Margo Melendez
Transportation Technology Manager
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Margo Melendez is the Technology Deployment Manager, specializing in advanced transportation at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Margo develops, leads, and executes projects that reduce the use of petroleum in transportation.  Since joining NREL in 1999, she has worked on a variety of issues related to the transition of the transportation sector to alternative fuels and advanced technologies, on topics ranging from EPAct regulatory incentives, consumer education and outreach, engine and infrastructure technology research, and alternative fuel and hydrogen transition analysis.  Prior to working at NREL, Margo worked in environmental compliance and regulatory affairs at Ford Motor Company.

Speakers:

Daniel Blower
Associate Research Scientist
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
Daniel Blower is an Associate Research Scientist in the Vehicle Safety Analytics Group and Director of the Center for National Truck and Bus Statistics at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. He has over 20 years of experience in research and data collection related to traffic safety. Dan helped to develop the methodology and served as a consultant to the Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) and to the Bus Crash Causation Study for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. He directs UMTRI’s Buses Involved in Fatal Accidents project. His primary research interest is in traffic crash causation.

Bob Bourne
Consultant
Bourne Transit Consulting, LLC
With more than 40 years of experience in public transit, Bob Bourne has completed a 25 year career as director of CyRide.  During his tenure in Ames, CyRide received many awards for its exemplary safety program and its exceptional customer service program. He developed programs that resulted in a ridership increase from 330,000 passengers per year to more than 4,700,000. Bob negotiated the yearly subsidy requirements between the City of Ames, Iowa State University, and the Government of the Student Body. He was also active in APTA activities including the Reauthorization Task Forces and the Small Operations Steering Committee.  He helped develop the bi-annual Transit and University Communities conference.  

Robert A. Crescenzo
Vice President of Safety & Loss Control
Lancer Insurance Group
Robert Crescenzo is responsible for coordinating the Lancer safety engineering program, marketing and seminar preparation for commercial auto customers, including motorcoach operators. In 1988 he founded Lancer Compliance Services, a comprehensive drug and alcohol testing service. Bob has presented at United Motorcoach Association and American Bus Association forums and conducted Supervisor Certification training for state and regional bus associations at various sites across the country. He has also authored several articles and been extensively quoted in industry trade publications on the topics of safety, driver training and regulatory compliance.

John E. Dolce
Wendel Duchscherer Architect & Engineering Inc.
John Dolce is an active Consultant, Instructor, and Fleet Manager.  He has over 35 years of experience in the public and private sector, with fleets ranging between 100 and 18,000 units, and over 20 years in general management. John has written three textbooks:  Fleet Management, Vehicle Specification and Procurement and Analytical Fleet Maintenance Management.  He has worked with over 250 clients in fleet matters, including: strategic planning, life cycle and vehicle replacement programs, maintenance, operations, safety, and budgeting. John has worked with utility, private, municipal, construction, mining, federal, and intermodal clients.

Gordon Exel
VP & GM, Americas
Cummins Westport
Gordon Exel joined Cummins Westport in 2002.  He is accountable for sales, market research, customer support and channel management.  Gord’s team focuses both on traditional North American markets and on developing markets capitalizing on both emerging economic benefits and environmental concerns.  This approach has paid off with sales doubling in the last two years.  Prior to joining Cummins Westport Gord spent nearly 20 years in sales, service and general management positions in the technology sector with Datawest as VP Sales & Marketing and prior to that, 15 years with Xerox.

Ryan Kelly
President and CEO
Terrapin Blue  
Ryan Kelly began his career developing a rural public transportation system in Macon County, Georgia through a governor’s internship program.  Ryan later created the Dooly-Crisp Unified Transportation System (DCUTS).  He worked with Georgia’s elected officials in securing a Job Access Reverse Commute grant that allowed DCUTS to focus on assisting local residents. Ryan was presented the Pacesetter Award by the University of Georgia’s College of Family and Consumer Services in 2009.  He has taught numerous public transit infrastructure workshops all over the country.  He spoke at the United Motorcoach Association’s Annual Meeting on implementing successful grant strategies in private transportation. Ryan also works with private transportation companies to diversify their transportation portfolios.  

Jude Kiah
Director, Go West Transit
Western Illinois University   
Jude Kiah undertook the creation of Macomb Illinois’ fixed route public transportation system in 1997.  The system came on-line 1999 with 3 buses and 2 routes and 6 employees and has grown to 28 buses, 14 routes, 90 employees and has carried 15 million riders in a town of 20,000. Jude began his career in 1993 at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA as a residence hall director, judicial coordinator and assistant men's basketball coach.  He moved to Western Illinois University in 1995 to work in Western's Residence Life program.  In 2009, he added the direction of the University Bookstore to his supervision of the Go West Transit system.

Halsey King
President
Halsey King & Associates
Halsey King’s articles appear in many transportation and engineering magazines along with publications on the web. Halsey provided consulting services and training to over 700 fleets worldwide, and has provided a set of maintenance seminars for METRO Magazine, The American Bus Association and the United Motor Coach Association and currently for CTAA. He is active in several transportation organizations, including the Transportation Research Board and their Transportation Cooperative Research Program, the Center for Automotive Safety, American Trucking Association and the American Public Transit Association's Maintenance Council. Halsey served on the Board of Directors for the Society of Automotive Engineers and on the organizing Board of Governors for SAE's new Service Technicians Society. 

Carl Lisek
Co-Director
South Shore Clean Cities
Carl Lisek has been serving as the co-director of SSCC since 2006 and most recently as the Wisconsin Clean Cities Executive Directors. He was recognized in 2007 by Senator Richard Lugar as an Indiana Energy Patriot. Carl has become the "go to" resource in Northern Indiana for cleaner fuels, vehicles and green energy-saving technologies that reduce climate change, increase American energy security and strengthen Indiana's economy. He plays a leadership role in Indiana/Wisconsin and nationally in the field of green energy deployment. Carl serves on the Clean Cities Coordinator Council and the Board of Directors of the National Transportation Energy Partnership.

Louis Maiello
Transit Training Specialist
FAAC Incorporated
Louis Maiello has spent more than 33 years with MTA New York City Transit’s Department of Buses beginning as a bus operator and continuing in the areas of training, human resources management, customer services, and surface transit. He finished his impressive career with NYCT as Director of Training, Bus and Safety Division. In 2003, he accepted an invitation to become a National Transit Institute Fellow. He has held certifications as a National Safety Council Defensive Driver Instructor and as a New York State Department of Motor Vehicles 19A Law Examiner. Louis was selected by NYCT to work with FAAC as the company built its very first municipal bus simulator.

Derek Meier
Student Senate Executive Staff
The University of Kansas
Derek Meier is currently a Civil Engineering master’s student at the University of Kansas (KU). He served the university as the Transportation Coordinator from April 2008 to July 2011. During his time at KU on Wheels, Derek secured $2 million of student fee money towards the construction of a new transit maintenance facility.  Through new coordination efforts with the City of Lawrence and Lawrence Transit System and with the implementation of a fare-free policy, ridership increased 130% during his tenure. 

Todd Mouw
Vice President of Sales and Marketing
ROUSH CleanTech
Todd Mouw brings a 15 year background in the automotive and high tech industries to ROUSH CleanTech. He manages the national sales staff and currently leads the charge in helping Fortune 500 fleets find ways to reduce their carbon footprint and operating costs through utilizing alternative fuel technologies. He has considerable sales & marketing experience with Ford, GM and Chrysler on their dealer, fleet and consumer communications programs.

Richard Nelson
Principal
Enersol Resources
Richard Nelson is currently program coordinator with the Center for Sustainable Energy at Kansas State University and also heads Enersol Resources, a private energy, environmental, and market assessment consulting firm with over 21 years’ experience in the biofuels/bioenergy field and over 20 publications on biomass, energy, environment, sustainability, and economics and marketing. He has served as a consultant to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Western Governors’ Association, and the National Biodiesel Board concerning biofuel development, marketing, and utilization.  He has also served on a California Air Resources Board expert workgroup.

Joseph Peoples
Manager, Commercial Ground Vehicle Group
Kidde Aerospace & Defense
Joseph Peoples is the Manager of the Commercial Ground Vehicle group at Kidde Aerospace & Defense.  He has worked in the special hazards fire protection field for 27 years.  His background includes system design, research and development, live fire testing and vehicle fire investigation for both military and commercial hazards. For the last 12 years he has focused on Automatic Fire Detection and Suppression systems for the transit, school bus and coach industries.  He has presented at numerous trade conferences and is a contributing member of the APTA Bus Safety Working Group.

Barry S. Robinson CPM
Chief, Transit and Marine Services
City of Baltimore Department of Transportation
Barry Robinson has 25 years’ experience in financial operations and program administration on the municipal level.  Prior to joining to the City of Baltimore’s Department of Transportation he served in the DC Government as Budget Director for the DC Lottery and as Chief Financial Officer for the D.C. Government’s Public Library and the DC Health Department.  Barry also served as Director of Parks and Recreation and Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the City of Alexandria VA.  Barry has led the city’s efforts in developing, deploying and coordinating the Charm City Circulator and the Water Taxi Harbor Connector. 

Mitch Skyer
President and Senior Transportation Consultant
Solstice Transportation Group, Inc.
Mitch Skyer is the President and Senior Transportation Consultant for Atlanta based Solstice Transportation Group, Inc., which he started in January, 2007. He has worked in transportation since 2002, as a both a transportation services contractor and consultant.  Mitch recently completed his term as PAG Treasurer, and is an active member of IPI, APTA, SAE, NACAS, MCPA, and MSTPA.   Mitch earned his undergraduate degree from Binghamton University (NY), and his MBA from the University at Buffalo (NY). Mitch is regularly invited to speak at regional and national industry conferences on a variety of transportation planning and transit technology issues.

John Somers
Vice President for Transit Business Development
Clean Energy
John Somers is Vice President for Transit Business Development for Clean Energy, North America’s largest provider of natural gas for transportation. Clean Energy designs, builds, operates & maintains CNG & LNG fueling stations. Mr. Somers and his Team focus on fixed-route transit operators, para-transit systems, and university transit operations. John is active in the transit community, currently serving a second term on APTA’s Board of Directors; he also serves as a Co Vice-Chair of APTA’s Clean Propulsion Committee. John earned an undergraduate degree in Finance and holds a Master’s degree in international public policy from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Björn Sundström
Head Fire Technology Department
SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden
Björn Sundström is also Professor in fire technology at the Luleå University of Technology. Dr Sundström has been project leader for a number of international projects for the European Union, industrial groups and proposals for European Union legislation regarding the construction products directive. He received the Interflam award in 1996 for the technical leadership of the EU project, CBUF, Combustion Behaviour of Upholstered Furniture. Dr Sundström is currently chairman of ISO TC 92- Fire Safety, appointed expert by the European Commission in the EGF group for the CPD, representing SP in the European Commission Fire sector group for notified bodies and various other commitments relating to European fire research, regulations and international standardisation.

Jeff Waxman
Project Manager
Illinois Department of Transportation
Jeff Waxman has been in the public transportation industry for 27 years, starting his transit career as an intern for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT).  Jeff worked 11 years for Pace Suburban Bus Service starting out as a dispatcher. He then worked his way up to Road Supervisor, and then became Safety and Training Manager for Pace River Division.  Jeff then rejoined IDOT as a Project Manager.  His responsibilities include providing technical assistance to Section 5310 and Section 5311 Grantees in complying with FTA and IDOT requirements, conducting Drug and Alcohol testing program compliance reviews, and administering the capital grants program for IDOT grantees. 

Greg Zilberfarb
Propane Education and Research Council (PERC)
Greg Zilberfarb is currently working with the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) to provide commercialization and outreach support for new products utilizing propane powered engines. His alternative fuels background is extensive and diverse. In addition to his work with PERC he is working with the National Biodiesel Board on OEM outreach and education. He was Executive Director of National Clean Cities Inc., a National Account Manager of AFVs with Ford Motor Company and Director of Marketing for the Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition. Greg is currently President of the Sales NetWork, a provider of education and outreach services to the alternative fuel industry headquartered in Virginia.