Masters Students

I advise students preparing for careers in transportation policy and planning.  I primarily advise master’s students in Urban Planning and Public Policy on courses, internships, capstone research, and post-graduation employment options, though each year I typically work with several master’s students on transportation research projects as well. Today, hundreds of my former master’s students hold leading positions in transportation practice around California, the U.S., and the globe.  Here are some examples:

Ellison Alegre (1999)
Current Position: Senior Regional Planner (SANDAG)
Previous Position: Associate Planner at Caltrans
Alexander Demisch (2009)
Current Position: Data Analytics and Strategy Manager (SFMTA)
Previous Position: Senior Transit Performance Planner at SFMTA
Marisa Espinosa (2005)
Current Position: Director, Scenario Planning for the Vancouver Plan (City of Vancouver)
Previous Position: Director, Green Operations for the Engineering Services Division at City of Vancouver
Agustin Garcia Aguilar (2014)
Current Position: Deputy Director of Coverage (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones)
Previous Position: Head of the Migrants' Comprehensive Development Unit
Earl Kaing (2012)
Current Position: City and Transportation Partnerships (Lyft)
Previous Position: Transportation Partnerships Lead at Winter Consulting
Tomoko Kanda (2019)
Current Position: Senior Program Manager, Package and Delivery Customer Experience Design (Amazon)
Previous Position: Manager, Smart Cities and International Business Development at Digital Garage
David Leipziger (2017)
Current Position: Lead for Sustainable Cities and Transport (PwC)
Previous Position: Lead for Cities and Mobility at Innovate UK
Kurt Luhrsen (1996)
Current Position: Vice President of Planning (Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County)
Previous Position: Manager of Service Implementation at North County Transit District
Lance Mac Niven (2016)
Current Position: Lead Transportation Planner (WSP)
Nicholas Maricich (2004)
Current Position: Director of Planning Policy and Development (Office of Los Angeles Mayor)
Previous Position: Senior City Planner at City of LA
Bill McCullough (1996)
Current Position: Vice President and Founding partner (System Metrics Group)
Previous Position: Associate at Booz-Allen and Hamilton
Lys Mendez Palomo (2012)
Current Position: Communication Strategist (Better World Group)
Previous Position: Senior Manager of Government Relations for Bird
Timothy Papandreou (2004)
Current Position: Founder (Emerging Transport Advisors)
Previous Position: Strategic Partnerships at Waymo
Katherine Phillips (2001)
Current Position: Director (Sierra Club California)
Previous Position: Director, Environmental Defense Fund
Avygail Sanchez (2004)
Current Position: Government Relations Director, Vice President, West Division (HNTB)
Previous Position: Founder and CEO, TQM Partners, LLC
Melissa Sather (2018)
Current Position: Executive Vice President (Transportation Management & Design, Inc.)
Alexandra Sigmon (2006)
Current Position: Deputy Director of Aviation (New Orleans International Airport)
Previous Position: Director of Innovation, City of New Orleans
Ray Sosa (1998)
Current Position: Vice President, West Region Transportation Planning Market Sector Manager (AECOM)
Previous Position: VP of Southern California Transportation Planning and Design at AECOM
Arthi Varma (2001)
Current Position: Deputy Director, Citywide Policy Planning (City of LA)
Danny Wu (1998)
Current Position: Executive Director, Transportation and Planning (Cal Poly Pomona)
Previous Position: Associate Vice President at Iteris
Mark Yamarone (1996)
Current Position: Deputy Executive Officer (Long Range Planning, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority)
Previous Position: Transportation Administrator at Pasadena Department of Transportation