Mineta Transportation Institute Adds Two Research Associates to Its Team of Transportation Security Experts

The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) has added two research associates, Christopher Kozub and Renee Haider, to its growing team of internationally recognized transportation experts. They will contribute to the Institute’s expertise in transportation security, safety, research, and training. Their work will complement that of MTI’s National Transportation Security Center of Excellence Director Brian Michael Jenkins, Deputy Director Frances Edwards, research associate Bruce Butterworth, who joined MTI in 2007, and other personnel.

For the past ten years, Mr. Kozub has been an Associate Director of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, working with the National Transit Institute (NTI), the Voorhees Transportation Center, and the Center for Transportation Safety, Security, and Risk. At Rutgers, he has been the principal investigator on several surface transportation research, training, and outreach projects funded by DOT and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). These investigated system safety, emergency management, system security, and terrorism awareness and response.

Ms. Haider brings more than 26 years of experience in training, education, and project management in the public sector, focusing on surface transportation. She served as an Associate Director of the NTI at Rutgers University, having been with the organization since its formation in 1992. In that role, she managed program development, delivery, and administration. Previously, she served as an Assistant Director for NTI Workplace Safety and Security Programs.

“The addition of Chris and Renee helps MTI further develop its expertise and capabilities in transportation security and emergency management, while expanding its research in transit, rail, highway, and maritime safety,” Mr. Jenkins said. “This new depth allows MTI to continue its leadership in transportation incident information and data analysis and to broaden its ability to develop training and educational programs and materials, incl courses, seminars, workshops, case studies, and exercise scenarios.”

Mr. Kozub background includes more than 30 years in emergency services, transportation safety and security, and training. For more than 15 years, he has worked with federal agencies, surface transportation trade associations, and labor organizations to develop and implement safety and security training programs for frontline employees, supervisors, and emergency responders in public transit and highway, rail, and maritime transit. He has also testified before Congress on public transit operational and infrastructure security.

Prior to joining Rutgers, he was Director of Training for the Operation Respond Institute (ORI) in Washington DC. While at ORI, he worked with Amtrak to develop and deliver security, safety, and tactical emergency-response training to more than 16,000 responders in connection with the Acela 
high-speed rail service.

Mr. Kozub has held senior management positions at emergency-services training centers, working with the Association of American Railroads to provide specialized hazardous-materials training. He worked with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to develop and deliver fire, rescue, and hazardous-materials training for their police and emergency services departments, as well as a specialized WMD program following the 1995 Tokyo subway attacks.

Ms. Haider has developed, directed, and managed a variety of training programs for transportationplanners, public transit managers, professional trainers, and frontline employees. She has been a project manager or key team member on several research and training projects for several modal DOT administrations, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program within the National Academies, the National Rural Transit Assistance Program, and a variety of transit agencies. She managed several projects to develop computer-based and e-learning platforms.

She has worked with representatives of the nation’s transit systems and state transportationdepartments to support and enhance their training and to help them enhance their employees’ professional skills to implement initiatives. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics and political science and a Master of Arts degree in political science from Rutgers University.

At MTI, the new team members will work with federal sponsors, transportation system management,organized labor, and trade associations on a number of training and education projects and related research on safety, security, emergency response, and management.

ABOUT THE MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE
The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) was established by Congress in 1991 as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and was reauthorized under TEA-21 and again under SAFETEA-LU. The institute is funded by Congress through DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, by the California Legislature through the Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and by other public and private grants and donations, including grants fro DHS. DOT selected MTI as a National Center of Excellence following a 2002 competition. The internationally respected members of the MTI Board of Trustees represent all major surface transportation modes. MTI’s focus on policy and management resulted from the Board’s assessment of the transportation industry’s unmet needs and led directly to the choice of the San José State University College of Business as the institute’s home. MTI conducts research, education, and information and technology transfer, focusing on multimodal surface transportation policy and management issues.