In my 30 years in the transit sector, I have pioneered radical technological advancements through several industry-altering projects. I initiated a collaboration with Google to launch the first release of Google Transit, the transit extension of Google Maps. I was instrumental in the development and worldwide adoption of the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS), an open data format for public transportation schedules that has become the de facto standard in the industry. I launched the development of the OpenTripPlanner (OTP), a revolutionary open source, multimodal trip planner that now powers applications around the globe, including the nationwide trip planning applications of Finland and Norway. 

Most recently, I was the lead for crafting and implementing two Federal Transit Administration (FTA) innovation grants. The 2017-2019 FTA MOD Sandbox Grant extended OTP to integrate all shared-use mobility service providers, such as Uber, Lyft, bicycles and electric scooters. This application was the first of its kind and is foundational for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) applications, further promoting green mobility. Through the successive FTA IMI Grant, the implementation of an advanced “Smart Mobility Platform” leverages emerging technologies, machine learning, and correlative data analysis to further advance sustainable solutions for the future.

I continue to champion green mobility by persistently spurring the advancement of innovations in transportation and advocating for open data initiatives, open source software for government, open architecture solutions, and public-private partnerships.

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  • TriMet, Portland, Oregon

    Mobility & Location-Based Services Manager, Dec 2018 - Present

    Directs TriMet's strategic approach to regional mobility management and emerging technologies

    Responsible for the enterprise spatial data and technology platform of a transit system that serves one million people weekly

    Directs the management of a breadth of agency-wide mobility and GIS initiatives

    Coordinates with regional, state and federal entities on policy, data and strategic plans

    Works in conjunction with public and private partners to ensure safe, equitable and seamless door-to-door travel options

    Convened thirty-eight private and public partners to collaborate on the design and successful implementation of the TriMet FTA MOD Sandbox Grant Project. Deliverables included the development and release of one of the first Mobility as a Service (MaaS) applications; and the deployment and functional enhancements of the open-source Pelias Geocoder

    Instigated the succeeding FTA IMI Grant Project that builds upon TriMet’s existing infrastructure to improve the trip payment and traveler experience; leverage machine learning to improve real-time arrival information; and develop a Smart Mobility Platform (SMP) to analyze impacts on travel behavior and advance MaaS and Mobility initiatives and technologies

    GIS and Location-Based Services Manager, Aug 1997 -Dec 2018

    Originated and matured the IT-GIS program at TriMet

    Collaborated with Google on the first release of Google Transit and facilitated the development and adoption of the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS)

    Initiated the movement in the transit industry to provide open data and developer resources, and collaborated with third-party software developers to cultivate and promote transit applications

    Launched the development of the OpenTripPlanner (OTP), a revolutionary open source multimodal trip planner that powers applications around the globe

    Led a team of software developers, engineers and data analysts to support internal operations and mission critical software systems

    Led the design and migration of a state-of-the-art web mapping and spatial data infrastructure for the agency

    Developed an Alternatives Analysis (AA) process to assess both commercial off-the-shelf COTS and open source software solutions

    Designed and implemented a consolidated agency-wide Survey Data Program to replace paper collection methods with cost-efficient mobile device and open source software solutions

    Developed a methodology to improve the OpenStreetMap (OSM) routable network data, as well as a long-term strategy for collaborative data maintenance in the seven-county Portland region

    City of Portland, Oregon, Portland Bureau of Transportation

    Senior GIS Analyst, July 1996 - Aug 1997

    Freelance GIS Consultant, 1995-1998

    Provided GIS consulting services for nonprofits, public and private organizations

    Instructor for Certified ArcGIS courses at Chemeketa Community College and Clackamas Community College and developed a curriculum for advanced GIS courses

    City of Kansas City, Missouri, City Planning and Development Department

    GIS Development Specialist, April 1990 - July 1996

  • Author: “Pioneering Open Data Standards: The GTFS Story”, Beyond Transparency: Open Data and the Future of Civic Innovation, Chapter Ten. Code for America, October 2013

    Author: “The OpenTripPlanner Project”, Metro 2009-2011 RTO Grant Final Report. TriMet, August 2011

    Co-Author: “MOD Sandbox Demonstration: TriMet OpenTripPlanner (OTP) Shared-Use Mobility Final Report”, Federal Transit Administration Report No. 0197, June 2021

    Co-Author: “Conducting Onboard Transit Rider Surveys with Electronic Handheld Tablets: An Agency Wide Consolidated Approach”, Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, Volume 2643 Issue 1, January 2017

    Panelist: “2023 State of Public Transit”, Swiftly Webinar, February 15, 2023

    Presenter: “Mobility Data - Use Cases and the Return on Investment (RIO)”, International MobilityData Summit, Montreal, June 7, 2022

    Presenter: “City Champions of Open Source”, Meeting of the Minds Webinar, September 9, 2020

    Presenter: “New Horizons in Standardized Traveler Information for Integrated Mobility”, ITS Canada Webinar, December 2018

    Presenter: “Future of Transit Data”, Big Data for Big Cities Conference, Toronto, June 2016

    Presenter: “App-Based Solutions for an Integrated Transportation Network”, Shared-Use Mobility Center (SUMC) Webinar, April 2016

    Presenter: “Innovations in Mobility for Smart Cities”, Transforming Transportation Conference, World Bank, Washington, DC, January 2015

    Presenter: “Government as a Contributing Member of the OpenStreetMap Community”, Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) North America, Portland, September 2014

    Keynote: “Open Source Software for Government”, FOSS4G NA, Minneapolis, May 2013

    Presenter: “Evolution of Transit Data”, China Urban Sustainable Transport Research Center, Beijing, June 2013

    Presenter: “The Power of Open Data and Open Source Software”, Open World Forum, Paris, October 2012

    Presenter: “Collaborations on Open Geo-Software and Open Geo-Data”, Harvard Center for Geographic Analysis (CGA) Conference, Cambridge, May 2011

    Key Participant: Workshop on Innovation in Transportation, Vienna, 2010

    Presenter: “Leveraging OSS, Open Data and Standards”, National Institute of Standards and Technology & the Standards Institution of Israel, Standards in Trade Workshop on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and Transportation Management Systems (TMS) Standards for Israel, Tel Aviv, March 2009

  • “General Transit Feed Specification”, Wikipedia

    “General Transit Feed Specification”, TransitWiki

    “OpenTripPlanner Project History”, GitHub, Version 2.2.0

    “Mobility on Demand”, City of the Future Podcast, October 11, 2019

    “How Google and Portland's TriMet Set the Standard for Open Transit Data”, Streetsblog San Francisco, January 2010

    “Next-Gen Transportation Isn’t Going Anywhere Without Data”, Government Technology, September 2020

    “Uber, SHARE NOW and BIKETOWN are all available in TriMet’s new trip planner”, Intelligent Transport, March 2019

    “Creating an Interactive City”, Geospatial Revolution, Episode Two, Chapter One. Penn State Public Broadcasting, November 2010

    “TriMet's Open Source Heaven: The 5 Best Transit-Rider Apps”, Oregon Live, July 2009

    “TriMet Innovations in Transit Data Publishing”, More Riders Magazine, September 2008

  • University of Kansas, Bachelor of General Studies in Geography, 1998