TransportiCA Congratulates the Mineta Transportation Institute's Class of 2019!

Graduates of the renowned Institute have already, and are currently making a significant difference in California’s transportation system, even before being conferred with their degree.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With its mission to advance systems thinking and the Triple Bottom Line, the California Green Academy (“CalGreen”), and its sustainable transport blog “TransportiCA,” sends our biggest congratulations to the Mineta Transportation Institute’s (“MTI”) Class of 2019! (Pictured above.*) Graduates were recognized for their incredible achievement last Saturday, 22 June, at the 27th Annual Banquet and Convocation Celebration, occurring at San Jose State University’s Student Union Ballroom. The event’s Master of Ceremony was Dr. Karen Philbrick, Executive Director of MTI, and attending graduates were honored individually by Dr. Asha Agrawal, Director of Education, and Director, National Transportation Finance Center. The Convocation also celebrated the winners of MTI’s 19th annual Garrett Morgan Sustainable Transportation Competition–a nationwide competition founded by former Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater, encouraging young people to consider careers in transportation. This year’s winning team hailed from the California Montessori Project’s Capitol Campus (Sacramento), and was under the leadership of faculty mentor Jill Kakilala. The winning team was also guided by both Tyler Monson– Senior Transportation Planner for the Department of Transportation (“Caltrans”), and Patrice Stafford, PE–Senior Transportation Engineer for Caltrans’ District 3; both served as the team’s Caltrans mentors. “TransportiCA was incredibly excited to attend the Convocation, taking part in the celebration of MTI’s newest graduates and Garrett Morgan winners, and being able to welcome the transportation sector’s newest and future leaders,” remarked Greg Justice, TransportiCA founder, and CalGreen’s CSO (ED). Introduced by the Honorable Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta (retired, U.S. DOT), the Convocation’s keynote speaker was Therese W. McMillan, MCE, MCRP–Executive Director of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (“MTC”), having served for twenty-five years as an MTC staff member and Deputy Executive Director for Policy, as well as, MTI professor of transportation finance.

Other Convocation speakers included the Honorable Mayor Sam Liccardo, City of San Jose; the Honorable Dave Cortese, Supervisor, Santa Clara County (District 3); the Honorable Ash Karla, California State Assembly (District 27); as well as, the Honorable Jim Beall, Jr.–California State Senate (District 15), Senate Transportation & Housing Committee Chair, Senate Bill 1 author, and SJSU alum. MTI’s Class of 2019, and the student’s Capstone projects / research legacy (thus far) include: • Niall Barrett, Program Manager, Orange County Transportation Authority: The American Public Transportation Association Sustainability Commitment: Orange County Transportation Authority's Entry-Level Signatory Status Evaluation and Achieving the Next Level. • Van Trischelle Baysden, Director, Rail Operations, Omnitrans: An Insight on Transit Officials Understanding of Positive Train Control and How It May Affect Future Rail Service in San Bernardino County. • Lorena Bernal Vidal, Transportation Planner III, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA): MTC's Transit Capital Priorities Framework: Assessing How Effectively It Aligns Investment with Regional Priorities. • Andrew Chier, Rail Fleet Services Manager, L.A. Metro: Richard Darby, Director of Facilities Maintenance, L.A. Metro: Might Kaizen Practices Lead L.A. Metro to Efficiently Operate Their Photovoltaic System to Reduce Electrical Costs? • Richard Darby, Director of Facilities Maintenance, L.A. Metro: Might Kaizen Practices Lead L.A. Metro to Efficiently Operate Their Photovoltaic System to Reduce Electrical Costs? • Eric J. DeHate, Senior Management Analyst, Riverside County Transportation Commission: Evaluating Freeway Service Patrol between I-15 and the Orange County Line. • Miya R. Edmondson, Senior Transportation Planner, California Department of Transportation: Did the Fifty-four Road Diet Bicycle Projects Implemented by LADOT Improve Safety? • Tracey Lin, Senior Transportation Planner, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency: Evaluation of the 5/5R Fulton Muni Forward Project. • George Lorente, Grants Manager, San Joaquin Regional Transit District: Lessons Learned: Federal Transit Administration’s Transit Asset Management Guidance to Small- and Medium-Sized Agencies. • Michael S. Oguro, Landscape Architect in Responsible Charge, Caltrans: Evaluating Climate Change Reduction Outcomes from Archetypal Examples of the Texas DOT (Houston District) Green Ribbon Landscape Architecture Program Projects (2008-2019). • Malcolm Penton, Train Operator, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART): Bay Area Rapid Transit Proof of Payment Ordinance and Station Agents Involvement. • Joshua Kevin R. Sy, Transportation Engineer (Electrical), Caltrans: Growing the Entrance: Effects of Capacity Expansion on I-5 Gateway Widening Project.

*Graduates unable to attend the ceremony included Van Trischelle Baysden, Andrew Chier, and Eric J. DeHate.

A PDF of this release can be downloaded here.