Susan Haupt manages the Oregon Department of Transportation's GeoEnvironmental Section which is comprised of a diverse staff of 42 technical specialists that oversee environmental policy, compliance, standards of practice, and design specifications for disciplines including: Biology, Water Quality, Erosion Control, Air Quality, Noise, Archaeological and Cultural Resources, Material Sources, Erosion Control, Geotechnical Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering, Geology, Hazardous Materials, Environmental Permitting, NEPA, and Roadside Development. She has also worked as an environmental project manager and scientist in the private sector.
Mark Hallenbeck Seattle, WA
Mark Hallenbeck is the Director of the Washington State Transportation Center (TRAC) at the University of Washington. He teaches Intelligent Transportation Systems and Urban Transportation Planning. Mark’s work involves the collection, use, summarization, and reporting of data that describe transportation system use and performance, and then using that information to work with the public and decision makers as they make major transportation and land use investment decisions. He is currently working with multiple agencies in the region to examine how “big data” and new technology can be used to improve regional planning and mobility. A specific emphasis area of his work is on sharing data to improve the integration of land use and transportation planning and decision making across agencies and jurisdictions.
Jim Jacobson Bellevue, WA
Jim Jacobson retired from King County Metro as its Deputy General Manager in 2012. Among other duties, he managed Metro's planning and construction activities, and led Metro's coordination efforts with Sound Transit in the development of the region's bus and rail system. This included development of joint facilities, the retrofit of the downtown Seattle transit tunnel, and the start-up and operation of ST Express bus and Link light rail service.
Kimberly Koenig Grass Valley, CA
Kimberly Koenig retired in 2013 as the Fiscal Resources Manager for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). She has more than 34 years of local and federal government experience. At VTA she was responsible for the day-to-day management oversight of the treasury functions of VTA, including debt management/investor relations, investments/cash management for operating, pension and other post employment benefit trust funds, and long term financial forecasting.
William C. Lorenz, PE La Mesa, CA
William Lorenz has 40 years of professional experience in transportation planning and engineering. He retired from the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board in 2002 after 14 years. He was Director of Engineering and Construction responsible for more than $1 billion in light rail transit and bus facility development. He managed seven San Diego Trolley light rail extension projects, and completed these projects on-schedule and within budget. Since retiring from public service, he participated in several light rail transit and commuter rail peer reviews including the Expert Review Panel for Sound Transit’s Phase 2 plan. He is a registered civil engineer and registered traffic engineer in California.
Steve Lundin Olympia, WA
Steve Lundin is an expert on all aspects of local government law in Washington state. He retired as a senior counsel for the Washington State House of Representatives in 2001, after nearly 30 years. His primary assignment was to provide committee services for the Local Government Committee. He has written numerous papers on different aspects of local government in Washington state and drafted most local government legislation that was considered by the House of Representatives from 1973 through 2001. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Washington and a J.D. degree from the University of Washington Law School.
Dr. Siim Sööt, PhD Chicago, IL
Dr. Siim Sööt is Professor Emeritus at University of Illinois. For 30 years Dr. Sööt was on the University of Illinois at Chicago faculty where he served as the Head of the Department of Geography, Executive Director of the Urban Transportation Center and President of the Illinois Universities Transportation Research Consortium. He has published nearly 100 articles and reports. He has been the principal or co-principal investigator of more than 50 research studies. These studies have been conducted for the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Science Foundation, Illinois Department of Transportation, Chicago Department of Transportation, Regional Transportation Authority, Chicago Area Transportation Study, Chicago Transit Authority and numerous foundations.
Richard E. Walker Portland, OR
Richard E. Walker is the manager of the Modeling Services Division at Metro, the metropolitan planning organization for Portland, Oregon. He manages all programs related to travel forecasting: including data collection, model development, and model applications. His areas of expertise include multimodal, freight, transit, and air quality modeling. Mr. Walker currently also serves as the chair of the statewide Oregon Modeling Steering Committee – an entity created to promote collaboration between the various modeling agencies in Oregon. As a recipient of a BS degree in civil engineering from Montana State University, he has been a member of the modeling profession for over 40 years.
Mark Weed Seattle, WA
Mark Weed successfully worked in the commercial real estate industry for more than 30 years. During that time he has been involved in local, state and national transportation issues. He currently serves on the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber’s Commercial Transportation Task Force and the Downtown Seattle Association’s Transportation and Access Work Group. He was also a member of the Puget Sound Regional Council Transportation Policy Board from 1999 to 2014 and served on the committees that helped plan the redevelopment of city centers in Lynnwood and Bellevue.
John Howell Seattle, WA
John Howell is the Panel Administrator. A founding partner of Cedar River Group, Mr. Howell specializes in project management, group facilitation and mediation, and community outreach. He provides clients with expertise and experience in the development of coalitions, in forming consensus on projects and in conceptualizing, funding and executing successful programs and projects. He has a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University.