About Us

The U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s Policy Analysis and Strategic Planning Division provides expertise across all aspects of transportation policymaking and program/project delivery lifecycle, including interpretation, implementation, evaluation, and adaptation.

Our team of experts and specialists carry out work on a range of transportation-related topics, building and sustaining high-impact programs. We collaborate with our sponsors, such as FAA, FHWA, FTA, and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, to build strong relationships and yield high-impact outcomes.

The goal of our work is to visualize, analyze, and better understand all aspects of transportation to empower our sponsors to streamline processes and make informed, data-driven management and transportation planning and infrastructure decisions.

Our Capabilities

Economic and Policy Analysis

• Leverage a variety of techniques to address today’s transportation policy questions with focus areas including the National Environmental Policy Act and permitting in compliance with statutory requirements and to expedite project delivery.
• Initiate, facilitate, and implement strategic planning efforts and provide targeted program design support related to sponsors’ policy implementation, rulemaking, and working group activities.

Applied Data Science

• Use cutting-edge skills to gather, manage, visualize, and analyze data.
• Translate, simplify, and effectively communicate the data to a wide audience.
• Use numerous forms of mapping to advance spatial analysis and tools.

Impartial Investigations and Program Evaluations

• Conduct research, analysis, and evaluation on a range of project components, including interview and survey design, policy analysis, statistical analysis, qualitative data analysis, surveying and forecasting, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
• Build, sustain, and evaluate impactful programs by incorporating strategic planning into everything we do.

Meet Our Team

View selected staff biographies.

Rachel Strauss McBrien

Chief

Rachel Strauss McBrien is chief of the Policy Analysis and Strategic Planning Division at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in Cambridge, MA. She was previously in the Program Development and Capacity Building Division where she worked with a range of federal agencies, including FAA, FHWA, FTA, National Park Service, and the Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, to promote strategies and activities that advance the work of their offices and support efforts that encourage information-sharing and foster dialogue.

McBrien has extensive experience in facilitating interagency coordination to achieve a common goal. In addition, she develops and delivers products, including written materials, workshops, and webinars, that showcase best practices in transportation planning and project delivery across the United States.

McBrien holds a master’s degree in city planning from the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Boston College (Newton, MA) with a BA in English. She is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners and the Project Management Institute.

Gary M. Baker

Senior Geospatial Analyst/Developer
MA Software Engineering, Harvard Extension School
BS Geography, University of Massachusetts

Gary Baker joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 1996. He provides expertise in geographic information systems (GIS), complex spatial analysis, tool and model development, custom web mapping application development, and all things geospatial. Baker applies these skills to better understand various aspects of transportation, including Infrastructure, movements and traffic, crashes, and impacts. During his tenure at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, he has worked on a wide array of diverse projects involving all modes of transportation from the local to the global scale.

Zachary T. Bergeron

Transportation Policy Analyst
MS Sustainability Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst
MS Biology (Visual Ecology), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
BS Biology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Zachary Bergeron has worked as a policy analyst at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center since 2022. Bergeron provides research and policy support focused on active transportation and micromobility, right-sized e-mobility, transit asset management, and transit-oriented development. His work has supported FHWA, FTA, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other federal agencies. Bergeron holds a master’s degree in sustainability science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (Amherst, MA), a master’s degree in visual ecology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Urbana, IL), and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD).

Allison Caloggero

Program Analyst
MS Organizational and Professional Communication, Regis College
BA Communication, Regis College

Allison Caloggero is a program analyst in the Policy Analysis and Strategic Planning Division at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center. Caloggero joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2020 as a program support specialist, conducting administrative and business operations for the division. In her current role as a program analyst, she performs a range of activities in business operations, project management, financial analysis, program coordination, and quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Caloggero’s work has supported several U.S. DOT Volpe Center portfolios including that of the FHWA Office of Project Development and Environmental Review, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, the U.S. DOT Project Delivery Center of Excellence, and U.S. DOT’s Build America Bureau.

Prior to the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, Caloggero worked as a financial business support specialist for DIGITALiBiz, Inc., serving as an administrative resource and providing financial data analysis. Caloggero holds a master’s degree in organizational and professional communication and a bachelor’s degree in communication from Regis College (Weston, MA).

Leah Epstein

Environmental Protection Specialist
BA Environmental Studies and International Affairs, Northeastern University

Leah Epstein is an environmental protection specialist in the Policy Analysis and Strategic Planning Division at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center. Epstein joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center is 2022 and has in-depth experience working with different U.S. DOT operating administrations, including PHMSA, NHTSA, FRA, and FHWA, on environmental compliance efforts. She leads technical research, documentation development, and policy analysis efforts related to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. Prior to the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, Epstein worked as an environmental planner in the private sector helping coordinate the environmental review and public involvement processes for state DOTs and transit agencies. She is a member of the American Planning Association (APA) and is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). Epstein is also a member of the Transportation Research Board's Standing Committee on Environmental Compliance in Transportation Planning

Gina Filosa

Policy Analyst
Master’s Degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University
BS Environmental Studies, Providence College

Gina Filosa joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2006, where she leads technical research and policy analysis efforts focused on resilient transportation and environmental stewardship. She has also led several evaluations to assess the effectiveness of federal transportation policies and programs related to resilience, environmental review and permitting, and transportation safety.

Filosa holds a master’s degree in urban and environmental policy and planning from Tufts University (Medford, MA) and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Providence College (Providence, RI).

Bryan Jones

Community Planner
MA Urban and Regional Planning, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
BA Smart and Sustainable Cities, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Bryan Jones has been a community planner at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center since 2025. In this role, he works to increase access to federal grants, programs, and resources for the public. Among many projects, Jones supports the Transportation Planning Capacity Building Peer Exchange Program, which brings together local and regional planning organizations from across the country to share best practices and strengthen their planning capacity. Prior to joining the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, Jones worked as an economic development specialist at the Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement.

Jordan Katz

Policy Analyst

Jordan Katz joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2013 and has more than a decade of experience leading program development, evaluation, strategic planning, and grant program management efforts for a variety of programs across the federal government, with a focus on the National Environmental Policy Act and permitting. Katz’s work supports a range of federal agencies including FHWA, the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, the Build America Bureau, and the Permitting Council. Prior to the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, she worked in state government. Katz holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Washington University in St. Louis. She is also a certified Project Management Professional through the Project Management Institute.

Alison Link

Geospatial Analyst
Master of Geographic Information Science, University of Minnesota
MA Multicultural College Teaching and Learning, University of Minnesota; Graduate minor, Program Evaluation
BA International Relations, Grinnell College

Alison Link joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2023 as a geospatial analyst in the Policy Analysis and Strategic Planning Division. She works on a wide range of projects involving geospatial data cleaning, transformation, visualization, and web applications. Link’s technical expertise includes tools like Python, R, SQL, as well as data management and data governance support. Prior to joining the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, she worked as an academic technologist and data analyst at the University of Minnesota.

Erika Wesch

Program Support Specialist
BA History, Rollins College

Erika Wesch joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s Policy Planning and Strategic Planning Division in 2024. As the division’s program support specialist, Wesch provides administrative and project-based support, such as financial analysis, internal relationship building, project management, grant evaluations, report and proposal drafting, and data analysis. While she primarily supports the work of the Policy Analysis and Strategic Planning staff, she has supported several U.S. DOT Volpe Center portfolios, including FHWA’s Transportation Planning Capacity Building Peer Exchange Program, OST’s Reconnecting Communities Grant Program, and FHWA’s Environmental Discipline.

Prior to the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, Wesch served as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the U.S. Forest Service developing volunteer and community engagement opportunities in coastal South Carolina, as well as an Interpretive Park Ranger with the National Park Service developing interpretive programming in coastal Georgia. She is currently a Master of Historic Preservation candidate at the University of Georgia (Athens, GA).

Caitlin Willoughby

GIS Specialist
NEPA Certification, Duke University
GIS Certification, Penn State
MLS Library and Informational Science, Simmons College
GIS Certification & Coastal Zone Management Certification, Cape Cod Community College
BA Geology (Environmental Science minor), Hartwick College

Caitlin Willoughby is an environmental geospatial/National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) professional with more than twenty years’ experience in technical, analytical, and geospatial project experience, respected for her project management, analytical, research, and communication skills, and attention to detail. Willoughby is knowledgeable in all aspects of planning for and applying environmental and geospatial science technologies, from problem identification, requirements gathering, methodology, analysis, results evaluation, cartography, and other visual communication. She has experience in planning and helping to develop custom geospatial solutions for analyses and visualization, including storymaps, dashboards, data management, data creation and manipulation, and cartographic solutions for environmental and NEPA support.

Willoughby has been at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center since 2021, providing geospatial analytical and technical support, program management, and environmental support to FAA, FMCSA, the Federal Permitting improvement Steering Council (FPISC), FHWA, and NPS. She leads GIS support to the FAA Unstaffed Infrastructure Sustainment (UIS) Program, where she oversees the effort to update all Air Traffic Operations (ATO) National Airspace System facilities across the country in the Geospatial Event Management System (GEMS) hosted within the FAA firewall. This effort has seen ~95% verification of ATO facilities via latitude and longitude locations using authoritative data and imagery to validate the site. GEMS is being used as the latitude and longitude database for many other FAA databases, including the Facility Service and Equipment Profile (FSEP), which now hosts GEMS’ lat/longs. This effort has been a long time coming, and she is happy to have been a part of this important work!

Prior to joining the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, Willoughby was a contractor with Booz Allen Hamilton for 17 years, providing project management and technical environmental, geospatial, and NEPA support for many federal agencies, in both defense (e.g., Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, and Office of the Secretary of Defense) and civil government (e.g., Bureau of Land Management, U.S. DOT, EPA, FAA, and NPS). Before Booz Allen, Willoughby worked as a GIS/Information Scientist at a non-profit environmental breast cancer research organization, Silent Spring Institute, where she helped research and analyze geospatial data for environmental factors and breast cancer incidence.