Institute Personnel

Directors

Hon. Rod Diridon, Sr.
Executive Director
diridon@mti.sjsu.edu

Rod Diridon, Sr. the son of an immigrant Italian railroad brakeman, is called the "father" of modern transit service in Silicon Valley. Raised in Dunsmuir, California, he worked his way through college as a brakeman and fireman on the railroad receiving a BS in accounting and MSBA in statistics from San Jose State University. His political career began in 1971 as the youngest person ever elected to the Saratoga City Council. He retired in 1995 because of term limits, after completing 20 years and six terms as chair of both the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and Transit Board. He is the only person to have chaired the San Francisco Bay Area´s (nine counties, 119 cities, 27 transit agencies) three regional governments: the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the Association of Bay Area Governments. In 1992 he convened the "Bay Vision 20/20 Commission" to merge those regional bodies

Rod has chaired over one hundred international, national, state and local programs, most related to transit and the environment. He served, in 1992, as the chair of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) in Washington D. C. and for several years as North American vice chair of the International Transit Association (UITP) in Brussels. He advised the Federal Transit Administration and in 1995 chaired the National Research Council´s Transportation Research Board´s Transit Oversight and Project Selection Committee. In 1996 Rod founded and chaired the Transportation Research Board's study panel on "Combating Global Warming Through Sustainable Transportation Policy." He is frequently asked to provide legislative testimony.

Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Ph.D.
Director, National Transportation Finance Center
Asha.Weinstein.Agrawal@mti.sjsu.edu

Asha Weinstein Agrawal is Director of the MTI National Transportation Finance Center at San José State University, and also an Associate Professor in the Urban and Regional Planning Department at San José State.

Her research and teaching interests in transportation policy and planning focus on transportation finance, pedestrian planning, and transportation history. Her publications include “How to Pay for Transportation? A Survey of Public Preferences in California,” with Jennifer Dill, in Transport Policy; “Unraveling Equity in HOT Lane Planning: A View from Practice,” with Gian-Claudia Sciara, in the Journal of Planning Education and Research; and “Congestion as a Cultural Construct: The ‘Congestion Evil’ in Boston in the 1890s and 1920s,” in the Journal of Transport History. A complete list of her publications can be found at: http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/weinstein.agrawal/.

Dr. Agrawal earned a B.A. from Harvard University, an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Frances Edwards, Ph.D.
Deputy Director, National Transportation Security Center
kc6thm@yahoo.com

Dr. Frances L. Edwards is the Deputy Director of MTI’s National Transportation Security Center. She is also an associate professor and director of the Master of Public Administration program at San Jose State University. She is a research associate of the Mineta Transportation Institute, and a member of the Editorial Board of the Public Administration Review (PAR). She is co-author with Friedrich Steinhausler of two books in the NATO Science Series on terrorism threats, and with Brian Jenkins on 9/11, as well as numerous chapters for text and professional books. She has written more than 30 professional journal articles, most recently on Hurricane Katrina for two issues of The Public Manager, and on federal homeland security grants in State and Local Government Review. She is a member of the ASPA Hurricane Katrina Task Force, and has been a member of the Executive Session on Domestic Preparedness at Harvard, the Bioterrorism Working Group at Stanford, three NATO expert workshop panels on terrorism, and a commissioner on the California Seismic Safety Commission. For 25 years Dr. Edwards was a practitioner, including 14 years as the Director of Emergency Preparedness for San Jose, California, the nation’s tenth largest city. She has a Ph.D. and M.U.P. from New York University, an MA from Drew University, and a Certificate in Hazardous Materials Management from the University of California, Irvine.

The New York Times, Washington Post and other national media have identified Dr. Edwards as one of the nation’s leading experts on disaster response and recovery planning and training

Peter Haas, Ph.D.
Director of Education
haas@yahoo.com

Dr. Peter Haas has been a faculty member in the Graduate Transportation Management Program (GTMP) since 1999 and was appointed Education Director in October 2001. He earned a Ph.D. in Political Science (Public Policy and Public Administration) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985. A former director of the SJSU Master of Public Administration program, he also has consulted at every level of government and for nonprofit agencies. Dr. Haas has authored numerous reports and other publications covering transportation and is co-author of the text Applied Policy Research: Concepts and Cases. He also received a Senior Specialist grant from the Fulbright Foundation to teach and study in Latvia. Under his direction, enrollment in MTI’s Master of Science in Transportation Management program has increased significantly. This accredited 30-unit course is taught by two-way teleconference, originating in MTI’s classroom and reaching Caltrans district offices around California so students have easy access to the curriculum.

Brian Michael Jenkins
Director, National Transportation Security Center of Excellence
bmjenk@ix.netcom.com

As a leading authority on terrorism and sophisticated crime, Brian Michael Jenkins works with government agencies, international organizations and multinational corporations. He has directed MTI’s continuing research on protecting surface transportation against terrorist attacks. He is also a senior advisor to the president of RAND. From 1989-1998, Mr. Jenkins was deputy chairman of Kroll Associates, an international investigative and consulting firm. Before that, he was chairman of RAND’s Political Science Department where he also directed RAND’s research on political violence.

Mr. Jenkins has a B.A. in fine arts and a Masters Degree in history, both from UCLA. He studied at the University of Guanajuato in Mexico and at the University of San Carlos in Guatemala where he was a Fulbright Fellow and received a fellowship from the Organization of American States.

Commissioned in the infantry, Mr. Jenkins became a paratrooper and a captain in the Green Berets. He is a decorated combat veteran having served in the Seventh Special Forces Group in the Dominican Republic and with the Fifth Special Forces Group in Vietnam. He returned to Vietnam as a member of the Long Range Planning Task Group, receiving the Department of the Army's highest award for his service.

Since then, he has served on numerous U.S. and international task forces investigating terrorist attacks. In1996, President Clinton appointed Mr. Jenkins to be a member of the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security. He served as an advisor to the National Commission on Terrorism and has served on the U.S. Comptroller General's Advisory Board.

Mr. Jenkins is the author of several articles, reports and books, including International Terrorism: A New Mode of Conflict and Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?.

Donna Maurillo
Director, ITT and Special Projects
maurillo@mti.sjsu.edu

Donna Maurillo built her career around corporate communications, especially with Silicon Valley high tech companies. For many years, she had a public relations consulting business serving higher education, local government, high tech, banking, land use, health care, and other fields. She also was an executive with PR agencies, where she managed venture capital and high tech accounts. She has taught communications writing, has written many magazine and newspaper articles, and writes a weekly food column. Ms. Maurillo’s community involvement includes board service for several non-profits supporting the arts and social services. She is a graduate of the University of California, where she delivered the commencement address, and she is enrolled in MTI’s Master of Science in Transportation Management program.

Karen E. Philbrick, Ph.D.
Director, Research
philbrick@mti.sjsu.edu

Karen Philbrick was appointed as Director of Research in May 2009. Prior to joining the MTI team, Dr. Philbrick had been extensively involved in studies investigating Fatigue Management Planning and Best Practices in Responding to Critical Incidents in the Transportation Industry. As part of her research, she interviewed thousands of locomotive engineers and conductors as well as airline pilots, maritime industry representatives, and truck drivers. In addition, she interviewed New York City firefighters directly affected by the events of 9/11. This laid the groundwork for the successful completion of her dissertation, which examined a mathematical model for understanding Emotional Distress in Emergency Workers Following a Terrorist Attack.

On an international level, Dr. Philbrick has contributed to the development of educational and training materials for intermodal specialists. Her work has formed a key portion of an international training effort and seminar, Innovations and Challenges in Intermodal Transportation, which has been delivered in the Philippines and Indonesia. She has been a member of the US delegation to the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Transportation Working Group since 2000.

Dr. Philbrick earned a B.A. from California State University, Fresno, an M.A. from Columbia University, an Ed.M. from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Denver.

Managers and Assistants

Jill Carter
Executive Assistant, Office Manager
carter@mti.sjsu.edu

Jill Carter is well-experienced with business operations, applying her skills to MTI administrative management and support. She and her husband own a successful automobile repair facility, where she managed office operations, accounting, staffing, sales and general administration. As a librarian for the Campbell School District, Ms. Carter purchased books and equipment, instructed library skills, and organized the book fair. At Bank of America, she was a bookkeeper and teller. She is involved with the activities of her five children, including sports, fundraisers, PTA and classroom support. She attended San Jose State University, where she majored in liberal arts.

Viviann Ferea
Assistant, Education Program
ferea@mti.sjsu.edu

Viviann Ferea was appointed to the position of Education Program Assistant (EPA) in August 2000. As EPA, Ms. Ferea is the primary contact for marketing and administration of the Graduate Transportation Management Program. She has many responsibilities, including ongoing recruitment for the Certificate and Masters program, revision and maintenance of the Education Program’s website, and course planning and scheduling. Ms. Ferea received her BS in business marketing from the University of California, Davis. Her studies in public relations and experience in media sales enhance her ability to promote MSTM’s continued growth and success.

Meg Fitts
Manager, Research Projects
fitts@mti.sjsu.edu

Meg Fitts joined the MTI staff in December 2007, first as a communications assistant and then as a research assistant. She manages the organization’s budget and financial records, and she assists the Research Director with contracts, budget tracking, and the publication transportation studies for use by both the public and private sectors. She also supports the Communications Director in special projects, meetings and events.

She came from finance recruitment in NYC and locally, as well as sales support in the high-tech industry in southern California. She attended Chaminade University of Honolulu and State University of New York, Old Westbury as a math major. She is active in community boards, vice-president elect of Rotaract Club of Silicon Valley, and an advocate of service above self.

Lynda Ramirez Jones
Administrative Assistant
jones@mti.sjsu.edu

Lynda Ramirez Jones oversees all requisitions, contracts and other operational documents. She also manages a variety of administrative tasks, including scheduling and record keeping for meetings. Previously, Ms. Jones was a management analyst and executive assistant with the Santa Clara Valley Water District board of directors, where she served for 17 years. She also has been a job training supervisor, a home/school consultant with the Migrant Education Program in Medford OR, and a legislative aide to California State Assembly Member Dominic Cortese.

Student Assistants

Vince Alindogan
alindogan@mti.sjsu.edu

BFA graphic design major, with a minor in photography. Vince is a graphic designer for MTI print products, including invitations, annual reports, displays, and other projects.

Ruchi Arya
arya@mti.sjsu.edu

Master in Engineering (Software Systems as major), and a Web designer for MTI, updates and maintains the website. She previously worked with Motorola India as a Radio Frequency Engineer.

JP Flores
flores@mti.sjsu.edu

Graphic design major, and a graphic designer for MTI print products, including marketing materials, newsletters, displays, and other projects. He previously worked at a Silicon Valley print shop.

Kristin Nwakobi
nwakobi@mti.sjsu.edu

MIS major and assistant for the Research and Transportation Security functions. She also handles general office and database work. Kristin volunteered in post-Katrina recovery and is involved in community service.

Chris O’Dell
odell@mti.sjsu.edu

MIS major and assistant for the Research and Transportation Security functions. He also handles general office work.

Sahil Rahimi
rahimi@mti.sjsu.edu

Aerospace engineering major, and MTI technical assistant. He prepares our research and special projects publications for posting to the MTI web site.