Get an ‘A’ in Customer Service is a unique, multimedia, highly interactive course in customer service and communication skills, designed specifically for the public transportation professional by public transit professionals. You will leave this session armed with realistic tactics and ideas with which to face your daily challenges, such as:
And while the course firmly focuses on the importance of customer service, passenger assistance and passenger sensitivity, it never loses sight of our industry’s highest priority – safety. We challenge you to Get an ‘A’ in Customer Service!
BIO: Jacqueline Noel is the principal at Hardwick Transit Associates, LLC of Massachusetts, a public transit consulting firm specializing in management and operator training, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), fleet maintenance management and training services, communications training, and project management. During Ms. Noel’s eighteen-year career in the public transit industry, she has served as general manager and assistant general manager for several transit properties, and currently holds contracts for consulting and training services with numerous public transit systems and state DOT’s throughout the U.S. She has extensive operations experience in both fixed route and paratransit.She is the mother of four children, and a musician/vocalist. Her husband is a senior associate with Hardwick Transit Associates as well, specializing in fleet maintenance management. They live with their family on Martha’s Vineyard, hike, fish and raise chickens.
This two-day course is designed for the demand-responsive scheduler or dispatcher. It is relevant for any demand-responsive environment, whether urban or rural, general public, paratransit or human services transportation. Persons who successfully complete this course will have developed and demonstrated their expertise in maximizing the efficient delivery of demand-responsive transportation, conveying riders’ requests into affordable and appropriate trips, and in making effective use of their system’s transportation resources.
BIO:
Mr. Holman began his career in transportation in 1970 as the Director of a county government elderly and disabled transportation service. In this capacity, Mr. Holman was responsible for the operation and provision of transportation for elderly, economically disadvantaged and disabled residents of a 221 square mile area. He successfully introduced the first accessible vehicles into the system and increased service by 125%.
Mr. Holman is currently a certified trainer for the Community Transportation Association, National Safety Council Defensive Driving Course, Passenger Assistance Techniques Course, Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy and Procedures, ATPT and CTAA Essential Skills for Trainers, National RTAP Program, CPR and Basic First Aid Instructor Course, and the National Safety Council. As a trainer, Mr. Holman
Mr. Holman is a former member of the National Rural Transportation assistance Program Review Board. In his 23 years of service in the transportation industry, Mr. Holman received the 1995 CTAA Dedicated Service Award, the 1994 National Transit Institute Distinguished Service Award, the 1994 NJ Transit Distinguished Achievement Award, and the 2004 CTAA President Award. Mr. Holman is a decorated Vietnam Veteran.
BIO: Halsey has been providing worldwide bus fleet maintenance consulting and training services for over 30 years. Starting out as a mechanic, he arose to be a certified technician through ASE, and next, he received his California State Automotive Teaching Credentials. He served on many of the Society of Automotive Engines (SAE) truck and bus standards committees. In 1998 he accepted a seat on the SAE International Board of Directors. SAE is the world’s most prestigious mobility standards organization for 103 years, with 180,000 worldwide members. Halsey’s training for maintenance technicians and managers through the years, has improved the skills of thousands of people and that’s his legacy. “I thoroughly enjoy providing the educational experience whereby someone can improve their position in life and enhance their family’s future.”
BIO: Todd Lyon received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Saint Norbert College and his law degree, cum laude, with a concentration in labor and employment law, from Hamline University School of Law. During law school, Mr. Lyon worked as a Legal Intern with the National Labor Relations Board, Region 18. He is the recipient of Minnesota State Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Award for his exceptional dedication to labor and employment law. Since 1998, he has been a Chapter Editor of The Developing Labor Law, the nation’s leading labor law treatise. In addition, he is the author of an article published in the Illinois Bar Journal concerning physicians’ rights to collectively bargain.
Todd has practiced labor law for more than 10 years in Minneapolis, Chicago, and Seattle. Until recently, Todd practiced on the Union-side. Today, he represents employers in litigation, union-management relations, labor negotiations, and general preventive labor relations.
BIO: Rick Williams' background is in parking and
transportation demand management. Between 1989
and 1995 he served as the Executive Vice President of the
Association for Portland Progress, a business association
representing the 75 largest employers in downtown
Portland. While at APP Rick was responsible for the
management and operation of the City of Portland’s
municipal parking system (Smart Park) and the operation
of the downtown’s 208-block business improvement
district (BID).
In 1995, Rick left APP to establish his own consulting
business. Rick focuses on parking management and
transportation demand management programs (TDM) for
business districts. Since 1995 he has created comprehensive
parking and/or TDM plans for over 40 cities. In 2004, Rick
merged his business into the consulting wing of BPM
Development Company, a commercial real estate
development company in Portland, Oregon. At BPM, Rick
splits his time between parking and transportation demand
management consulting for public and private clients
throughout North America and in his role as Executive
Director of the Lloyd Transportation Management
Association (LTMA).
Rick helped establish the LTMA in 1995. The TMA was
Oregon’s first and currently serves 85 businesses (and their
9,000 employees) participating in the creation and
implementation of employer based programs for reducing
employee commute trips. Focus is on parking management,
transit, bicycle and pedestrian programs as well as marketing
and communications. Single occupant vehicle (SOV) trips
to the district have decreased 36% since 1997. The district’s
transit mode split has risen from 10% to 33%, bicycle
commuting from 1% to 5%. In 1999 the LTMA was
recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as
having one of America’s most innovative business district
transportation programs.
BIO: Karen Hoesch is Executive Director of ACCESS Transportation Systems. In this capacity she oversees the daily operation of one of the largest paratransit brokerage programs in the United States providing about 1.8 million trips annually throughout Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania. ACCESS, sponsored by Port Authority of Allegheny County, is known for its high level of coordination (including more than 125 sponsoring agencies), unique system design, and its ADA paratransit eligibility determination program, which is a national model involving 100% in person interviews and functional assessments combined with trip by trip screening. ACCESS was also presented the 2005 United We Ride National Leadership Award by U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Norman Y. Mineta, for outstanding efforts to coordinate human service transportation. Karen has authored several guides and publications for Project ACTION, serves as an instructor for the National Transit Institute’s Comprehensive ADA Paratransit Eligibility Determinations Workshop and CTAA’s Institute for Transportation Coordination, and has assisted numerous transit agencies with the implementation of improved ADA eligibility determination processes and coordination strategies. Ms. Hoesch has been with ACCESS since 1979.
BIO: Andy Vabora, Director of Service Planning, Accessibility,
and Marketing, Lane Transit District (LTD) – Andy has been
with LTD for more than 25 years; 12 years managing
Customer Services and 13 years managing Service Planning,
Accessibility, and Marketing. He is a graduate of the
University of Oregon (U of O) in Business Management,
was a four-year letterman in football, and selected to the
PAC 10 All-Academic Team. Andy is also a graduate of the
Leadership APTA program.
Married to wife Debbie for 29 years, Andy has a daughter,
Jennifer, attending graduate school at U of O and a son
that plays in the NFL for the St. Louis Rams. Andy
demonstrates his commitment to community by his active
participation as a church leader, youth sponsor, and teacher.
He is a reader and council member of SMART (Start Making
a Reader Today), a volunteer coach, high school football
official, and collegiate track official. In his spare time, Andy
enjoys running, biking, fishing, motorcycle riding,
landscaping, and golf.
BIO: Karen Hoesch is Executive Director of ACCESS Transportation Systems. In this capacity she oversees the daily operation of one of the largest paratransit brokerage programs in the United States providing about 1.8 million trips annually throughout Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania. ACCESS, sponsored by Port Authority of Allegheny County, is known for its high level of coordination (including more than 125 sponsoring agencies), unique system design, and its ADA paratransit eligibility determination program, which is a national model involving 100% in person interviews and functional assessments combined with trip by trip screening. ACCESS was also presented the 2005 United We Ride National Leadership Award by U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Norman Y. Mineta, for outstanding efforts to coordinate human service transportation. Karen has authored several guides and publications for Project ACTION, serves as an instructor for the National Transit Institute’s Comprehensive ADA Paratransit Eligibility Determinations Workshop and CTAA’s Institute for Transportation Coordination, and has assisted numerous transit agencies with the implementation of improved ADA eligibility determination processes and coordination strategies. Ms. Hoesch has been with ACCESS since 1979.
BIO: Metro Transportation Planner Caleb Winter measures the impacts made by Metro's Regional Travel Options program. The program encourages greater use of transit, carpooling, biking and walking and reduces driving in the region by 50 million miles annually. Caleb measured transportation option programs for TriMet for 10 years and the last two years at Metro. When he is not crunching data, he is crunching on a chocolate bar or enjoying unusual ice cream flavors.
BIO: Anton A. “Tony” Bryant is Director of Bus Maintenance for TriMet, the local transit authority in Portland, Oregon. He oversees the procurement, maintenance, and repair of TriMet’s 600+ fixed route buses and 245 non-revenue vehicles, including stores functions for bus and rail maintenance. The Bus Maintenance Department has over 320 employees and a budget of over $62,000,000. Bryant is a long term TriMet employee who has served in many capacities throughout his career at TriMet, including service worker, journeyman mechanic, maintenance manager, and union officer. He has a BA degree in Political Science from Portland State University.
BRANNAN BIO: Mr. Brannan has served as the Chairman of the National Bus Traffic Association for the past ten years. For the past twenty-two year, he has been part owner of Northwestern Trailways. Mr. Brannan currently serves on the Board of Directors for both the American Bus Association and the Northwest Motorcoach Association. And he graduated from Washington State University.
ABERNATHY BIO: Steve Abernathy has over 15 years of
transit planning, policy development and implementation
experience in the private and public sectors in the Pacific
Northwest and Southwest U.S. As program manager for
the Intercity Bus Program at the Washington State
Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Steve has been working with regional private bus carriers and Greyhound
on developing intercity bus corridors throughout
Washington. Steve has also been successful in fostering
collaborative public/private partnerships between private
carriers, Greyhound and public transit agencies in promoting
the intercity bus program.
Steve is a recent honoree of the WSDOT Wall of Fame,
recipient of the Arizona Planning Association Project of the
Year Award; established collborative relationships with
Mexico and U.S. border planning agencies and has been
a keynote and panel speaker on developing and maintaining
collaborative partnerships. Steve is a member of the
American Institute of Certified Planners, and a graduate
of the University of Arizona.
BIO:
Effective dispatching can make or break a community transportation organization. In its mission to ensure the effectiveness and viability of community transportation organizations, the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) provides a two-day training program designed for demand response operations. The Professional Dispatching and Scheduling (PDS) training program focuses on operational efficiency as well as customer service techniques.
This two-day course is designed for the demand-responsive scheduler or dispatcher. It is relevant for any demand-responsive environment, whether urban or rural, general public, paratransit or human services transportation. Persons who successfully complete this course will have developed and demonstrated their expertise in maximizing the efficient delivery of demand-responsive transportation, conveying riders’ requests into affordable and appropriate trips, and in making effective use of their system’s transportation resources.
BIO:
Mr. Holman began his career in transportation in 1970 as the Director of a county government elderly and disabled transportation service. In this capacity, Mr. Holman was responsible for the operation and provision of transportation for elderly, economically disadvantaged and disabled residents of a 221 square mile area. He successfully introduced the first accessible vehicles into the system and increased service by 125%.
Mr. Holman is currently a certified trainer for the Community Transportation Association, National Safety Council Defensive Driving Course, Passenger Assistance Techniques Course, Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy and Procedures, ATPT and CTAA Essential Skills for Trainers, National RTAP Program, CPR and Basic First Aid Instructor Course, and the National Safety Council. As a trainer, Mr. Holman
Mr. Holman is a former member of the National Rural Transportation assistance Program Review Board. In his 23 years of service in the transportation industry, Mr. Holman received the 1995 CTAA Dedicated Service Award, the 1994 National Transit Institute Distinguished Service Award, the 1994 NJ Transit Distinguished Achievement Award, and the 2004 CTAA President Award. Mr. Holman is a decorated Vietnam Veteran.
BIO: Halsey has been providing worldwide bus fleet maintenance consulting and training services for over 30 years. Starting out as a mechanic, he arose to be a certified technician through ASE, and next, he received his California State Automotive Teaching Credentials. He served on many of the Society of Automotive Engines (SAE) truck and bus standards committees. In 1998 he accepted a seat on the SAE International Board of Directors. SAE is the world’s most prestigious mobility standards organization for 103 years, with 180,000 worldwide members. Halsey’s training for maintenance technicians and managers through the years, has improved the skills of thousands of people and that’s his legacy. “I thoroughly enjoy providing the educational experience whereby someone can improve their position in life and enhance their family’s future.”
BIO: Chuck Underwood is the founder and president of the Cincinnati-based consulting firm, The Generational Imperative. He has been studying generational dynamics for 21 years and is one of the pioneering scholars in this field. He provides consulting, research, and training seminars to corporations and organizations on the subject of generational influences on the workplace and the marketplace. His comprehensive book on generational dynamics has just been published and is entitled: The Generational Imperative: "Understanding Generational Differences" and "In The Workplace, Marketplace, And Living Room."
And he recently hosted two television Specials on the subject of America’s Generations, which we’ll see on Public-TV stations throughout the country beginning later this year. His clients cut across virtually all industry-types, including the transportation industry.
BIO:Adrian Moy began his career in transportation in 1975 as a charter bus driver, and joined the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) in 1977 as a Transit Operator, driving motor and trolley buses. After four years as an operator, he served as a Division Dispatcher from 1981-1984, and a Transit Instructor from 1984-1990. In September 1990, Adrian moved on to TriMet in Portland, OR, where he was Manager of Operator Training until November 2000. At Tri-Met, he lead a staff of 13-20 full time Training Supervisors, and improved the quality of existing training, introducing a number of new programs, upgrading basic driver instruction, and implementing a database program to document results of in-service driver performance evaluations. Since leaving Tri-Met in 2000, Adrian served as an independent trainer and consultant for the transit industry, and worked on a contract basis with the National Transit Institute (NTI) and Rutgers University in the Workplace Safety and Security program funded by the FTA. The project team he was part of developed training courses for preventing workplace violence, crime, and terrorism on public transit systems. In March 2003, he accepted an appointment as a Senior Instructor for NTI, facilitating training seminars around the country and furthering safety and security training and development projects. In September 2006 Adrian accepted an appointment as Director of Safety and Training for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (MUNI), bringing his transit career full circle to where it all began. He continues to maintain an advisory association with NTI and the consulting firm Lazaro & Noel. Adrian was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI and graduated from Northwestern University in 1974, majoring in Radio, TV and Film. He completed additional course work in Educational Technology at San Francisco State University and at Portland State University in Multimedia Project Management. Adrian met his wife, Deborah, while he was a charter bus operator in San Francisco. They currently reside in Oregon City, Oregon pending relocation to San Francisco.
BIO:David Atkin is the Founder and Director of Nonprofit Support Services. David has been deeply involved in the nonprofit sector for over 35 years, and has worked with thousands of nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit Support Services, his law office, has been providing specialized legal services for nonprofit organizations for over 17 years. David is a recognized expert on nonprofit law and he regularly presents seminars and workshops on nonprofit law topics to a wide variety of audiences. David has been a planner and coordinator for the Oregon State Bar's Continuing Legal Education Seminars on Advising Nonprofit Corporations in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. He also regularly gives specialized seminars for CPAs and other professionals who advise or lead nonprofit organizations, including seminars specifically for schools and churches. In addition to his JD in Law, David has a BA in Biological and Environmental Sciences, an MA in Environmental Management, and a certificate of specialization in Environmental and Natural Resource Law. He was an adjunct Professor at the University of Oregon Law School for many years, where he taught Public Land Law, Indian Law, Water Law and a variety of other courses for the Environment and Natural Resource Law Department. In addition to his legal work in the USA, David also works with many international nonprofit organizations in third world countries. He frequently works in Outer Mongolia, where he helped the government develop an entire new system of environmental laws following the collapse of their previous Soviet style government. When he can get away from the office, David likes to travel to Outer Mongolia to go riding across the Asian Steppes on the back of a horse or camel, staying and sharing traditional life with Mongolian nomads.
Peak oil threatens America and Oregon with each barrel of crude oil sold and consumed. This presentation will clarify the consequences of peak oil and the resultant need for increasing petroleum conservation, improving transportation options, reducing the amount of vehicle miles traveled, and creating more opportunities for alternatives to petroleum-based fuels.
BIO:Rick Wallace works at the Oregon Department of Energy as a Biofuels Coordinator / Policy Analyst in the Renewables Division. He worked for five years in the Conservation Division as a Senior Energy Analyst for the commercial, industrial, transportation and alternative fuel sectors. Rick is also the Coordinator of the Columbia Willamette Clean Cities Coalition. The coalition promotes the use of domestically produced transportation fuels and fuel efficiency. Previously he worked with a contractor to the US DOE & EPA EnergyStar program and was the project manager for the San Diego Gas & Electric In-Store Demonstration and the Residential EnergyStar Windows programs. Rick has accumulated nine years experience developing, marketing and administrating conservation and renewable fuel programs. Prior to this Rick worked 14 years in the aerospace defense industry as an engineer.
DILL BIO:
Jennifer Dill, Ph.D., is Director of the Center for
Transportation Studies and Associate Professor of Urban
Studies and Planning. She teaches graduate courses in
transportation policy, transportation and land use, and
quantitative methods in planning.
Her research focuses on travel behavior and transportation
finance. She co-authored a study for the State of California
evaluating options for long-term, statewide transportation
funding and has conducted surveys assessing the public
acceptability of both traditional and innovative
transportation funding mechanisms. Her travel behavior
research has focused on both transit-oriented development
and bicycling, assessing the influence of land use,
infrastructure, demographics, and attitudes on housing
and travel choices. Her research appears in several peerreviewed
journals, book chapters, and research reports.
Dr. Dill is active as a committee chair and research panel
member for the Transportation Research Board. Prior
to entering academia, she worked for federal and
regional government agencies as a transportation and
environmental planner.
WALLACE BIO:
Margaret B. Neal, Ph.D., is Director of the
Institute on Aging, Professor of Community Health, and
Director of the recently-funded initiative, “Aging Matters:
Locally and Globally” at Portland State University. She
teaches graduate courses in gerontology and research
methods, and also leads a service-learning program to
Nicaragua.
Her recent research has included a study for ODOT on
older drivers and older adults who had ceased driving or
had never driven, a study for Metro on the effects of our
aging population on housing and transportation demand
(with co-investigator Dr. Jennifer Dill), and a study with the
World Health Organization on what makes a city “agefriendly.”
Much of her previous research has focused on
the challenges and opportunities of managing both paid
employment and informal care to elders and how the public
and private sectors can facilitate work-family integration.
She has written three books (e.g., Working Couples Caring
for Children and Aging Parents, with co-author Leslie
Hammer; Lawrence Erlbaum, 2007) and several book
chapters, peer-reviewed journal articles and research reports
on this and related topics.
Her other research and teaching interests include planning
for our global aging population, including transportation
and housing options and other issues surrounding the
creation of age-friendly communities; older workers and
retirement; and health promotion strategies.
BIO: Karen Hoesch is Executive Director of ACCESS Transportation Systems. In this capacity she oversees the daily operation of one of the largest paratransit brokerage programs in the United States providing about 1.8 million trips annually throughout Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania. ACCESS, sponsored by Port Authority of Allegheny County, is known for its high level of coordination (including more than 125 sponsoring agencies), unique system design, and its ADA paratransit eligibility determination program, which is a national model involving 100% in person interviews and functional assessments combined with trip by trip screening. ACCESS was also presented the 2005 United We Ride National Leadership Award by U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Norman Y. Mineta, for outstanding efforts to coordinate human service transportation. Karen has authored several guides and publications for Project ACTION, serves as an instructor for the National Transit Institute’s Comprehensive ADA Paratransit Eligibility Determinations Workshop and CTAA’s Institute for Transportation Coordination, and has assisted numerous transit agencies with the implementation of improved ADA eligibility determination processes and coordination strategies. Ms. Hoesch has been with ACCESS since 1979.
BIO: I have been fortunate to help leaders and organizations improve their performance and re-energize their workplaces since 1985. My specialty is building leadership capability and organizational adaptability during times of change. As a coach and consultant, I help leaders and teams align around a clear vision, define measurable goals, commit to achievable strategies, and identify specific tactical plans and change initiatives, while also fostering a respectful and creative work environment.
In 2007, I re-discovered my personal passion for global issues such as climate change, environmental degradation, and endangered species. I spent most of that year as a volunteer presenter with The Climate Project. I am pleased that I can now tap into this experience to bring additional value to clients wanting to create more sustainable business practices. While earning my first master’s degree, I built my expertise as a marketing strategist, product developer, and a process improvement facilitator for a Fortune 100 company. After obtaining another master’s in applied systems theory, I integrated a full spectrum of services to help ensure an organization’s success:
Using these disciplines, I assist leaders and organizations on the challenging journey toward reaching their goals, including the increasingly important triple bottom line ~ a healthy environment, an equitable society, and a vital economy.
The northwestern United States has been my home since 1988 when I fell in love with its yearlong beauty. I am a ballroom dancer, and enjoy social dancing just as much as competing in a floor-length, bead-speckled gown.
BIO:Dan Kaempff works in the Regional Travel Options program at Metro, the regional government overseeing transportation planning and other functions in the Portland, Oregon area. He is responsible for managing the regions rideshare and vanpool operations as well as coordinating employer outreach programs. Dan has over 16 years experience in the transportation field, including transit operations and managing school transportation operations and developing employee commuter programs. Prior to coming to Metro, Dan worked inthe Public Transit Division of the Oregon Department of Transportation, leading the state's TDM program for six years. Among his accomplishments were helping to create a vanpool funding project, developing the state's individualized marketing projects in Bend, Eugene and Salem, and helping to launch the "Drive Less/Save More" mass marketing campaign.
BIO:
Gail has served on the Oregon Transportation Commission since 2000 and became chair in December 2007. She is director of the Institute for Natural Resources at Oregon State University. Before joining the Institute for Natural Resources, Gail served as Executive Director of the Deschutes Resources Conservancy, a non-profit organization dedicated to watershed restoration. She practiced law for 18 years with Stoel Rives, LLP, and served as Governor Neil Goldschmidt’s Assistant for Natural Resources. She serves on the board of the Oregon Wave Energy Trust and on the advisory board of the Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust. Gail holds a master's degree in Natural Resources Policy and Management, along with a JD from the University of Michigan, and a bachelor of arts in Economics from Stanford University.BIO: Carla Wood, Oregon Department of Energy, is a member of the Conservation Division Team and works primarily in the Business Energy Tax Credit Program as a Program Analyst. Carla has been a member of the Oregon Department of Energy since May 2008, and prior to working in the energy field spent nearly 20 years with Hewlett-Packard Company in a variety of technical positions. Carla has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management and Organizational Leadership from George Fox University and a Master of Business Adminstration degree in Marketing and Human Studies from Marylhurst University.
See previous description
BIO: Roger Martin has been the Executive Director of the Oregon Transit Association since its inception. Prior to that, Roger was a legislator for twelve years, and a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor. Roger has been lobbying on the state and national level for the last two decades for transit and other various business, associations, and interest groups. He was chair of the Transportation 97 Committee, which included ODOT, business and interest group representatives preparing for the coming legislative session and developing a long-range vision for transportation in Oregon. Currently, Roger participates in various state and local groups assembled for the purpose of improving transit in Oregon.
But the Internet offers transit systems the opportunity to do much more than deliver electronic passenger guides. This session will address how transit agencies can use Google Transit and internet-based strategies to:
JAFFE BIO: Marcy Jaffe, has focused her recent career on easing trip planning within and between communities because she believes it is a mobility barrier that must be broken down. New options opened in 2005. Marcy has worked professionally in transportation at the City, Regional and Statewide levels of government over the past twenty years. In 2006, Marcy built a test at Google/Transit for the State of Washington of an Intercity network including Amtrak, Greyhound and NW Trailways, Airporters, etc that WSDOT chose not to bring live at that time. Marcy has brought five transit systems live at Google/Transit and worked through tens of bugs with Google engineers. Marcy works with each transit system selecting the appropriate data management tools that best meets their individual needs. Marcy holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from University of California, Irvine.
ANTRIM BIO: In 2006, Aaron entered the world of public transportation as the co-creator of a universal bus pass partnership between Humboldt State University and Humboldt Transit Authority. Subsequently, in 2007, Humboldt Transit Authority (HTA) hired Aaron to develop schedule management software, create easy-to-use transit websites, and launch three local transit agencies on Google Transit. As a result of the universal bus pass and improved online information, ridership on Redwood Transit System, HTA’s primary transit offering, has increased by 30% year-over-year for school months.
In late 2007, Aaron founded Trillium Transit Internet Solutions (then Transit Information Solutions) to offer the same software and services which served Humboldt Transit Authority to other transit providers.
Since 1998, Aaron has worked as a web-developer for private, educational, and government clients. He is passionate about using online tools to make information easy to find, access, use, and understand.
PURCELL BIO: Frank Purcell has worked as a Software Engineer for twelve years, with the last three at TriMet in Portland, Oregon. Right now is a very exciting time to be in both the technology and transportation fields, as the proliferation of open data and open source software provides vast opportunities to create really cool and useful applications. Frank has worked on both timetablepublisher.org and maps.trimet.org in his time at TriMet, and he looks forward to making both applications (and new applications yet to be) more cool and more useful.
PALMATEER BIO: Jean Palmateer has been employed by the Oregon Department of Transportation - Public Transit Division since 1991 and currently is the Special Transportation Program Manager. In this role she manages the State’s investment of $18 million in funds, which are primarily targeted to the elderly and disabled. Jean is working with the Oregon State Transportation Coordination Initiative and Oregon’s United We Ride working group. The primary purpose of this group is to identify policies, technical assistance and financing strategies that will improve transportation coordination at both the state and local levels. Jean’s education history includes Psychology, Nursing and Graphic Arts at the University of Oregon. This checkered education was a great introduction to working in Head Start and long-term care, which in turn was the path to public transit. Jean completed the Paratransit/Transit Management certificate program offered by the Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, as well participating in many other transit-specific training opportunities.
PENWELL BIO: Doris Penwell, economic development and lead consultant regarding special transportation planning project for Association of Oregon Counties. Penwell has worked for the Oregon public sector since 1967, first for Governor Tom McCall in his press office and then as his executive assistant for much of his term in Office. Following that initiation to Oregon, Doris worked for the legislature for 4 years in the Speaker's Office. In 1979, she became an assistant administrator at Workers' Compensation Department and later the Executive Assistant and department coordinator of legislative affairs. In 1987, Doris moved to the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department and spent most of her time (1987 until 2005) as a legislative coordinator and executive assistant to the Director. Since 2005, Doris has been with Association of Oregon Counties coordinating legislative activity surrounding economic development, with an emphasis on developing programs and funding to serve rural Oregon.
SOPER BIO: Connie Soper is a principal in Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates’ Portland office. She has 25 years experience working with public transportation programs and provides expertise in the areas of transit service planning and coordination, accessible services and paratransit program service design and delivery, social service transportation coordination, public outreach and stakeholder collaboration.
Connie joined Nelson\Nygaard in 2006; at that time she returned to Oregon from the San Francisco Bay Area, where she worked for 20 years as Senior Planner for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the region’s metropolitan transportation planning organization. There she served as lead staff to promote transit coordination in the region, and worked closely with the local transit operators to implement transportation provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. More recently, she developed the Low Income Flexible Transportation Program (LIFT) which provided grants for the provision of employment related transportation services. Since joining Nelson\Nygaard, Connie has led numerous planning projects intended to promote coordination of human services transportation programs throughout the Pacific Northwest and California.
Prior to her tenure at MTC, she worked for five years as a planner with TriMet’s Special Needs Transportation Program, and is a native Oregonian. Connie is an avid hiker and recently completed walking the 360 mile Oregon Coast Trail.
McALISTER BIO: Heather Ornelas has been the Transit Manager for the City of Bend/Bend Area Transit for the last two and half years during it's transition from a general public dial-a-ride to a fixed route and eligibility based diala- ride program. Prior to Bend Area Transit, Heather was General Manager of Tillamook County Transportation for eight years. Other experience includes HR for the Tillamook School District, Marketing Director for the Blue Heron French Cheese Company, small business owner, and import coordinator for Pacific Trail Sportwear. She has a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Washington, and Transit Manager Certification from Pepperdine University.