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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Who's Doing What in the Industry

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Awards for Agency Leaders
WASHINGTON, DC—Governing magazine recently recognized Keith T. Parker, general manager/chief executive officer, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, and Dow Constantine, King County (WA) executive and chair of Seattle’s Sound Transit Board of Directors, among its eight 2016 Public Officials of the Year. Parker serves on the APTA Board of Directors and chairs the Rail Transit Committee.

BALTIMORE—Paul Comfort, Maryland Transit Administration administrator and chief executive officer since 2015, has received the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials President’s Award for Public Transportation, honoring candidates who have “performed exemplary service during the year furthering transportation activities … which have or potentially could have a salutary impact on transportation nationwide or on a regional basis.”

Comfort serves on the APTA Board of Directors.


PHILADELPHIA—TranSystems Corp. announced the appointment of Dana Shaeffer as a senior project manager.

Shaeffer has more than 16 years of experience with both freight and passenger rail and joins the firm from Amtrak, where she served most recently as program manager for the Gateway Program. Her other positions with Amtrak include project development officer, program director supporting systems integration and managing professional services associated with the Gateway Program.


FLINT, MI—The Mass Transportation Authority in Flint announced the promotions of Harmony Lloyd to director of planning, innovation and external affairs and Derrek Williams to director of transportation services.

Lloyd previously served the agency as development and planning analyst, while Williams was supervisor of operations.


BEAVERTON, OR—John Joynt has joined Urban Solar as business development manager.

He brings more than 25 years of experience to the firm after serving in executive positions in other industries.


LOMBARD, IL—Transdev North America has announced the appointments of three vice presidents: Rich Davey, former Massachusetts secretary of transportation, as vice president of business development; Carl Allen, promoted from regional vice president of operations in Colorado to vice president of business administration and development; and Adelee Le Grand, vice president of transit planning and chief strategy officer.

Davey has more than 15 years experience with Massachusetts DOT, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad. He served as general manager of the commuter railroad when Transdev was its leading partner.

In his previous position, Allen oversaw Transdev On Demand’s three major subsidiaries—Yellow Cab, Supershuttle and ExecuCar—in four Colorado cities. He joined Transdev On Demand in 2014 after directing the transportation department of Boston public schools.

Le Grand is responsible for developing service design improvements and innovations in Transdev’s contracts and longer term transit master plans. As part of the firm’s public-private operating partnership with the Regional Transit Authority in New Orleans, she will lead an effort to create strategic transit plans based on the city’s master plan. She joined Transdev from AECOM, where she was a vice president with the Strategic Planning and Advisory Group, North America.


NEWARK, NJ—HNTB Corporation announced the ­hiring of Joseph Rago as senior project manager and associate vice president in the firm’s Northeast Division rail and transit practice, based in Newark.

Most recently, Rago was deputy chief engineer of capital construction for Amtrak where he managed multiple programs valued at $800 million.


LANSING, MI—Randy Van Portfliet, Michigan DOT deputy chief engineer, bureau director of field services and Superior Region engineer, has announced his plans to retire at the end of this year after a career of almost 40 years.

Van Portfliet joined Michigan DOT in 1977 as a bridge designer in Lansing. He then worked at a series of construction assignments in regional districts and the central office, and in the 1990s was the first region engineer appointed during the department’s reorganization into regions and transportation service centers.


NEW YORK CITY—WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) has announced the following appointments and honors:

Gregory A. Kelly, president and chief executive officer of the firm’s U.S. and Latin America region, has been named to the 2016 Gallery of Success by Temple University’s College of Engineering, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and construction technology. Under Kelly’s direction, WSP | PB has significant roles on major infrastructure projects throughout the U.S. and Latin America.

Paula Hammond, a senior vice president and national transportation market leader in the firm’s Seattle office, received the Ethel S. Birchland Award from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, given to a woman who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and long-term service in the transportation design and construction industry’s public or private sectors. She is a former secretary of Washington State DOT and has served as an advisory committee member for the DOT’s intelligent transportation systems program.

Drew Galloway has been appointed a vice president, transit and rail planning director at WSP | PB, based in the Newark office. He has more than 30 years of experience, including 19 years with Amtrak and earlier with New Jersey Transit Corporation.

Yassmin Gramian has been named Northeast business development director for the transportation and infrastructure sector at WSP | PB, based in Philadelphia.

Gramian has more than 30 years of experience in operations, business development and client services, as well as project management and structural engineering. She previously was a senior vice president with responsibility for Pennsylvania operations at a global architecture, civil engineering and construction management firm.

Pamela Townsend has been appointed a WSP | PB senior vice president and Southeast Region business manager, based in Raleigh, NC. Her career of more than 30 years includes serving as a senior vice president of a large consulting engineering firm and 24 years in various jobs with an international consulting organization.

Dale A. Brown has been appointed assistant vice president for transit and rail systems in the Atlanta office of WSP | PB. He joined the firm from an international design, engineering and project management firm where he was systems engineering director in the transit and rail practice and has more than 30 years experience.


PITTSBURGH—Michael Baker International has named Don Sepulveda vice president, rail and transit practice lead in the West Region, based in Los Angeles. With 20 years of experience, Sepulveda spent the last five years as executive officer of regional rail for Los Angeles Metro.


DAYTON, OH—The Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (RTA) announced the promotion of Brandon Policicchio to chief customer and business development officer and the hiring of Derrick Smith as maintenance project manager.

Policicchio, who joined RTA in 2012 as deputy chief operations officer, will lead the development, implementation and analysis of all marketing, ridership, planning, service and scheduling efforts. He previously was a transportation supervisor with the Central Ohio Transit Authority in Columbus and began working in transportation as a student at Ohio State University.

For APTA, he is secretary of the Bus Operations Committee.

Smith will provide project and day-to-day oversight for the Buildings and Grounds Group and the trolley power infrastructure. He comes to RTA from the Dayton division of Automation Tooling Systems, where he was director of operations.


BURNSVILLE, MN—Lois Spear, finance director of the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA), has been named one of the 2016 Top Women in Finance by Finance & Commerce magazine in Minneapolis. Spear has been with MVTA since 2001.

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