Volpe, The National Transportation Systems Center, recently hosted Eisenhower Fellows from Colombia, Indonesia, and China to engage on a number of critical global transportation issues. Each year, the Eisenhower Fellowships select two groups of outstanding mid-career Fellows drawn from nearly 50 countries to travel to the U.S. to participate in an intensive, individually designed program in the Fellows' field of expertise. Their goal is to link leaders from around the world and to help them "to achieve consequential outcomes across sectors and borders."

Volpe's recent technical exchanges with Eisenhower Fellows in key transportation posts include Colombia's Felipe Targa, Indonesia's Eka Surbakti, and China's Li Yang.

Felipe Targa: In his capacity as Colombia's Vice Minister of Transportation, Felipe Targa has successfully implemented complex reforms in the freight transportation sector, and more recently developed a national road safety plan projected to significantly reduce traffic fatalities. He is responsible for strategy and policy relating to transportation services, mass transit systems, freight and supply chain management, road safety, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), and the development of an efficient, safe, and environmentally sustainable transport system nationwide. On his fellowship, he came to the Volpe Center to further investigate ITS, logistics and mass transit systems, sustainable multimodal transportation systems, and supply chain management strategies.

Eka Surbakti: As the most prominent woman in transportation and logistics industries in Indonesia, Eka Surbakti oversees Lorena Group's 647 offices throughout Indonesia and Southeast Asia. She also serves as director of several corporate entities and is the first woman chair of Organda, a 1.5-million-member organization representing Indonesian public transportation providers. Additionally, Ms. Surbakti recently began a five-year tenure as head of the Permanent Committee on Land Transportation and Ferries of Indonesia. While on fellowship, she participated with technical exchanges at Volpe on issues related to transportation and logistics, including seamless connectivity, integrated multimodal transportation, and modern system logistics operations. Her visit to Volpe was designed to help inform Ms. Surbakti and the Lorena Group's research and development efforts.

Li Yang: Recently promoted to Deputy Director General, Li Yang is responsible for transportation development strategy and policy making as well as transportation economics and governance within China's Ministry of Transportation. While on fellowship, Mr. Li visited the Volpe Center to further examine American strategies to control traffic congestion and to inform his work with anti-congestion measures in Beijing. His stop in Cambridge was part of his overall effort to study best practices in transportation development strategy, policy, and governance.

Volpe is honored to collaborate with the Eisenhower Fellowships program, a nonprofit/nonpartisan leadership development organization founded in 1953 in honor of President Dwight Eisenhower and chaired by General Colin L. Powell (Ret.).