The summit will be held online on November 22nd, from 11:00 am to 7:30 pm EST. We need your support to send a clear message that multimodal transportation and transit are critical for creating jobs across an economically vibrant, connected, and sustainable region. As we are on the road to recovery from the pandemic, we want to Move Forward – Greener, Safer, and Together. Together we will design what the future of North-East transportation should be.

Event Schedule

Monday, November 22, 2021

Keynote: 11:15 am -1:15 pm

• Seleta Reynolds, General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Transportation
• Nuria Fernandez, Administrator, Federal Transit Administration

MOVING FORWARD

1:30 – 2:55 pm. Addressing racial transportation and pollution Inequities: the state/evaluation of the field. The Northeast region has one of the worst air pollution of our nation. Meanwhile, those who are most affected by air pollution are the least responsible for it. How to answer this unjust situation?

• Tenaya Taylor, Non Profit Accountability Group, Executive Director, moderator
• Paulina Muratore, Union of Concerned Scientists
• Renae Reynolds, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Executive Director

3:05 – 4:30 pm. Mobility opportunities for rural communities: rural communities are underserved by public transportation and face unique challenges to transition from polluting modes of transportation: what are the available mobility opportunities for these communities? Those modes of transportation could be new or upgraded modes (buses, shared shuttles, internet, & deliveries.)

• Mary Tomolonius, Executive Director, Connecticut Association for Community Transportation, Moderator
• State Representative Christine Palm, Vice-Chair of the Environment Committee
• Michele Brooks, Vice President, TransAction Associates, representing National RTAP
• Gloria Huerta, Carshare General Manager at Mobility Development
• Joseph Comerford, Executive Director, Estuary Transit District

6:05 – 7:30 pm. Connecting to the Connecticut River through Cities – a review of how Springfield and Hartford are researching, designing, and revitalizing greener multimodal pathways, with respect to lessons learned from maintenance challenges.

• Craig Mergins, Knox, Field Operations Manager
• Mary Rickel Pelletier, Director, Park Watershed
• Kristen Sykes, Director of Southern NE Conservation Projects and Partnership, Appalachian Mountain Club
• Greg Tuzzolo, Managing Director of Stimson Studio
• Greg Poelker-McKee, Alena Conrad, Eli Grigorian, C. Joshua Holland, UMass Amherst Design Students

GREENER

1:30 – 2:55 pm. What priorities for sustainable mobilities/funding priorities? Moving forward requires prioritizing certain modes of transportation over other ones. This panel will engage with ranking what should be immediate and more long term transportation investments (trains, Fastrak, buses, autonomous):

• Josh Ostroff, Interim Director, Transportation for Massachusetts
• Chris Porter, Principal, Cambridge Systematics
• Kimberly Lesay, Bureau Chief, Bureau of Policy & Planning, CT Department of Transportation

3:05 – 4:30 pm. Electrifying transportation: According to a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Futures, electric micromobility vehicles (scooters, mopeds, motorcycles and three-wheelers) comprise the largest share of electric vehicles on the road today. Changing gears for faster transition includes scooters, e-bikes, electrification, shared EV programs (see Boston program).

• Holly Parker, Active Transportation Lead, SLR, Moderator
• Will Haskell, Co-Chair of the Transportation Committee, CT State Senator
• Paul Mondesire, Head of Policy and Community Engagement, Superperpedestrian
• Paul Vosper, CEO, Juice Bar
• Marissa Gillett, Chair of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority
• Creighton Randall, CEO, Mobility Development

6:05 – 7:30 pm. Multi-Use trails: connecting communities with walking and cycling trails.

• Laura E. Brown, Community & Economic Development Educator, University of Connecticut, Moderator
• Neva Taylor, On the Trail/Walk with Me Podcast
• Raul Irizarry, CT Program Manager, Trust for Public Land and Bridgeport Waterfront Project
• Bethany Yeo, Planning & Community Development Director at Town of East Longmeadow

SAFER

1:30 – 2:55 pm. Communities and policing/traffic enforcement for safer streets?

• Claudine Fox, Public Policy and Advocacy Director, CT ACLU
• Ken Barone, CT Racial Profiling Prohibition Project

3:05 – 4:30 pm. Transportation accessibility for reduced-mobility users:

• Betty Bajek, Chairwoman, Board of Directors at the Greater Waterbury Transit District
• Elaine Kolb, disability and mobility rights activist

6:05 – 7:30 pm. Streets for People: Street design, policy, and operations has centered the automobile for almost a century. What happens when we shift our frame to think about streets for people and place? This conversation will focus on policy, projects, and programs that make streets safer and more welcoming for people.

• Nat Gale, Director of Operations, City of Hartford, Moderator
• Garrett Eucalitto, Deputy Commissioner, CT Department of Transportation
• Alycia Santilli, Director, Community Alliance for Research and Engagement, Southern Connecticut State University
• James Travers, Director of Transportation, Mobility and Parking, City of Norwalk

TOGETHER

1:30- 2:55 pm: Infrastructure plans: getting communities involved in the process. The White House Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is aimed at bringing transformative infrastructure investment in the country: what mechanisms include communities in the designs and implementation of this program?

• Thomas Regan-Lefebvre, Coordinator, Transport Hartford Academy at the Center for Latino Progress, Moderator
• Randal Davis, Deputy Director of Development Services, City of Hartford
• Jackie Mandyck, Executive Director, I-Quilt Partnership
• Michael Morehouse, Vice-President, FHI Studio
• Kevin Burnham, Greater Hartford Mobility Study, CT Department of Transportation

3:05 – 4:30 pm: Transportation and Climate Initiative, the Equity and Environmental Justice Advisory Board

• Alex Rodriguez, Climate Advocate, Save the Sound
• Katie Dykes, Commissioner, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
• State Senator Christine Cohen, Co-chair of the Environment Committee
• Dr. Mark Mitchell, George Mason University
• Maisa Tisdale, President and CEO, Mary and Eliza Freeman Center for History and Community

6:05 – 7:30 pm: Labor movement and the transition towards greener transportation

• Dr. Mary Donegan, Assistant Professor-in-Residence, Urban and Community Studies, University of Connecticut
• Aziz Dehkan, Executive Director, CT Roundtable for Climate and Jobs
• Mustafa Salahuddin, President, ATU Local 1336

ROUNDTABLE

4:30 – 6:00 pm: Community and Institutional Dialogue // Environmental Justice and being heard: community members who have been trying to make their voices heard in the creation of an equitable process:

• Vernice-Miller Travis, Executive Vice-President, Metropolitan Group
• Austin Brown, Senior Director for Transportation Emissions, The White House
• Karen Jenkins, Managing Principal, Development4Good

This Summit is supported by the Energy Foundation, Travelers, and Superpedestrian.