Plenary Session I, Monday, August 26 from 10:30 a.m. to noon

Lawrence Burns Vice President for R&D and Planning at General Motors Corp. Larry Burns was named General Motors Vice Presidentin charge of Research and Development and Planning in May, 1998. In this post, he oversees the Corporation’s global R&D programs and has responsibility for its product portfolio, capacity, technology, process, and business plans. He also is a member of the Automotive Strategy Board, GM Automotive’s highest-level management team. Burns first joined General Motors in 1969 as a college student in training. He began his career as a member of the research staff and subsequently held a number of leadership assignments at various GM units, where he directed activities in areas ranging from product operations and business planning to product program management, industrial engineering, production control, and quality. Burns has twice been the recipient of the GM Chairman’s Honors Award, the Corporation’s highest employee recognition. He also has received three Charles L. McCuen Achievement Awards, presented to members of the R&D staff for extraordinary technical accomplishment. Burns has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University). He holds a master’s in engineering/public policy from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. Burns has authored one book, Transportation, Temporal, and Spatial Components of Accessibility, and numerous technical articles. He recently received Kettering University’s 2000 Engineering Alumni Achievement Award. Burns currently is a member of the Operating Council of the United States Council for Automotive Research, the board of directors of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, and the University of Michigan School of Engineering National Advisory Council. He also serves on the board of the Deafness Research Foundation and the board of directors of the University of Michigan Center for Communication Disorders.

Ann Flemer Deputy Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission Ann Flemer became MTC’s deputy director for operations in January 2001. She oversees the agency’s Transit Coordination and Allocations Section and the Bridge and Highway Operations Section, as well as internal administration and information technology services for MTC, which is the metropolitan planning organization for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Key transit projects under Flemer’s direction include the TransLink® universal transit ticket which will go into testing in the fall of 2001, the Take Transit regional online transit trip planning system, the region’s rideshare program, the coordination of accessible transit and paratransit services, and transportation planning related to welfare reform. In the highway realm, she oversees the Freeway Service Patrol tow truck service and the region’s network of roadside call boxes, as well as a $1.5 billion program to upgrade five of the region’s state-owned toll bridges. Ann has worked in public transportation planning, policy and finance at MTC since 1982. She served as the coordinator for the MTC-sponsored Regional Transit Association from 1983 to 1986, managing interagency programs to improve transit accessibility, marketing, employee development, and fare and schedule coordination. From 1986 to 1991, Ann was responsible for the region’s transportation program for elderly persons and persons with disabilities, including the adoption and implementation of the Regional Paratransit Plan and coordinating the transit operators’ implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Ann received her bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from UCLA and her master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley.

Carl Guardino President and CEO, Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group Carl Guardino, 39, is President and CEO of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group. Founded in 1978 by David Packard of Hewlett-Packard, the Manufacturing Group (SVMG) is a public policy trade association that represents 190 of Silicon Valley’smost respected private sector employers, who collectivelyprovide more than 275,000 jobs - nearly one out of every four - in Silicon Valley. Before being named President of the Manufacturing Group, Guardino worked for Hewlett-Packard Company. Prior to his tenure at Hewlett-Packard, Guardino spent five years at the Manufacturing Group, where he served as Vice President. Previously, Guardino spent six years on the staff of Assemblyman Rusty Areias, the last three years as his Chief Assistant. When he was named to that position, he became the youngest Chief Assistant in the State of California. Guardino was recently named as one of the “Ten Most Powerful” people in Silicon Valley by the San Jose Mercury News “power study,” which is only conducted every ten years. Known throughout the region as a consensus builder, Guardino’s work includes managing two successful traffic relief initiatives, known as Measures A and B in 1996; co-directing the November 2000 Measure A traffic relief initiative to bring BART to Santa Clara County; creating the Housing Action Coalition to advocate for housing that is relatively affordable for Silicon Valley workers; developing the Santa Clara County Housing Trust; and forming the Vehicle Buy-Back Coalition to permanently remove older, smoky vehicles from our roads in order to improve air quality.

Jeff Morales Director, California Department of Transportation In May 2000, Gov. Gray Davis appointed Jeff Morales as Director of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), where he manages a $10 billion budget and more than 23,000 employees working to build, maintain and operate the largest state transportation system in the country. Director Morales formally began his duties on June 1, 2000, after serving as Executive Vice President for Management and Performance at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). As head of Caltrans, Director Morales’ highest priority is to deliver Gov. Davis’ far-reaching plan to cut traffic congestion in the state. He is charged with finding new ways to improve the pace and efficiency of the Department’s project delivery process. The 2000/01 California State Budget commits $6.8 billion in new transportation funds, including $5.3 billion for Gov. Davis’ Transportation Congestion Relief Plan. Over the next five years, the plan will fund 141 locally recommended projects, the largest General Fund commitment to transportation in state history. Director Morales has a wide range of experience in transportation and government. At the CTA, he spearheaded major reforms to improve service and increase ridership at the nation’s second largest transit agency. Those efforts were instrumental in reversing the steady decline in ridership that had prevailed for the previous 15 years. Prior to his tenure at the CTA, he was a senior staff member with Vice President Al Gore’s National Performance Review, the task force to reinvent the federal government. It has saved taxpayers more than $130 billion and produced dramatic improvements in the management of federal programs. He secured unprecedented reforms within the Federal Aviation Administration’s personnel and procurement systems. In 1996/97, he was issues director of the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, which laid out a blueprint for a national aviation policy in the 21st century. Morales held senior positions at the U.S. Department of Transportation and was on the staff of the U.S. Senate, where he was a principal drafter of the landmark Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991.

Plenary Session II, Wednesday, August 29 from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Jeffrey A. Lindley Director, Office of Travel Management, FHWA On January 2, 2000, Jeffrey A. Lindley became Director of the Office of Travel Management. He directs a staff responsible for FHWA policies and programs related to transportation management and deployment of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Prior to this appointment, he served as FHWA California Division Administrator from September 1997. He joined the Federal Highway Administration in 1985 as a Highway Research Engineer in McLean, Virginia. He later held positions as a traffic management / ITS specialist in San Francisco, California and as a Branch Chief and Team Leader in the Office of Traffic Management and ITS Applications in Washington, D.C. In 1996, he was named Deputy Director of the ITS Joint Program Office, and managed a variety of ITS program activities, including development of FHWA’s proposal for reauthorization of the ITS program as part of TEA-21. Prior to joining FHWA, he held transportation engineering positions in the private sector and with the U.S. Air Force. Jeffrey Lindley is a civil engineering graduate of Virginia Tech and received his Master’s Degree in Transportation Engineering from the University of Maryland. He is a registered professional engineer in Virginia, a member and past Chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Committee on Freeway Operations, and currently serves as the Chair of the ITS Council of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). He has received numerous performance and honor awards, including the Administrator’s Award for Superior Achievement, the Fred Burggraf Outstanding Paper Award from the Transportation Research Board, and the Young Engineer of the Year Award from the Washington, D.C., Section of ITE.

kathy@its.washington.edu
August 13, 2001