TRB is moving forward with a new organizational structure the sun has set on ACP20 - Committee on Freeway Operations, Jun 2025 . No mid-year meeting.

2020 Workshop Speaker Bios

Lisa Burgess

Lisa Burgess, PMP is a Vice President at Kimley-Horn based in the firm’s office. Lisa works throughout the U.S. on multijurisdictional transportation operations and planning projects, with a specific emphasis on Traffic Management Centers (TMCs) planning, regional system planning, Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) program planning and implementation, and freeway/arterial operations. She focuses on system operations, including operational processes and policies, business processes, and alignment of operations with other functional areas (including incident management, traveler information, safety, and freeway/arterial operations). She has also been a frequent instructor for the National Operations Academy and several Regional Operations Forums. Lisa is the co-chair of the Joint Subcommittee for Active Traffic Management.

Doug Gettman

Dean Gustafson

Mr. Dean H. Gustafson, PE, PTOE is the Lochner National TSMO/ITS Practice Lead to establish National TSMO/ITS Practice, which he began in March 2018. Prior to joining Lochner, Mr. Gustafson served as State Operations Engineer for Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) for 6 years, where he led the largest services contract in VDOT history, numerous cross-functional internal and external initiatives, from traffic operations, connected and automated vehicles, traffic incident management, ITS standards, system engineering, to agency emergency response at the policy, legislative, strategic, and project level. He previously held progressive leadership roles in Regional Operations and ITS over 10 years in Staunton and Culpeper Districts, and involved in many projects from TSMO/ITS planning, design, operations, systems development, and maintenance. Prior to moving to Virginia in 2002, Mr. Gustafson worked for New York State Department of Transportation in construction, planning, and traffic engineering roles. Mr. Gustafson served as the coordinator for the 14-member, Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition (NITTEC) for 4 years, leading strategic planning and operating their Traffic Operations Center (TOC), co-located with rail and bus operations facility. Mr. Gustafson is an active member in the TRB Freeway Operations Committee and AASHTO Committee on Transportation System Operations, including ITS and Communications Working Groups. Mr. Gustafson is a PE in FL, TX, UT, PA, NC, and VA.

Bill M. Halkias

Bill M. Halkias, PE, MSCE, F. ASCE, F. ITE, is the President of the International Road Federation (IRF), Geneva Programme Centre. He is the Managing Director and CEO of "ATTIKES DIADROMES SA", the Operating Agency of Attica Tollway (Attiki Odos Motorway), in Athens, Greece, since the inception of the company in 1999, while from 1996 until 1999 he was Technical Director of the Concessionaire "ATTIKI ODOS SA". He served as the first President of "HELLASTRON" (HELLENIC ASSOCIATION of TOLL ROAD NETWORK) formed by all toll highways operating in Greece (2014-2019), as well as President of ASECAP, (2018-2019), the European Toll Road Association, serving a four year term (2016 – 2020) on the Executive Committee since 2016, when he was first elected as 2^nd Vice President.. Currently serves as Vice President of Aktor Concessions SA, representing the Company as Managing Director of Aegean Motorway SA and Member of the BoD of Olympia Odos Operation SA, the two largest interurban Toll Roads of Greece.
With thirty eight (38) years of experience, the first fifteen (15) in the USA and the remaining in Europe, he is specialized in transportation and road infrastructure works. He has completed his Bachelor Degree in Surveying Engineering (1981) at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and his Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering (1984) at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), USA.
Past President (2010-2012) of the Hellenic Institute of Transportation Engineers (H.ITE) and a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in eight US States. Fellow Member of both the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). Currently Member of the BoD, of the International Bridge Tunnel Turnpike Association (IBTTA) having served also in the past (2007-2010) and Member (2004-2010) of the Freeway Operations Committee of the Transportation Research Board (TRB).

Sherif Ishak

Dr. Ishak is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Old Dominion University (ODU). Prior to joining ODU, Dr. Ishak was a Professor of Civil Engineering at Louisiana State University, and a Professor and Department Chair at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has over 30 years of experience in the field of transportation engineering with emphasis on intelligent transportation systems, traffic operation and control, traffic flow modeling and simulation, traffic safety, human factors and driving behavior, artificial intelligence and advanced computing applications in transportation, and the new emerging area of connected and automated vehicles. He has served as PI or Co-PI for over 35 federal and state funded projects and supervised more than 35 MS and PhD students to completion. Dr. Ishak authored/co-authored over 120 peer-reviewed conference and journal publications. Dr. Ishak is also the founder of the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) lab at Louisiana Transportation Research Center and the driving simulator facility at LSU. Since 2015, Dr. Ishak has served as the Chair of the Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Computing Applications (ABJ70). Dr. Ishak is also a member of the five-year National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) panel for maintaining and executing a research agenda for the Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAV) roadmap. Dr. Ishak is also an associate editor for the Journal of Transportation Research Record and the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering.

Les Jacobson

Les Jacobson is a vice president and Senior ITS Manager for WSP USA. He is based in Seattle. Les has been involved in and led innovative transportation projects and efforts over his entire 40+ year career. Les works on ITS planning and deployment, including ITS Architecture projects; Transportation System Management and Operations (TSMO), including developing TSMO program plans; traffic management systems, including active traffic management, ramp metering and TMC operations; road weather information systems; managed lanes; tolling; and CAV projects. Mr. Jacobson often leads systems engineering efforts for a wide array of ITS-related projects. He has developed a number of sessions for a variety of workshops and forums, including Regional Operations Forums and Regional Operations Leadership Forums.
Les began his career with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). He was with WSDOT for 22 years and was a driving force in the development and implementation of the Operations Program that began in the early 1990’s. He was also the Program Manager for half of the total statewide Operations Program. Les also taught Traffic Flow Theory at the UW throughout 1990’s. He is involved in TRB, ITS Alaska, ITE, and AASHTO.

Matt Junak

Beverly Thompson Kuhn

Dr. Beverly Thompson Kuhn has over 30 years of diverse and extensive experience in the conduct and delivery of cutting edge research results for the transportation community. As Head of the System Reliability Division of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Dr. Kuhn leads a team of researchers in the areas of advanced transportation operations and connected infrastructure. She is considered a leader in the field of active transportation and demand management (ATDM), active traffic management (ATM), as well as transportation systems management and operations (TSMO). Throughout her career, she has developed national-level guidance for agencies for the planning, design implementation, and operation of ATM strategies; assisted FHWA in the development and direction of the ATDM research program; investigated best practices for ATDM strategies and led the deployment of pilot variable speed limit projects; and has delivered knowledge and technology transfer on these topics to the transportation community at large. She has led efforts in the development of the traffic management capability maturity framework and the development of similar frameworks for non-recurring congestion. She also serves as a subject matter expert in the area of travel time reliability and regional operations, delivering cutting-edge results to practitioners for immediate implementation to enhance organizational efficiencies. Dr. Kuhn is the chair of the TRB Freeway Operations Committee.

Susan Langdon

Dan Lukasik

Dan Lukasik is Vice President and Intelligent Transportation System sector leader for Parsons. Dan has 30 years of experience in the design and implementation of ITS systems used for managing freeways, toll roads, arterial roadway networks as well as transit systems. He is considered an expert in Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, Advanced Transportation Management Systems (ATMS); Active Traffic Management (ATM) and Integrated Corridor Management (ICM). Dan is a member of the TRB Freeway Operations Committee and is Co-Chair of the TRB Active Traffic Management Subcommittee.

Philip H. Masters

Mr. Masters has more than 40 years’ experience in program management, technology deployment and operations in the areas of intelligent transportation systems and traffic signals. During his career with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO), Mr. Masters managed the ITS program for the Province and before that, the traffic signals program. His unique expertise in these areas includes all aspects of the program management cycle from concept development, policy development, approvals and funding, preliminary and detail design, construction, integration and operations. Mr. Masters’ operational experience includes responsibility for operation of Ontario’s two largest Traffic Operations Centres plus the development of operational and incident management procedures and policy.
Since retiring from MTO, Phil has consulted internationally in ITS.Mr. Masters is an Emeritus Member of the TRB Freeway Operations Committee and received the Canadian Transportation Awards Program Award of Excellence from Transportation Association of Canada in 2010, the ITS Canada Distinguished Member of the Year Award in 2011 and the ITE Management & Operations / ITS Council Individual Achievement Award in 2012. He is also a Life Member of the Ontario Traffic Council.

Jon T. Obenberger

Jon Obenberger is a senior transportation research engineer in the Office of Operations Research and Development for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) located in McLean, VA). Dr. Obenberger leads complex and highly visible research programs, initiatives and projects in support of achieving FHWA’s and the ITS Program’s strategic goals for mobility, environment, and safety. He leads and manages programs of advanced and applied research to explore and validate the potential for new advanced technologies, innovative uses of operational practices, and the next generation of traffic management systems to improve the management and operation of the surface transportation system. Dr. Obenberger leads efforts and teams charged with developing and maintaining multi-year strategic plans, programs, roadmaps, and proposals to obtain support for transportation management and operations related projects for the FHWA Office of Operations (HOP) and Office of Operations Research and Development (HRDO). These responsibilities include managing, developing, planning, conducting, establishing, and coordinating with both internal and external stakeholders to develop, review, analyze, evaluate, build consensus, and advocate the benefits and importance of advancing research programs, initiatives, projects, and successful practices. These efforts included leading the development and refinements to the 10-year, multi-track research program and budget for Connected Vehicles and Travelers in Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) and the Next Generation of Traffic Management Systems. He also leads on behalf of FHWA, the Traffic Management Center Pooled Fund Study.

Malika Seddi

Malika SEDDI is Deputy to Executive Director in charge of International Affairs and Customer Services in ASFA (Association of Toll motorway operators in France). Within ASFA, has the responsibility to maintain contacts and relations with the European Institutions and international organizations. Engaged in the toll industry since 1989, Ms SEDDI is deeply involved in the ASECAP (Association for toll operators in Europe), IBTTA (Worldwide association for toll road operators), ERTICO (ITS Europe), and PIARC representing ASFA members’ interests. She was the Chair of permanent committee of ASECAP dealing with road safety and sustainable development from 2011 to 2019. She is member of the PIARC committee (Road safety), and member of the board of France’s PIARC branch. She is Member of the European program committee, and road sector platform of ERTICO. She is the Communication team leader of the Arc Atlantique, project for the deployement of harmonised ITS services, involving 7 European countries (Belgium, Ireland, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, UK), co-funded by the European Commission. She is also in charge of ASFA Customer committee which groups together the marketing directors of all French toll companies to share knowledge, experience and conduct joint studies.
She is presently the General Secretary Delegated of ASECAP and the international Vice President of IBTTA.

Emanuela Stocchi

Emanuela Stocchi is an expert in EU legislation and policies and she is the Director of International Affairs for AISCAT (Associazione Italiana Società Concessionarie Autostrade e Trafori), the Italian Association of Toll Highways Concessionaires Companies. In this role she ensures the Association’s contacts with the EU Institutions and other European and International organizations active in the transportation field. She fluently speaks Italian, French, English and Spanish.
Emanuela has an outstanding International background: she holds a degree in Political Science with a specialization in EU law and policies and she has worked in Brussels for eight years with ASECAP, the European Association of Toll Highways Concessionaires Companies, gaining a solid and comprehensive knowledge of all the EU Institutional and public affairs and expanding at the same time her EU and International network in the transportation area.
Emanuela is still very active within ASECAP, being Deputy Member of the ASECAP Executive Committee and Vice Chair of the ASECAP Permanent Committee of Road Safety, Environment and Sustainability; she has also been Chair of the PIARC Task Force on Innovative Financing.
Emanuela served as well IBTTA (International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association - the worldwide alliance of toll operators and of the businesses that serve tolling) and its members through work on several committees before being appointed to the Board of Directors in 2011. Emanuela served a two-year term as International Vice President, before a three-year term as Second and then First Vice President followed President in 2017 and finally, Immediate Past President in 2018. She is currently serving in the Advisory Council of the IBTTA Past Presidents.

Susanna Zammataro

In her capacity as Director General of the International Road Federation (IRF) in Geneva, Switzerland, Susanna Zammataro is responsible for developing and implementing strategic plans for the organization. Established in 1948, IRF (www.irfnet.ch) is a membership-based organisation, representing leading corporate and institutional players drawn from the road and mobility sectors worldwide. Its mission is to promote the development of roads and road networks that enable access and sustainable mobility for all.
Recently named as one of the 40 Most Remarkable Women in Transport by TUMI, she is the in-house expert on sustainability and responsible for the overall environmental programs and activities run by the IRF. These include the Greenhouse Gas Calculator for road infrastructure (CHANGER) and the Green Public Procurement Initiative and Innovative Practices for Greener Roads. Member of the UNECE Climate Change Expert Group on Adaptation she is also part of the UNCTAD group of experts on transport climate resilience and adaptation.
Susanna is un untiring advocate for road safety. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the FIA High Level Panel on Road Safety and serving since 2012 as the Co-Chairperson of the “Safer Roads and Mobility” Pillar of the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration Group (UNRSC), a global multi-stakeholder partnership whose aim is to facilitate international cooperation and to strengthen global and regional coordination.
Susanna has been involved since its inception in the Sustainable Mobility for All (SuM4All) an initiative led by the World Bank gathering 55 top stakeholders in the transport arena. She serves currently as a Steering Committee Member and one of the experts of WGs on Efficiency, Safety and Gender. She has represented the Federation at high-level meetings all over the world. She is regularly invited to speak on a variety of topics at international fora and conferences.

Google Sites

Report abuse