2019 Pacific Northwest Cohort

April 15, 2019

 In 2019, the Puget Sound Regional Council joined GARE and sent 10 of its staff, including myself, to participate in a series of monthly sessions over the course of nine months. The training focused on building skills and strategies for the implementation of equitable government practices. GARE provides approaches for building the capacity of government to eliminate institutional and structural racism and advance racial equity.

San Francisco, CA

April 13, 2019

The American Planning Association's 2019 National Planning Conference was held in San Francisco, CA.  I primarily attended sessions that focused on planning for social equity, climate change and resiliency. 

Seattle, WA

March 26, 2019

This National Transit Institute (NTI) course presented the USDOT performance-based planning and programming framework and how the elements of the framework relate to current planning and programming process, including key issues such as fiscal constraint, air quality conformity, the congestion management process, public involvement, Federal planning factors and other relevant issues. The concepts presented in the course were reinforced using examples of noteworthy agency practices to help practitioners advance these approaches in their respective planning and programming activities.

Washington, D.C.

January 13, 2019

The spotlight theme for the 2019 TRB Annual Meeting was "Transportation for a Smart, Sustainable, and Equitable Future."  I primarily attended sessions that were part of the "Resilience and Sustainability" curated program.

Tacoma, WA

December 03, 2018

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) sponsored the fourth annual conference on Innovations and Partnerships in Transportation. The conference focused on strategies to foster a more sustainable, practical future for transportation through trusting partnerships, collaboration, and community engagement. Governor Jay Inslee provided the opening remarks and the keynote speaker was Shailen Bhatt, President and CEO of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America. 

New Orleans, LA

April 21, 2018

The American Planning Association's 2018 National Planning Conference was held in New Orleans, LA.  I primarily attended sessions that focused on planning for social equity and climate change. 

Madison, WI

January 17, 2018

"Our Dialogue seeks to provide an immersive professional development opportunity for professionals to examine identity, equity, and inclusion through critical dialogue and self-reflection. This multi-week journey focuses on individual growth, building institutional capacity, and ultimately affecting positive change for our organizations' climates." 

Milwaukee, WI

October 26, 2017

I attended the 2017 American Planning Association-Wisconsin Chapter conference in Milwaukee, WI.  During the conference, I attended discussions on regional planning, tax incremental financing, incremental development, and bridging political divides using programmatic approaches and consensus building.   

Milwaukee, WI

October 08, 2017

This panel discussed how placemaking has become a key factor in this revitalization effort, and the possibilities and consequences that come with it.  This event was part of the 2017 Milwaukee Film Festival. 
 

Panelists included: Dr. Michael Carrie re - Associate Professor of Humanities, Social Science, and Communication. Milwaukee School of Engineering; Una Van Duvall - Portfolio Manager, Non-Profit Center: Chris Socha - partner, The Kubala Washatko Architect s, Inc.; and Sara Daleiden - filmmaker, Executive Director - MKE <-> LAX

Madison, WI

September 25, 2017

This one day conference hosted by the 1,000 Friends of Wisconsin featured keynote speakers and panel discussions that focused on how multi-modal transportation systems can better connect people to jobs and improve opportunity for everyone. Topics centered on how changing technology will impact transportation planning, how planners can engage with diverse stakeholders at the regional level and how performance metrics can be utilized to better inform infrastructure investment decision making. 

University of Wisconsin - Madison

September 15, 2017

This course introduced attendees to inputting data into R, working with data sets, graphing using ggplot, and
a few statistics operations.

Minneapolis, MN

April 19, 2017

The Urban Affairs Association holds yearly conferences with the goal to share knowledge about urban places and promote the development of research activities. I attended the 2017 conference which was held in Minneapolis, MN and its theme was “Challenging Enduring Urban Injustices: Race, Ethnicity, Space, and Political Economy.”  The conference provided an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas, information, and experiences.

Madison, WI

March 06, 2017

This event featured a facilitated panel discussion, including opportunity for audience questions, followed by small group discussions on the same topic.  The panel included three Hispanic planners and community leaders with experience engaging and involving Hispanic residents in local community planning processes.  Participants learned more about the language, cultural, economic and legal barriers to effective engagement and involvement of Hispanic stakeholders, and strategies to overcome those barriers.

Madison, WI

February 27, 2017

This workshop discussed the scientific research conducted to understand the origins of bias and offers evidence-based strategies to combat bias.  This workshop helped participants develop the competency to recognize and discuss issues related to bias. The workshop also equipped participants to better understand the challenges of historically marginalized groups when they are working with individuals from diverse backgrounds. Finally, the workshop provided attendees with tools to address bias in their everyday lives and in their work settings.

Milwaukee, WI

February 24, 2017

The Wisconsin Student Planning Association organized a two-day field trip to the city of Milwaukee.  The itinerary included tours of the Beerline Trail Extension, Black Cat Alley, the Global Water Center, the Menomonee Valley Urban Ecology Center, Fondy Food Center, Milwaukee Public Market and the Lakefront Brewery.  Throughout the trip we met with community development leaders and urban planners who are working to make the Milwaukee region more innovative, sustainable, and equitable. 

Los Angeles, CA

December 02, 2015

"An interactive, three-day session where transportation stakeholders and decision-makers will exchange ideas and learn about the latest developments in transportation planning from a national, state, and local perspective." Some notable topics of sessions I attended include: infrastructure preservation, public engagement, planning for climate change, transit development, multi-modal planning, and transportation funding.  

Fresno, CA

August 05, 2015

Caltrans provided training on how to evaluate candidate bridge projects for eligibility and program successful projects in the Highway Bridge Program and the Federal Statewide Transportation Improvement program (FSTIP). Training also focused on the evaluation process for determining whether to replace or rehabilitate public highway bridges over waterways, other topographical barriers, other highways, or railroads when the State and the Federal Highway Administration determine that a bridge is significantly important and is unsafe because of structural deficiencies, physical deterioration, or functional obsolescence.

Oakland, CA

March 26, 2015

Caltrans in partnership with the UC Davis Extension provided a one-day training session on reviewing environmental documents.  The goal of this training was to provide transportation professionals with environmental compliance training that would aid them in navigating the environmental process.  Topics included format and content of environmental documents, Caltrans’ role under NEPA Assignment, and obtaining other federal and state environmental approvals.

Stockton, CA

December 15, 2014

The Caltrans Division of Local Assistance (DLA) presented information on Caltrans’ Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program and how to improve the administration of this program with their local agency partners.  DLA presented an in depth look at calculating DBE goals for construction and consultant contracts and the art of evaluating good faith efforts.

Stockton, CA

September 24, 2014

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in partnership with National ADA Accrediting and Consulting, Inc., provided a one-day training session on Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Topics included: understanding the ADA; responsibilities of public agencies; and accessibility standards. 

Newark, CA

January 28, 2014

This course explained how the transportation funding and programming process works and provides planners, project managers and grant managers with guidelines for thinking strategically as they develop fiscal plans, programs, and project descriptions. Other topics discussed during this course included grant writing tips and how to develop or match a project with a particular funding source(s).

San Francisco, CA

October 26, 2013

Meeting facilitation training focused on the tasks needed to run a productive and impartial meeting. Throughout this training participants learned how to identify the needs of any group who are meeting with a common purpose, whether it be making a decision, solving a problem, or simply exchanging ideas and information.  Topics included making arrangements for the meeting, setting the agenda, and understanding group norms and dynamics. 

Sacramento, CA

September 23, 2013

Sacramento State University in partnership with Caltrans Division of Local Assistance provided training as part of the Cooperative Training Assistance Program (CTAP) and Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP). The Federal Aid Series training I attended included a five course series of trainings that covered the following topics: Getting Federal-Aid Projects Started; Procedures for Right-of-Way Acquisition; Federal-Aid Project Development; Federal Rules for Contract Administration and Project Completion; and Federal Procedural Requirements for NEPA Analysis .

Stockton, CA

June 10, 2013

Sacramento State University in partnership with Caltrans Division of Local Assistance provided training as part of the Cooperative Training Assistance Program (CTAP) and Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP).  This four-day course provided core training in state and federal regulations for Local Agency Resident Engineers.