Past Webinars

16th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit

This webinar was presented by ACE and the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission.

The next few years will be extraordinary for major sporting events in California with the Bay Area hosting both Super Bowl 60 and the FIFA World Cup in 2026, and Los Angeles hosting the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2028. These events invite millions of local spectators and international visitors, with the city of Los Angeles expecting 5 million visitors alone for what the mayor hopes will be a transit-first Olympics. How can buses, trains, highways, and the people who keep them running safely facilitate the movement of these crowds while minimizing impact on the community and environment?

The 16th Annual Norman Y. Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit will feature internationally renowned experts and special guests sharing best practices and insights from previous large-scale events, including Super Bowl 50 and the Paris Olympics, and how to apply global lessons—such as traffic management and communications planning—on a regional scale. Don’t miss the exciting 90-minute conversation shaping the future of California!

Featured Speaker: Secretary Toks Omishakin, California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA)

Keynote Speaker: Brian Michael Jenkins, Senior Advisor to the President, RAND Corporation

Presenters:

• Mark Brule, Chief Application Architect, Allied Telesis

• Aston Greene, Chief of System Safety & Security Officer, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)

• Carl Guardino, Commissioner, California Transportation Commission

• Matt Mahan, Mayor, City of San Jose

Moderator: Lynda Tran, MTI Trustee; CEO, Lincoln Room Strategies

See here for more information and recordings from past events in the series.

1.5 PDH credits available to attendees. 

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Over a century ago, the United States experienced a profound re-shaping of street space, from a place for pedestrians to a place for motorized vehicles. Historian Peter Norton and Vision Zero Network Executive Director Leah Shahum shared how the history of the movement for pedestrians rights can inform current policy and advocacy efforts to win back street space for safe and convenient walking.

Guest Speakers:

• Peter Norton, Associate Professor, Department of Engineering & Society, University of Virginia

• Leah Shahum, Founder & Director of the Vision Zero Network

Moderator: Dr. Asha Weinstein Agrawal, MTI Research Associate & Education Director

*This webinar was co-sponsored by Vision Zero Network, ITE - San Francisco Bay Area Section, APA - NorCal Chapter, WTS - SF Bay Area Chapter, SJSU History Department, America Walks, and California Walks.

*0.75 CM credit available

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View Vision Zero Network Slide Deck

About the Speakers

Peter Norton is Associate Professor of History in the Department of Engineering and Society at the University of Virginia. He is the author of Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City, and of Autonorama: The Illusory Promise of High-Tech Driving. He is a walker, a bike rider, and a frequent speaker on the past and future of urban mobility.

Leah Shahum is founder and director of the Vision Zero Network, a nonprofit helping to advance Vision Zero -- safe mobility for all -- in communities across the U.S. As a German Marshall Fund Fellow, Shahum researched Vision Zero strategies in Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. Prior to that, she was the Executive Director of the 10,000-member San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and served as a policymaker on the Boards of Directors of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway & Transportation District.

This webinar was co-sponsored by WTS SF Bay Area Chapter and Lucas College and Graduate School of Business.

An estimated 49.6 million individuals are currently trapped by human trafficking, with women and girls making up about 71% of trafficking victims worldwide. Transportation hubs are key locations where trafficking takes place, and it is critical for the transportation industry to understand how traffickers take advantage of weaknesses in networks and who they target in order to stop trafficking and help survivors. Featured speakers shared insights into how traffickers take advantage of transportation networks and discuss potential points for tailored interventions. In this webinar, attendees learned how to support survivors and implement anti-trafficking strategies that will make transportation safer for everyone. 

Featured Speakers: 

• Evelyn Chumbow, Director of Advocacy & Survivor Leadership, Human Trafficking Legal Center (HTLC)
• Christi Wigle, Co-Founder & CEO, United Against Slavery
• Dr. Kezban Yagci Sokat, Research Associate, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI)

Moderator: Hilary Nixon, PhD, Deputy Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI)

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View Slide Deck

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About the Featured Speakers

• Evelyn Chumbow, Director of Advocacy & Survivor Leadership, Human Trafficking Legal Center (HTLC)

Evelyn Chumbow is a survivor of child labor trafficking turned anti-trafficking activist and public speaker. Chumbow has been invited to brief several government agencies about human trafficking from a survivor’s perspective, including the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the State Department, and the Department of Justice. She was appointed by President Obama to serve on the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. She has been invited as a speaker to international events and has been awarded many honors for her work. Chumbow serves as an advisor to human trafficking NGOs and on the Board of Directors for Free the Slaves. Chumbow hopes to leverage her unique position as a former child slave to end human trafficking in her hometown and globally.

• Christi Wigle, Co-Founder & CEO, United Against Slavery

Christi Wigle is the CEO and Co-founder of United Against Slavery. She has worked on the frontlines of anti-human trafficking work for thirteen years, serving in leadership and survivor advocacy for sex and labor trafficking survivors. Drawing upon two decades of business and product development experience, she created an innovative methodology to perform comprehensive frontline research and data collection, creating a Collaborative Research Model. Christi co-founded United Against Slavery in 2014 as a research organization to identify and document the challenges faced by more than 20 stakeholder groups here in the United States and around the globe.

• Dr. Kezban Yagci Sokat, Research Associate, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI)

Dr. Yagci Sokat is an Assistant Professor of Business Analytics at San José State University and a Research Associate at the Mineta Transportation Institute with a passion for using analytics to alleviate human suffering in the areas of public health, humanitarian logistics, and human trafficking. Supported by the United States Department of Transportation, IBM, Valley Transportation Authority and San José State University, she has led various multi-disciplinary anti-trafficking projects and has served on several local anti-trafficking committees. She received her PhD in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences from Northwestern University and holds master’s degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology with a Fulbright scholarship.

Major challenges leave agencies and transit bus manufacturers facing uncertainty as the U.S. public transportation sector charges ahead into a zero-emission future. Leah Foecke and Zachary Karson of global infrastructure advisory firm Rebel Group and authors of a recent MTI publication explored obstacles and insights in the US transit bus market. The discussion focused on key industry dynamics, financial challenges with zero-emission bus (ZEB) acquisition, technological barriers in deployment, and regulatory issues. 

Presenters: 

• Leah Foecke, MS, MTI Researcher & Manager, Rebel Group
• Zachary Karson, MS, MTI Researcher & Manager, Rebel Group

Moderator: Karen Philbrick, PhD, Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI)

View Recording.

View PDH Credit.

View Presentation Slides.

About the Presenters

Leah is a Manager at Rebel with over seven years of experience as an economic consultant and policy advisor. She brings experience advising clients at the national, state, and local level, with particular expertise in transit and transportation, zero-emission transition, and public-private infrastructure delivery. Prior to Rebel, Leah provided economic analysis, strategic advisory services, and monitoring and evaluation support to public and private sector clients as an economic consultant and held fellowships focused on climate and infrastructure with the City of Boston and the State of Massachusetts. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Public Policy and a bachelor’s degree in economics and biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Zachary is a Manager at Rebel with experience advising both public and private clients on infrastructure projects and transactions in various sectors, including mass transit and mobility, renewable energy, broadband, water, and wastewater. Zachary focuses on financial analysis, risk analysis, procurement support, and assisting clients with key commercial and financial decisions. Zachary is also a registered Series 50 municipal financial advisor. Before working at Rebel, Zachary worked for various public and private organizations in the renewable energy sector. He holds a master’s degree in public administration and a master’s degree in business administration from New York University, and a bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish from Kenyon College.

On the Right Track: The Transformative Potential of Rail

Discover the secrets behind over 50 years of global high-speed rail innovation in MTI’s newest webinar series! Explore station planning, station design development best practices, and groundbreaking projects from France, Germany, and Spain, featuring actionable insights from expert speakers. Join us as we explore how international high-speed rail success can guide U.S. professionals to shape the future of transit in our communities.

This webinar series is co-sponsored by APTA High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail Committee, California High-Speed Rail Authority, High Speed Rail Alliance, and US High Speed Rail Association.

Webinars include:

• Webinar #1 | December 11, 2024 | The French Case: Stations as City Boosters
• Webinar #2 | January 15, 2025 | The Spanish Case: Transformacion Rápida
• Webinar #3 | February 12, 2025 | The German Case: Rail Stations to Connect the World
• Webinar #4 | March 5, 2025 | Berlin, Beijing, Bakersfield: Station Design Insights for U.S. Rail

Webinar #3 - The German Case: Rail Stations to Connect the World

Get ready for the latest installment of our On the Right Track series featuring Tobias Keyl from the globally acclaimed architecture firm Gerkan, Marg & Partners (gmp). Explore how world-class multimodal transportation hubs enable seamless global mobility, while also serving as destinations in and of themselves. Renowned for their designs of rail stations, airports, and sports complexes across Europe and Asia, gmp has redefined large-scale infrastructure. Mr. Keyl will highlight Berlin Main Station as an example of how national infrastructure investments helped unify a long-divided country. He will also discuss gmp’s work in China, and advancements that can inspire the future of intermodal travel in the U.S. Join us to help shape the future of mobility!

Featured Guest: Tobias Keyl, Associate Partner, gmp

Moderator: Eric Eidlin, Station Planning Manager, City of San José Department of Transportation

*1 PDH credit available

View Recording.

View PDH Credit.

About Tobias Keyl

Tobias Keyl is an Associate Partner in gmp’s Berlin office. After studying architecture at the Technical University in Braunschweig and becoming a registered architect, he started at gmp in Berlin in 2004. In 2009, Tobias transferred to gmp’s Beijing office, before returning to Berlin seven years later. A true global citizen, he has successfully managed several large-scale projects from conception to delivery and is currently overseeing efforts across Europe, Asia, and Africa. This reach enables Tobias to swiftly grasp the complexity of his clients’ cultures and challenges, empowering innovative solution strategies that adhere to the highest design standards.

Tobias’s work focuses on interdisciplinary collaboration towards sustainable projects: In 2020 he was part of the industry Advisor Group at Harvard University Graduate School of Design on the topic “Future of Air Travel.” Since 2021 Tobias has been a part of gmp's global sustainable design steering group.

On the Right Track: The Transformative Potential of Rail

Discover the secrets behind over 50 years of global high-speed rail innovation in MTI’s newest webinar series! Explore station planning, station design development best practices, and groundbreaking projects from France, Germany, and Spain, featuring actionable insights from expert speakers. Join us as we explore how international high-speed rail success can guide U.S. professionals to shape the future of transit in our communities.

This webinar series was co-sponsored by APTA High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail Committee, California High-Speed Rail Authority, High Speed Rail Alliance, and US High Speed Rail Association.

Webinars include:

• Webinar #1 | December 11, 2024 | The French Case: Stations as City Boosters
• Webinar #2 | January 15, 2025 | The Spanish Case: Transformacion Rápida
• Webinar #3 | February 12, 2025 | The German Case: Rail Stations to Connect the World
• Webinar #4 | March 5, 2025 | Berlin, Beijing, Bakersfield: Station Design Insights for U.S. Rail

Webinar #1 - The French Case: Stations as City Boosters 

Join Fabrice Morenon, PhD, Managing Director of French Railways international branch, as he explores how French rail stations serve as catalysts for urban and regional growth. Drawing on notable examples from stations in larger cities like Lyon and Bordeaux, as well as smaller cities like Besançon, Dr. Morenon will reveal how iterative design processes and public-private partnerships transform stations into powerful economic and mobility hubs. In the first of this webinar series, discover how French development principles can inspire high-speed rail success in the U.S.

Featured Guest: Fabrice Morenon, PhD, Managing Director, SNCF Hubs & Connexions

Moderator: Eric Eidlin, Station Planning Manager, City of San José Department of Transportation

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View PDH Credit.

About Fabrice Morenon, PhD

Fabrice Morenon, PhD is the Managing Director of SNCF Hubs & Connexions, the arm of the French Railways that oversees the development of rail stations internationally. With a PhD in Economics and degrees from La Sorbonne and Sciences Po, his expertise spans station financing, development, and operations. Morenon is a Chevalier (Knight) of the French National Order of Merit, has been appointed French foreign trade advisor by the French Prime Minister, and was named Chairman of the sector “Station Managers Global group” at the International Union of Railways (UIC).

MTI Student Association hosted a free virtual event to learn tips for perfecting students' scholarship applications for a better chance at funding their education. Speakers joined from transportation associations such as the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), California Transportation Foundation (CTF), and Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS). Attendees learned about each association's scholarship programs.

*MTI was a proud co-sponsor of this event.

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View Slide Deck.

MTI was joined by eager middle school students, dedicated parents, and passionate educators at the Garrett Morgan Sustainable Transportation Competition Information Night. This event served as a gateway to an extraordinary national STEAM competition crafted to educate and engage students by solving our nation’s critical transportation issues. Participants learned how they can participate in the competition, and win prizes as we revealed this year’s Get Going, Go Green competition prompt. 

Learn more about the competition: https://transweb.sjsu.edu/workforce-development/garrett-morgan-program

View the Recording.

View the 2025 Competition Prompt.

Cybersecurity threats are everywhere, and no organization is immune. While the volume of cyberattacks has increased exponentially, the bigger concern for most transit agencies is that the  average cost to recover from successful attacks has skyrocketed. While many transit operators have taken steps to improve cyber resiliency, others continue to assume they will not be targeted. How are insurance companies and regulators responding? This Research Snaps webinar featured discussion about recent evolutions in the cyber risk landscape and the impacts on transit. Expert speakers provided recommendations on how the different segments of the market can work together to manage the risk of cyber attacks in “Uncharted Territory: 2024 Cybersecurity Insurance and Transit Landscape.” 

Presenters: 

• Scott Belcher, Research Associate, MTI; Co-Founder, Cybrbase, LLC
• Todd Chollet, Risk Advisor and Cyber Practice Leader, Sunstar Insurance Group

Moderator: Hilary Nixon, PhD, Deputy Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI)

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This Research Snaps webinar was co-sponsored by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.

New developments are popping up everywhere, and bringing more economic opportunities, more community engagement, more trips to new and exciting places—and more driving. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is working with partners to develop a program to reduce the amount of driving generated from new developments, and they called on a team from the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) and San José State University (SJSU) students for help. This collaboration provided assistance in creating an equity framework for VTA’s proposed Equitable Vehicle Miles Traveled Mitigation Program. During the event, attendees heard from the researchers about identified strategies for equitable VMT mitigation programs and effective community engagement processes and how they can be applied to other jurisdictions.

Presenter: Serena Alexander, PhD, MTI Research Associate; Associate Professor, Northeastern University

Moderator: Hilary Nixon, PhD, Deputy Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI)

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This Research Snaps webinar was co-sponsored by SJSU's Spatial Analytics and Visualization (SAVI) Center.

Bike networks are growing nationwide—including in San José, which is keen on becoming “one of the most bike-friendly cities in North America.” Expanding bike networks and allocating funds require careful planning to ensure a fair distribution of bike infrastructure, but most assessment methods neglect differences in bike path classes that provide different safety and comfort levels for cyclists. MTI experts discussed an equity assessment of San José’s bike infrastructure, driven by a weighting system for different safety and comfort levels of the urban bike network, and what it could mean for traffic congestion, sustainability, and Bay Area communities. 

Presenter: Ahoura Zandiatashbar, PhD, SJSU Assistant Professor, MTI Research Associate.

Moderator: Hilary Nixon, PhD, Deputy Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI)

*0.5 PDH credit available

View the Recording.

PDH Credit.

The Garrett Morgan competition teams and affiliated students joined MTI for insider insights into the excitement and challenges of cutting-edge transportation careers. Which subjects in high school pave the way for an exciting high-speed rail job? What are the toughest challenges faced by those working in autonomous vehicle technology companies? Two real-world transportation professionals discussed what it takes to tackle issues of sustainability, safety, equity, and more!

Guest Speakers:

• Yaqeline Castro, Outreach and Student Engagement Specialist, California High-Speed Rail Authority (CAHSRA)
• Dan Pritchell, Policy Operations - Showcases Lead, Waymo

View Recording.

Yaqeline Castro, Outreach and Student Engagement Specialist, California High-Speed Rail Authority (CAHSRA)

As the Student Outreach Specialist, Yaqeline Castro is responsible for stakeholder outreach and strengthening relationships with students and educational institutions statewide. In addition, she supports general stakeholder outreach and external event planning for the communications team and oversees the student I Will Ride program.

Yaqeline first joined the Authority in 2019 as an Executive Fellow with the Capital Fellows program. During her placement year, she was mentored by the Chief of Strategic Communications.

Prior to her time with the Authority, Yaqeline has worked as a policy intern at the US Department of Education strengthening Hispanic student pathways and opportunities in addition to serving three years with the Orientation Department at University of California Merced.

Yaqeline studied anthropology at University of California Merced and has a graduate certificate in public policy from California State University Sacramento. Yaqeline is currently a graduate student at San Jose State’s Master of Science in Transportation Management with a concentration in High-Speed and Intercity Rail Management.

Dan Pritchell, Policy Operations - Showcases Lead, Waymo

Dan Pritchell serves as the Policy Showcases Lead at Waymo - formerly the Google self-driving car project - which makes it safe and easy for people & things to get around with autonomous vehicles. Previously he was the City and Community Engagement Senior Manager at Nuro, working with local governments in Arizona and California regarding Nuro’s autonomous vehicle testing and future services. Prior to joining Nuro Dan co-founded Sheprd, an ‘Uber for Kids’ child transportation startup in Boston, MA, as well as worked for a variety of political campaigns in federal, state, and local elections. Dan earned an M.B.A from UCLA Anderson and a B.A. in Political Studies from Pitzer College.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Mineta Transportation Institute hosted a series of virtual fireside chats with a diverse panel of women transportation leaders at the apex of success in academia, public and private industries, and the nonprofit sector. During the webinar, participants explored compelling personal narratives and leadership journeys and gained valuable insights into how these leaders balance assertiveness with emotional intelligence, overcoming stereotypes and dispelling misconceptions about perceived weakness. Featured guests also shared invaluable insights as we dove into the profound impact of reshaping perspectives and championing women in the transportation industry and beyond.

Featured Guest: Jannet Walker-Ford, Senior Vice President & Principal Director - National Transit & Rail Business Line Leader, WSP

Moderator: Karen Philbrick, PhD, Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI)

View the Recording.

PDH Credit.

*0.5 PDH credit available

About Jannet Walker-Ford

Jannet Walker-Ford is a nationally recognized transportation industry executive with WSP USA, a leading engineering and professional services consultancy. A tireless advocate for equity in transportation and the power of public transit to transform communities, Walker-Ford has more than two decades of diverse expertise including management consulting, technology, mobility, and transportation systems. With a focus on equity, sustainability and community building she has served in executive leadership and strategic advisor roles on ground-breaking programs and projects for large transit and transportation agencies across the U.S. She regularly draws on her two decades of experience for national consultancy firms and as the Deputy General Manager/Deputy CEO and CIO at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. 

In her role with WSP, she serves as the senior vice president & national transit and rail business leader, responsible for leading and growing the firm’s business in national transit and rail markets including the national practices for freight delivery, passenger rail, systems, technical project delivery, bus rapid transit and zero emissions. At every opportunity, Jannet leads with gratitude – continually recognizing her team, clients and industry partners for their contributions and accomplishments. 

Recognized by Railway Age as a 2023 Woman-in-Rail, she serves on multiple national boards including the current Chair of WTS International and the APTA Executive Committee and has received numerous awards recognizing her success and advocacy including the 2022 American Public Transportation Association’s Business Member of the Year; 2021 WTS Northeast Florida Woman of the Year, 2019 Women of Color STEM Technology All-Star Award; and a 2019 Conference of Minority Transportation Officials’ Women Who Move the Nation honoree.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Mineta Transportation Institute hosted a series of virtual fireside chats with a diverse panel of women transportation leaders at the apex of success in academia, public and private industries, and the nonprofit sector. During the webinar, participants explored compelling personal narratives and leadership journeys and gained valuable insights into how these leaders balance assertiveness with emotional intelligence, overcoming stereotypes and dispelling misconceptions about perceived weakness. Featured guests also shared invaluable insights as we dove into the profound impact of reshaping perspectives and championing women in the transportation industry and beyond.

Featured Guest: Veronica Vanterpool, Acting Administrator, Federal Transit Administration (FTA)

Moderator: Karen Philbrick, PhD, Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI)

*0.5 PDH credit available

View the Recording.

PDH Credit.

About Veronica Vanterpool

Veronica Vanterpool is FTA’s Acting Administrator, assuming that role on February 24, 2024. Before that, she served as Deputy Administrator for 2 ½ years. She first joined FTA as Senior Advisor in August 2021. Ms. Vanterpool helps advance the goals of the Biden-Harris Administration related to equity, climate, innovation, safety and workforce development.

Ms. Vanterpool helps oversee policy priorities and objectives along with day-to-day operations of the 700-person agency. She created FTA’s first Data Office, a new business line in the agency dedicated to data analysis, governance and communication. She also represents FTA on the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation and serves as a member of the White House Inter Policy Council on Puerto Rico.

Ms. Vanterpool came to FTA from Delaware Transit Corporation, where she served as the agency’s first Chief Innovation Officer. Her previous roles include being the Deputy Director of the national Vision Zero Network, executive director of the New York City based Tri-State Transportation Campaign and board member of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Having served on a number of boards, commissions, task forces and working groups, Ms. Vanterpool has 17 years of experience in advocacy, policy, media communications, public outreach, coalition building and issue campaigns. She is co-founder and former president of the Delaware Chapter of WTS; a member of Latinos in Transit, and a 2023 Awardee of COMTO’s Women Who Moves the Nation. She was also selected to join the first cohort of the Biden Administration’s Presidential Leadership Workshop.

She is a native New Yorker born and raised in The Bronx.

*This event was co-sponsored by High Speed Rail Alliance.

The City of San Jose and high-speed rail thought leaders discussed best practices and lessons learned from developing and running high-speed rail stations. They also explored the intricacies of planning, designing, and developing mixed-use station areas and multimodal passenger facilities that enable a safe, comfortable, and seamless travel experience.

This webinar was created for planners, policymakers, transit managers, and others passionate about shaping the future of HSR and station areas. 

Agenda Highlights:

• Station Area Development

• First-/Last-Mile Connections

• Transit-Oriented Development Best Practices

• Discussions & Q&A

Speakers:

• Eric Eidlin, Station Planning Manager, City of San Jose

• Ramses Madou, Division Manager of Planning, Policy, and Sustainability for the Department of Transportation, City of San Jose

Moderator: Karen Philbrick, PhD, Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI)

PDH Certificate

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U.S. transit has long grappled with escalating costs and delays: why do we struggle to build transit systems at a pace or a cost comparable to other countries? How can we mend a fractured transit system? In this webinar, transportation experts discussed the core issue: Should the focus be on individual projects or on achieving broader outcomes? Attendees learned what approach will bring positive, actionable change to our transportation systems.

Speakers:

• Alison Premo Black, PhD, Senior Vice President & Chief Economist, American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA)

• Eric Goldwyn, PhD, Program Director of Transportation and Land Use & Clinical Assistant Professor, NYU Marron Institute

• Sadie Graham, Link21 Program Director, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)

• Joshua Schank, PhD, MTI Research Associate & Managing Principal, InfraStrategies
  

   

Moderator: Hilary Nixon, PhD, Deputy Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI)

View Recording.

View & Download PDH Certificate.

Scholarship season is here!

MTI Student Association hosted a free virtual event to learn tips for perfecting students' scholarship applications for a better chance at funding their education. Speakers joined from transportation associations such as the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), California Transportation Foundation (CTF), and Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS). Attendees learned about each association's scholarship programs.

*MTI was a proud co-sponsor of this event.

View Recording.

14th Annual Mineta National Transportation Policy Summit

The United States faces a public health crisis on its roads. In 2021 alone, almost 43,000 people died in traffic crashes and millions more suffered serious injuries. Secretary Pete Buttigieg calls the situation a preventable crisis—one for which we must take responsibility by recognizing that human lives are not a price to pay for modernity. New funding available through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides a significant opportunity to reduce crashes through infrastructure redesign. The Mineta Transportation Institute and a panel of national experts discussed the role of infrastructure redesign in achieving a national goal of zero traffic fatalities.

See here for more information and recordings from past events in the series.

View Program

View Recording

View & Download PDH Credit

CM Credit

Featured Speaker	Fireside Chat Moderator
Robin Hutcheson Administrator Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration	Karen Philbrick, PhD Executive Director Mineta Transportation Institute

Keynote Speaker	Keynote Speaker Q&A Moderator
Jennifer Homendy 15th Chair National Transportation Safety Board	Paula Hammond Multimodal National Market Leader, WSP Chair, American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) Board of Directors

MTI Safety Survey Presenter	Panelist	Panelist
Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD Director MTI National Transportation Finance Center	Ravinder S. Bhalla Mayor City of Hoboken	Beth Osborne Vice President for Transportation and Thriving Communities Smart Growth America

Panelist	Panelist	Panel Moderator
Emily Schweninger Senior Policy Advisor, Transportation Health and Safety U.S. Department of Transportation	Tony Tavares Director California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)	Selika Talbott MTI Research Associate; Founder and CEO Autonomous Vehicle Consulting

Students from the Master of Science in Transportation Management program at San José State University presented their final capstone research projects. This interactive event provided opportunities to meet with the students and learn about their research and key issues in the field of transportation.

Human trafficking, a form of modern slavery, is the recruitment, transport, and/or transfer of persons using force, fraud, or coercion to exploit them for acts of labor, services, or sex. It is the fastest growing organized crime with approximately $150B in annual profits. Because trafficking relies on the transportation network to recruit, move, and transfer victims and to move goods produced by forced labor, the transportation industry plays a critical role in preventing and combating human trafficking.  Transportation can also be a gateway for survivors to leave their trafficking situation and obtain aid to rebuild their lives. 

For 2023 Caltrans Safety Awareness Week, the Mineta Transportation Institute hosted a one-hour webinar featuring expert panelists to showcase efforts to combat human trafficking in the United States. Experts discussed these critical questions: How can industry employees protect loved ones & our community? How can we learn to identify risk factors and signs of human trafficking when in the transportation system? 

Watch the recording to learn more about the role of transportation industry stakeholders in facilitating effective prevention training programs and increasing accurate victim identification, as well as putting in place survivor-centered and trauma-informed response protocols.

View the Recording 

View the List of Resources

View & Download PDH Certificate

About the Panelists

• Paul Chang, Regional Anti-Human Trafficking Coordinator, US Department of Labor – Wage and Hour Division

Paul Chang serves as the Regional Anti-Human Trafficking Coordinator at the U.S. Department of Labor – Wage and Hour Division. In his 28+ years with the agency, Paul worked on some of the most celebrated cases as an investigator and Assistant District Director. He developed numerous training materials and programs, including the Enterprise Model that focuses on strategic approaches to prosecution, protection, and prevention of forced labor. Paul served as the National Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) Regional Network. Paul is also a lecturer at Cal State LA’s MPA program and Vanguard University on Human Trafficking. He is the recipient of numerous Secretary’s Awards and community honors, including the 2019 Global Center for Women and Justice Diamond Award.

• Evelyn Chumbow, Operations Manager and Survivor Advocate, Human Trafficking Legal Center (HTLC)

Evelyn Chumbow is a survivor of child labor trafficking turned anti-trafficking activist and public speaker. Chumbow has been invited to brief several government agencies about human trafficking from a survivor’s perspective, including the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the State Department, and the Department of Justice. She was appointed by President Obama to serve on the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. She has been invited as a speaker to international events and has been awarded many honors for her work. Chumbow serves as an advisor to human trafficking NGOs and on the Board of Directors for Free the Slaves. Chumbow hopes to leverage her unique position as a former child slave to end human trafficking in her hometown and globally.

• Aston Greene, Chief of System Safety and Security, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)

• Polly Hanson, Senior Director, Security, Risk and Emergency Management, American Public Transportation Association (APTA)

Polly Hanson coordinates with APTA stakeholders to develop transit security, risk and emergency management standards and policies. She serves as the Vice-chair of the TSA Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee. Previously Ms. Hanson was the Chief of Police for AMTRAK, where she led a national police department responsible for protecting over 30 million passengers and 20,000 employees. Additionally, as the Chief of the Metro Transit Police in D.C., she led a tristate police department and directed the response to the terrorist attacks in Madrid and London. She received WMATA’s Carmen E. Turner Award, and the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) named Ms. Hanson a “Woman Who Moves the Nation.” Ms. Hanson is a member of the Operation Lifesaver, Inc Board of Directors.

• Dr. Kezban Yagci Sokat, Research Associate, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI)

Dr. Yagci Sokat is an Assistant Professor of Business Analytics at San José State University and a Research Associate at the Mineta Transportation Institute with a passion for using analytics to alleviate human suffering in the areas of public health, humanitarian logistics, and human trafficking. Supported by the United States Department of Transportation, IBM, Valley Transportation Authority and San José State University, she has led various multi-disciplinary anti-trafficking projects and has served on several local anti-trafficking committees. She received her PhD in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences from Northwestern University and holds master’s degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology with a Fulbright scholarship.

This webinar was the fourth part of MTI Research Snaps' Advancing Transportation Equity series.

The Mineta Transportation Institute partnered with the California Planning Roundtable on Voices of Impact, an oral history project focused on identifying how past planning practices have impacted communities of color. The project highlights the voices of people who ordinarily may be reluctant to share their stories—to raise public awareness and to suggest how planning professionals and policy makers can change their practices in response. This film shares the unique stories of six individuals impacted by housing and land use policies enacted by federal, state and local governments and their successful community efforts for positive impact through emerging practices of equitable planning. This webinar shared critical perspectives that often go unheard, created a platform for historically underrepresented communities, and collaborated to find real solutions for injustice in our communities.

Watch the Project Video

Read ED Blog about the Project

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Discussion Guide

About the Presenter

Miguel Angel Vazquez, AICP, serves as the President of California Planning Roundtable. He is one of the first planners hired by a public health department in the nation. His role at the Riverside University Health System-Public Health is to strengthen the integration of planning and health through collaboration with non-traditional partners. The American Planning Association and affiliates have recognized his work and leadership with numerous awards, including the 2018 APA President’s Award and the 2020 APA California Distinguished Contribution Award.

About the Series

Transportation moves the world—impacting the lives of everyone, everywhere. Like many industries, transportation has dealt with its share of issues in equity. Transportation professionals work collaboratively to identify, analyze, and overcome inequities in the industry, acknowledging a sometimes-painful past to ensure that transportation policies serve all communities equitably

This February, we hosted a 4-part MTI Research Snaps series on “Advancing Transportation Equity.” In this series, MTI researchers discussed transforming equity in transportation as we reflected on some of the most pressing issues of diversity and accessibility in the industry as a whole and how to overcome them. 

Webinars include:

• Webinar #1 | Feb 7, 12:30-1:00p.m. (PT) | Exploring the Use of Public Transportation Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Survey

• Webinar #2 | Feb 14, 1:30-2:00p.m. (PT) | The Central Valley Transportation Challenge 

• Webinar #3 | Feb 21, 12:30-1:00p.m. (PT) | Free Transit: It All Depends on How 

• Webinar #4 | Feb 28, 12:30-1:00p.m. (PT) | Voices of Impact

This webinar was the second part of MTI Research Snaps' Advancing Transportation Equity series.

Students from minority populations and those in rural communities may not have the same established routes to learn about and access educational and professional opportunities as their peers from majority groups. The Central Valley Transportation Challenge (CVTC) provides underserved minority students, who are primarily from rural areas, with high quality transportation-related educational experiences so that they learn about transportation-related topics and opportunities in transportation careers. The CVTC is a project-based learning program that brings university faculty and students to K–12 classrooms in rural areas. This project supported K–12 teachers, connected K–12 students with university faculty and students, and transportation professionals, and developed an online hub with transportation-related lesson plans and sequences. The onset of the pandemic meant the timing of the program was especially useful, providing students that were learning from home with an engaging learning experience and some relief for teachers who were already dealing with a lot of adjustments. In this webinar, attendees learned about how the CVTC program empowered underserved students and how this model and its hub can continue making a positive impact in transportation.

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View Fresno State Transportation Institute's K-12 Resources

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About the Presenter

Dr. Christian Wandeler is an associate professor in research methods and statistics at California State University, Fresno. He has a Ph.D. in personality and positive psychology from the University of Zurich, Switzerland. His research interests are in the development of hope and learning achievement, project-based learning, and self-managing teams. He is currently researching the use of agile learning methods and design thinking in action civics projects. 

About the Series

Transportation moves the world—impacting the lives of everyone, everywhere. Like many industries, transportation has dealt with its share of issues in equity. Transportation professionals work collaboratively to identify, analyze, and overcome inequities in the industry, acknowledging a sometimes-painful past to ensure that transportation policies serve all communities equitably. 

This February, we hosted a 4-part MTI Research Snaps series on “Advancing Transportation Equity.” In this series, MTI researchers discussed transforming equity in transportation as we reflected on some of the most pressing issues of diversity and accessibility in the industry as a whole and how to overcome them. 

Webinars include:

• Webinar #1 | Feb 7, 12:30-1:00p.m. (PT) | Exploring the Use of Public Transportation Among Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Survey

• Webinar #2 | Feb 14, 1:30-2:00p.m. (PT) | The Central Valley Transportation Challenge 

• Webinar #3 | Feb 21, 12:30-1:00p.m. (PT) | Free Transit: It All Depends on How 

• Webinar #4 | Feb 28, 12:30-1:00p.m. (PT) | Voices of Impact

Human trafficking, a form of modern slavery, is the recruitment, transport, and/or transfer of persons using force, fraud, or coercion to exploit them for acts of labor, services, or sex. According to the International Labor Organization, 49.6 million people were living in modern slavery in 2021, of which 27.6 million were in forced labor and 12% of all those in forced labor were children.

Human trafficking is the fastest-growing organized crime with approximately $150B in annual profits. Like any business, trafficking relies on the transportation network—to recruit, move, or transfer their victims and to move goods produced by forced labor. Therefore, the transportation industry plays a critical role in preventing and combating human trafficking, as well as providing access for many survivors trying to leave their trafficking situation and obtain aid to rebuild their lives. 

This National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we hosted a one-hour webinar featuring expert panelists to showcase efforts to combat this issue in the United States. Discussions included the role of transportation agencies in facilitating effective prevention training programs and increasing accurate victim identification, as well as putting in place survivor-centered and trauma-informed response protocols.

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View Recording

View Human Trafficking Resources List

About the Panelists

• Paul Chang, Regional Anti-Human Trafficking Coordinator, US Department of Labor

Paul Chang serves as the Regional Anti-Human Trafficking Coordinator at the U.S. Department of Labor – Wage and Hour Division. In his 28+ years with the agency, Paul worked on some of the most celebrated cases as an investigator and Assistant District Director. He developed numerous training materials and programs, including the Enterprise Model that focuses on strategic approaches to prosecution, protection, and prevention of forced labor. Paul served as the National Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) Regional Network. Paul is also a lecturer at Cal State LA’s MPA program and Vanguard University on Human Trafficking. He is the recipient of numerous Secretary’s Awards and community honors, including the 2019 Global Center for Women and Justice Diamond Award.

• Holly Austin Gibbs, System Director Human Trafficking Response Program, CommonSpirit Health

Holly Austin Gibbs is the System Director of the CommonSpirit Health Human Trafficking Response Program. Holly oversees efforts to implement policies, procedures, and education that assists providers in identifying patients who may be impacted by human trafficking and in offering trauma-informed services. In 2014, Holly released a book titled Walking Prey: How America’s Youth are Vulnerable to Sex Slavery; and in 2019, she received the Sister Concilia Moran Award from the Catholic Health Association. As a survivor of child sex trafficking, Holly has testified before Congress and consulted for organizations including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and the AMBER Alert program.

• Polly Hanson, Senior Director, Security, Risk and Emergency Management, American Public Transportation Association (APTA)

Polly Hanson coordinates with APTA stakeholders to develop transit security, risk and emergency management standards and policies. She serves as the Vice-chair of the TSA Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee. Previously Ms. Hanson was the Chief of Police for AMTRAK, where she led a national police department responsible for protecting over 30 million passengers and 20,000 employees. Additionally, as the Chief of the Metro Transit Police in D.C., she led a tristate police department and directed the response to the terrorist attacks in Madrid and London. She received WMATA’s Carmen E. Turner Award, and the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) named Ms. Hanson a “Woman Who Moves the Nation.” Ms. Hanson is a member of the Operation Lifesaver, Inc Board of Directors.

• Elizabeth Jespersen, Manager, Organizational & Human Capital Development, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)

Elizabeth Jespersen has spent over 30 years in both the public and private sector of Transportation. As VTA’s Manager of Organizational and Human Capital Development, Elizabeth is responsible for all employee training and development programs. She previously served as the Supervisor of Organizational Development and Training. Elizabeth was deeply involved with Diversity and Inclusion initiatives including serving on VTA’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Committee and leading VTA’s Discover Opportunities in Transit grant partnership with the Federal Transit Authority. With the Director of Policy and Compliance, Elizabeth manages the Not On Transit Grant, which will provide federal dollars towards eliminating human trafficking in and around the VTA system.

• Dr. Kezban Yagci Sokat, Research Associate, Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI)

Dr. Yagci Sokat is an Assistant Professor of Business Analytics at San José State University and a Research Associate at the Mineta Transportation Institute with a passion for using analytics to alleviate human suffering in the areas of public health, humanitarian logistics, and human trafficking. Supported by the United States Department of Transportation, IBM, Valley Transportation Authority and San José State University, she has led various multi-disciplinary anti-trafficking projects and has served on several local anti-trafficking committees. She received her PhD in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences from Northwestern University and holds master’s degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology with a Fulbright scholarship.

WTS-SF Bay Area and the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) of San Jose State hosted this free virtual event "Connect for Your Career: An Introduction to Professional Associations in Transportation" that introduced university students and emerging professionals to Northern California transportation organizations that offer networking, professional development opportunities, and/or scholarship opportunities. 

Participating organizations include:

• American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC)
• American Planning Association (APA) 
• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
• Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT)
• Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP)
• Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
• Intelligent Transportation Society of California (ITS California)
• Latinos in Transit (LiT)
• Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS)

View Slides.

View Recording.

The accelerating transition to electric vehicles brings new urgency to discussions on how to replace fuel taxes with other broad-based, reliable sources of transportation revenue. From Wyoming to Delaware to California, more and more state legislatures are considering mileage fees, regions like the San Francisco Bay Area are considering expanded tolling, and New York City is within reach of adopting a congestion pricing proposal. Overlaying these discussions is a persistent call to consider the equity of any new charges on drivers. How will the charges impact low-income drivers? Does payment require access to banking tools that are not universally available? This event explored proposals including fee rates that vary by driver income, vehicle characteristics, or time and place, and equity-centered policies for responding to non-payment of tolls or other fees.

See here for more information and recordings from past events in the series.

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Speakers: 

• Featured Speaker: US Congressman Peter DeFazio, Chair, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for the 117th Congress

  • Fireside chat with Karen Philbrick, PhD, Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute

• Keynote Speaker: Polly Trottenberg, Deputy Secretary, US Department of Transportation

  • Q&A will be moderated by Jeff Morales, Managing Principal, InfraStrategies, LLC

• Panel Moderator: Stephanie Wiggins, Chief Executive Officer, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro)

• Panelists:

  • Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, Director, MTI National Transportation Finance Center

  • James Corless, Executive Director, Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG)

  • Reema Griffith, Executive Director, Washington State Transportation Commission

  • Hasan Ikhrata, Executive Director, ​​San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG)

In this last session of the series, attendees had a chance to learn from small business owners about their experience building their business, with a focus on branding and winning work. We also invited a large consulting firm to share their perspective on partnering with small businesses. 
Panelists include:

• Mydria Clark, Supplier Diversity Manager, HNTB
• Rachael Keish, P.E., Chief Executive Officer, Keish Environmental
• Vignesh Swaminathan, CEO/President, Crossroad Lab

View Part 1 Recording

View Part 2 Recording

View Part 3 Recording

This year we focused the discussion around racial equity in the field of transportation planning. This event aimed to give attendees a better understanding of some of the problems that minority communities face in transportation and mobility and some of the ways that these issues can be addressed through the planning process.

Our keynote speaker was Tamika Butler, who kicked off our discussion with a short presentation about their work in the field of transportation followed by a brief Q&A session.

Following the keynote speaker, we had a short discussion with our panel of experts including:

• Natasha Araceli Opfell
• Clarrissa Cabansagan
• Ramses Madou
• April Rai
• Kimberly Slaughter

View Recording.

This webinar talked about the independent consultants and small business owners and their experience starting their business, with a focus on key administrative steps and considerations (e.g., necessary permits, selecting insurance, setting billing rates). VTA’s Office of Business Diversity Programs also shared more about state and local small business certification programs. 

Panelists included:

• Diana Dorinson, Founder and Principal, Transportation Analytics
• Danielle Stanislaus, President, Emergent Transportation Concepts
• Jennifer Mena, Business Diversity Programs Analyst, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)

View Recording.

View Sldies.

Parking may seem scarce when you’re looking for just the right spot, but it’s actually one of the Bay Area’s most expansive resources. With 15 million parking spaces — enough to wrap around the planet more than twice — the region has an excessive amount of parking. Yet for decades, planners have operated blindly when they attempt to determine parking needs or assess the impacts of new parking policies. Thsi webinar discussed a new effort, the Bay Area Parking Census, produced by the Mineta Transportation Institute in partnership with SPUR, to quantify the region’s parking supply and its negative impacts on health, climate and affordability. The discussion was led by the effort’s principal researcher, Mikhail Chester, PhD, to learn more about the Bay Area Parking Census and the strategies that Bay Area cities can use to reduce, manage and convert parking.

View Recording.

*MTI was a proud co-sponsor of this event.