, and transit planning.
As Principal Investigator (PI) and lead research and proposal development, responsible for: • Utilizing, adapting, and modifying scientific methods, techniques and procedures in the independent conception, design and implementation of transportation program work activities and research projects within a major, multifaceted urban analysis program • Maintaining and expanding technical competence • Understanding principles of quality and unbiased research • Completing projects on-time and with completed deliverables. • Conducting research following safety practices and guidelines • Executing oversight and leadership of self-initiated research projects, author or co-author of reports and scholarly publications based on original research • Actively seeking and obtain externally-funded research projects, performing work on basic and applied technology problems, and participate in research proposals serving as Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI • Assisting with the overall direction and management, which includes the day-to-day supervision, planning, administration, evaluation, and implementation of the division/program's research and technical work activity functions. • Managing, communicating, and coordinating with multi-disciplinary teams comprising research staff, graduate and undergraduate students, and support staff to ensure the completion of research objectives and timely delivery of high quality project deliverables. • Applying research duties, studies, and technical work activities that include data collection, analysis, coordination, and supervision. • Planning, scheduling, coordinating, and reporting detailed phases of research projects and technical work activities based on public interagency contracts with sponsors.
With a general focus on transportation policy, data, technology, and planning, in this position I: Conduct qualitative and quantitative transportation research analyses in the fields of technology disruption, safety and crash hot spot identification, freight, planning, operations, and policy on behalf of private, federal, state, metropolitan planning organizations, and local government clients. Develop and monitor risk management (qualitative and quantitative risk analysis and risk registry monitoring) and project management (progress tracking/reporting, cost, schedule, and scope controls) plans for state and federally-sponsored research projects. Lead transportation research projects including benchmark analyses, benefit cost analysis, case study development, surveys, literature reviews, and interviews for multiple state (including TxDOT RTI) and federal projects. Maintain interagency assistance contract (IAC) program review for the transportation planning and programming IAC , with solutions in database development and monthly monitoring improvements tied to access database forms, and human resource information systems at TTI. Develop recommendations for contract specifications for research implementation contracts as well as various urban planning studies under development by metropolitan planning organizations and State DOTs. Apply project management principals in the leadership and support of research studies in the topic areas of freight, disruptive technologies, transportation policy, transportation planning, and transportation systems management and operations (TSMO).
Manage multiple, highly complex research and development projects in the topic areas of travel demand management, travel time reliability, rapid renewal of aging highway infrastructure, and coordinated planning for new highway capacity Develop project strategies to recruit committee members, manage committee activities, draft documents, and manage multiple R&D contracts to achieve expected results on time and within budget Coordinate with TRB SHRP 2 Staff, AASHTO, and Federal Highways Administration to ensure research products are implemented by state departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations and other potential users
Formulated, monitored and executed a conference project-level budget review based on pre-established timelines, budgeting constraints, and key research topics to evaluate the impact of research initiatives for federal and state sponsors Reviewed and tracked conference expenditures to establish metrics related to costs and consumption of staff hours to achieve designated tasks at a sub-project level Created a conference planning tool that establishes an estimated timeline of conference tasks based on averages of historical time and finance billing data, which combine to monitor both the budget and the progress of the conference from inception to conception Developed project-level work flow procedures and trained senior program assistants in its use Edited and assisted in the distribution of circulars, annual TRB transportation research records and other conference-related compendiums Crafted surveys, aggregated research proposals, and reviewed those submitted for presentation to multiple specialty conferences in transportation policy Presented and recorded training webinars for committee chairs to brief them on new changes to the TRB committee rotation process Created multimedia content using Camtasia software and managed the formatting and distribution of online media to conference websites and web portals in a post-conference capacity Worked with program officers and associates from across the technical activities division to analyze shortcomings of the committee rotation process and standardize a more efficient format for use by committee leadership Developed agendas, travel itineraries, appointments and expense reports for four Senior Program Officers to assist them in fulfilling their core TRB duties of mandatory field visits to State DOTs and Academic institutions Managed the contracts procurement process for shuttle services, translation services, white papers, and conference summary reports to meet scope, budget and time constraints
Evaluated invoice program system and devised a more efficient process using Crystal Reports Software to convert invoices into Adobe Acrobat format. Integrated Accounting aging reports and Brokerage credit cancellations by developing a Crystal reports program to improve accuracy of accounts receivable and interdepartmental coordination. Reduced processing times for insurance requests from 15 minutes to 3 minutes using instant downloads, which saved the company over $40,000 per year in operational expenses. Created loss ratio data reports twice-monthly for carriers and clients using Crystal, Access and Excel databases. Reconciled past due accounts and collected over $125,000. Served as liaison between client representatives, claimants and claims department to bring all parties to agreement.
Combined DCS letter correspondence with email tasks to curtail response times to client/claimant requests and updates. Developed electronic training manual/diary for daily improvement and monitoring of work performance. Networked with multiple international freight carriers, repair firms and corporate clients to ensure the timely completion of multiple types of insurance claims. Contributed to 20% higher processing rate for claims as part of international claims department.
Contributed to the increased billing and revenue for the Mississippi office by 70% over the course of first year of employment. Built a comprehensive investigation model which increased the timeliness of reports within the billing cycle. Discovered vital leverage and witness findings which led to significant reduction in plaintiff litigation in the state of Mississippi against Ford, Chrysler and General Motors manufacturers.