About Us

The U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s Program Development and Capacity Building Division works closely with federal, state, and local agencies to develop and implement data-driven programs that speed the adoption of innovative technologies, policies, and practices.

Some highlights of our work include:

• Developing the U.S. DOT Research, Development, and Technology Strategic Plan
• Supporting FHWA’s Roadway Safety Professional Capacity Building Program
• Support for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office’s ITS Professional Capacity Building Program
• Support for FTA’s Transit Asset Management Program

Our team of transportation researchers consists of community planners, analysts, engineers, and economists. We help our sponsors ensure that transportation research leads to results by translating complex regulations, research, and policies into practical and engaging training and guidance resources.

Our Capabilities

Program Development and Evaluation

• Help transportation agencies develop effective programs by assessing stakeholder needs, evaluating program performance, improving business processes, determining strategic priorities, and creating compelling products and services
• Provide strategic transportation planning and performance measurement services focused on the following areas:
  • Asset Management
  • Freight Planning, Data, and Operations
  • Innovative Infrastructure Finance
  • Intelligent Transportation Systems
  • Highway Operations
  • Roadway and Transit Safety

Professional Capacity Building to Maximize Impact

• Work to identify effective policies and practices through qualitative research, such as best practice scans and synthesis studies, and promote their adoption by the public sector workforce through workshops, webinars, courses, and primers
• Help our sponsors implement successful communications strategies by providing expertise in information technology solutions to develop websites, mobile applications, and online databases.

Meet Our Team

View selected staff biographies.

Jordan Katz

Acting Chief

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.

Kevin Argueta Flores

Community Planner

Kevin Argueta Flores is currently based in Los Angeles, CA and works within the Program Development and Capacity Division’s various portfolios that engage FHWA’s Office of Freight Management, the Office of the Secretary of Transportation’s (OST) Freight Office, and others. Argueta Flores has worked on projects that require analysis of state freight plans, international freight and supply chain programs, development of presentation materials for OST’s international office, engagement strategy development for the Freight Logistics Optimization Works program, grant reviews, and other research and operational projects.

Before joining the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, he worked in transportation and supply chain research and development, working at academic research centers at California State University Long Beach (CSULB) and the University of Southern California (USC). Argueta Flores has previously worked at the Port of Long Beach in the Division of Business Development, as an urban planner at an environmental planning consulting firm, and as a Congressional Intern for former Congressman Alan Lowenthal – 47th Congressional District. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from CSULB, and a master’s degree in urban planning focused on mobility and transportation, Certificate of Public Administration, and Certificate of Public Policy from USC.

Josiah Blackwell-Lipkind

Community Planner

Josiah Blackwell-Lipkind joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2023 and supports data-driven transportation and geospatial analysis for FHWA, FMCSA, the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and National Park Service (NPS). His work spans the development of the National Multimodal Freight Network, industry engagement for the Freight Logistics Optimization Works program, congestion management efforts for NPS, and vehicle size and weight research. Blackwell-Lipkind has been a key contributor to data and geospatial analyses on grant programs such as the Reconnecting Communities Pilot and Safe Streets and Roads for All. More recently, he has been leading an effort to develop a tool to measure multimodal changes in transportation access.

Blackwell-Lipkind holds a master's degree in urban and regional planning from Georgetown University and a BA in economics and philosophy from Brown University.

Don Doherty

Management and Program Analyst

Don Doherty joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center as a contractor in 2010 and became a federal employee in 2024. Doherty has more than 15 years of project management, website development and management, Section 508 compliance, and Drupal content management system experience. He has primarily supported projects for FHWA, FTA, and the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office.

Doherty holds a bachelor of science in operations technology and an associate of science in business administration from Northeastern University and a Web Development Certificate from Boston University.

Deirdre Fallings

Program Analyst

Deirdre Fallings joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2014 as a program analyst and brings 10 years of experience supporting FHWA, the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office, and the ITS Professional Capacity Building Program. Fallings’ work spans program planning, budget development, and project management, with a strong focus on Section 508 compliance, strategic communications, graphics, branding, and design. She plays a key role in developing accessible, visually cohesive materials that support technical outreach and workforce development.

Fallings holds a Bachelor of Arts from Lasell University in both graphic design and fine art.

Jared Fijalkowski

Community Planner

Jared Fijalkowski joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2010 and has more than 20 years of experience in instructional design, capacity building, transportation planning, and program development. Fijalkowski’s work ensures that transportation agency staff and leaders have the skills and tools to improve and transform transportation systems. He has led portfolios with FHWA, FRA, and the Office of the Secretary of Transportation to apply his skills to a variety of transportation topics, including international development, bicycle and pedestrian planning, public engagement, Tribal transportation planning, asset management, and infrastructure finance.

Fijalkowski holds a Bachelor of Arts in geography from Clark University and a Master of Science in transportation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was one of the founding leaders of the Boston Chapter of Young Professionals in Transportation.

Kate Flaherty

Community Planner

Kate Flaherty joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2022 and has supported a wide range of offices and initiatives in program management, site design, grant reviews, and transportation policy. Flaherty has worked with the FHWA Office of Freight Management and Operations, Office of Planning, Office of Civil Rights, and Office of Performance and Innovative Finance, as well as the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, the Build America Bureau, and National Park Service. Prior to joining U.S. DOT Volpe Center, she worked in non-profit management, clean tech, and universal design. Flaherty was a 2022 Landscape Architecture Foundation Olmsted Scholar Finalist and holds dual master’s degrees in city and regional planning and landscape architecture from Cornell University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Wheaton College.

Stephanie Galeota

Management and Program Analyst

Stephanie Galeota joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2019 and has supported various offices and initiatives by providing wide-ranging assistance for program development, instructional design, professional capacity building, and competitive grants management. In this role, Galeota has worked with federal entities in areas of transportation safety, planning, and operations. Prior to joining the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, she worked for 20+ years in the fields of international development and education. Galeota is a two-time graduate of Boston College (Chestnut Hill, MA), holding a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Master of Arts in higher education administration.

Emily Lawless

Management and Program Analyst

Emily Lawless joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2015 and has supported a range of federal agencies, including FHWA, FTA, and OST, to promote strategies and activities that advance the work in intelligent transportation systems, asset management, and project delivery. Lawless’s experience includes development and coordination of professional capacity building initiatives and programs, research and evaluation of transportation programs, and support of educational and training activities.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of New Hampshire. Prior to joining the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, Lawless worked for many years in the fields of teaching and academic administration in Madrid, Spain, and Boston, MA.

Derek Lo

Policy Analyst

Derek Lo joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2021 and has supported a variety of federal agencies, including the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, FHWA, FTA, the Build America Bureau, FRA, FMCSA, Bureau of Land Management, and National Park Service. Lo has also conducted state-level work with the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Departments of Transportation.

With these agencies, he has helped to stand up multi-billion-dollar infrastructure grant programs, handling communications, reviews, training, and program development. Lo is also experienced in stakeholder engagement and event planning, project delivery, research programs, technical assistance, and grant management. He also has substantial experience with transit asset management (TAM), having conducted a program evaluation on the FTA TAM Program, as well as trainings and peer events to support the implementation of the FTA TAM Rule. Lo has also supported strategic and implementation planning for several programs, helping them meet their goals and requirements.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and history from The George Washington University (Washington, D.C.) and is a proud alumnus of the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s Pathways Program.

DJ Mason

Community Planner

DJ Mason has ten years of experience in transportation research, planning, and policy, and specializes in multimodal freight infrastructure system performance. Mason has helped lead national initiatives such as the National Freight Strategic Plan, the National Park Service National Long-Range Transportation Plan, FHWA’s Strategic Plan, and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) The Importance of Highways to U.S. Agriculture. He manages a portfolio serving the Transportation Office of the Secretary’s Freight Office, FHWA’s Freight Office, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, and multiple state departments of transportation. Mason is a two-time graduate of the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, holding degrees in political science and transportation planning, and a graduate certificate in change management from Cornell University.

Areas of Expertise:

• Multimodal Freight Planning, Infrastructure, and Data
• Organizational Strategic Planning
• Transportation Planning

Emily Navarrete

Community Planner

Emily Navarrete joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2017 and is passionate about improving transportation safety, bicycle and pedestrian access, and freight mobility. Navarrete has contributed to major U.S. DOT research and policy initiatives, such as the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Grant Program, the U.S. DOT Strategic Plan, and the National Freight Strategic Plan. She manages technical assistance and capacity building efforts for multiple federal agencies to support their transportation planning efforts.

Navarrete received a master’s degree in urban planning and policy from the University of Illinois Chicago (Chicago, IL) and a bachelor’s in architecture from Florida International University (Miami, FL). She enjoys bicycling with her family throughout the Boston region and photographing unique architecture and urban design infrastructure.

Nineveh O'Connell

Program Analyst

Nineveh O’Connell came to the U.S. DOT Volpe Center as a program analyst in 2024 after graduating from MIT with her Master of City Planning degree. O’Connell is a highly experienced data analyst with a background in education assessment and program evaluation research, transit fare structure and fare products analysis, and fair housing and demographics analysis. At the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, she focuses on streamlining databases and back-end tools for grant programs and supporting transportation management at public lands to improve the visitor experience and protect natural resources.

At MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, O’Connell taught introductory statistics with R for urban planners, dug into fare product effectiveness and rider patterns at WMATA through the MIT Transit Lab, and wrote a master’s thesis on public transit access to public lands from San Francisco and Seattle. In addition to a Master of City Planning degree, she graduated from Stanford University with a BS in Mathematical and Computational Science. O’Connell enjoys teaching youth (and adults!) to bike and taking the commuter rail out of town just to run back home.

Brenden Resnick

Community Planner

Brenden Resnick joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2023, working across the Center’s discretionary grants, freight, and public lands portfolios. Resnick has assisted in standing up several U.S. DOT, the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST), and the Build America Bureau grant programs—including Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods, Safe Streets and Roads for All, Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, and Innovative Finance and Asset Concession, developing external webinar and website content, aiding in the review and evaluation process, and conducting engagement with applicants. He has experience building program offices for OST to meet legislative goals, including the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Infrastructure (ARPA-I). Resnick applies his geospatial and data visualization skills to create meaningful data products for customers. He enjoys working with colleagues to address challenging questions and craft innovative solutions.

Resnick holds a Bachelor of Urban Planning from the Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University. He holds American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Candidate status from the American Planning Association and is a member of the APA Federal Planning and Transportation Planning Division and of the Young Professionals in Transportation New York City chapter. Resnick proudly began his career at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center through the Federal Pathways Program.

Pepper Santalucia

Community Planner

Pepper Santalucia is a policy analyst and project manager who specializes in infrastructure finance and freight transportation. Santalucia has 30 years of experience in policy analysis and program support and has been with the U.S. DOT Volpe Center since 2015. He currently leads the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s support for FHWA’s innovative finance program, which builds state and local capacity on topics such as public-private partnerships, land value capture, and other aspects of project finance. Santalucia also supports the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan program administered by the Build America Bureau. During his time at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, he has contributed to numerous U.S. DOT strategic plans and reports to Congress for the Office of the Secretary of Transportation.

Prior to joining the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, Santalucia supported multiple federal task forces and commissions and authored several reports for the Transportation Research Board. He started his career as a budget analyst for the U.S. Congress. Santalucia built his expertise in freight transportation supporting the regulatory activities of FMCSA and Transportation Security Administration. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

View Pepper Santalucia’s LinkedIn profile.

Andrew Seguin

Community Planner

Andrew Seguin joined the the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2023 and specializes in planning at the intersection of transportation and land use. Seguin manages portfolios with FHWA, FTA, and state DOTs that create geospatial tools to inform investment strategies, help stakeholders better integrate land use and transportation decision-making, and develop capacity building frameworks. His expertise spans topics including transit-oriented development, capital planning for freight infrastructure, and comprehensive planning.

Previously, Seguin held planning roles with the New York City Department of City Planning and Jacobs. He holds a Master of Arts in community planning from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in public policy and political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Jennifer Shelby, PhD

Economist

Jennifer Shelby, PhD engages her skills and experience related to teaching and learning, content delivery, evaluation, research design, and technical writing in her work at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center. Shelby’s work focuses on public lands transportation, rural planning, innovative finance, learning and development for transportation planners, research, and capacity building. This supports portfolios with FHWA, FTA, and the Office of the Secretary of Transportation. Her work has resulted in reports, case studies, and whitepapers on a range of transportation planning topics as well as learning events, peer exchanges, and web content.

Prior to joining the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, Shelby taught at the University of Colorado Boulder and conducted research on various topics related to urban planning, land use, and policy. Her areas of expertise include urban planning theory, rural planning, environmental psychology, site design, creative economy, and community-engaged research and pedagogy.

Shelby has a PhD in environmental studies and MS in business analytics from the University of Colorado Boulder (Boulder, CO), as well as a Master of Community and Regional Planning and a BA in economics from Boise State University (Boise, ID).

Hisa Streim

Program Analyst

Hisa Streim joined the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in 2024 and brings eight years of experience in adult learning facilitation and program evaluation. At the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, Streim’s work focuses on supporting project-based teamwork through the Project Management Office, designing pilot evaluations, and leading mixed methods research. Her areas of expertise are needs assessment and strategic plan development.

Prior to the U.S. DOT Volpe Center, Streim led adult learning and program development efforts in nonprofit, public, correctional, and academic contexts in MA and CA. She holds a multi-subject teaching credential, BA in English and Spanish, and an EdM in education.