T&DI Board of Governors
The ASCE Transportation & Development Institute (T&DI) is led by an 8-member Board of Governors. The Board includes four (4) elected members, two (2) appointed members, one appointed Younger Member (YM), and one ASCE Presidential Appointee.
T&DI's FY24 Board includes the following members:
Chandra Bhat, Ph.D., M.ASCE
President
Dr. Bhat has a joint appointment between the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering (CAEE) and the Department of Economics at The University of Texas at Austin. He is a world-renowned expert in the area of transportation and urban policy design, with far-reaching implications for public health, energy dependence, greenhouse gas emissions, and societal quality of life. Methodologically, he has been a pioneer in the formulation and use of statistical and econometric methods to analyze human choice behavior. His current research includes the social and environmental aspects of transportation, safety and planning implications of connected and automated smart transportation systems (CASTS), and data science and predictive analytics.
Scott Murrell, P.E., M.ASCE
Vice-President
Scott Murrell started his professional career with the Port Authority in 1982 as a Civil Design Engineer, rising through the ranks to become the Chief Civil Engineer in 2005. As the Chief Civil Engineer, Mr. Murrell was responsible for overseeing more than $1 billion of transportation infrastructure projects, including a $300 million runway reconstruction at John F. Kennedy International Airport along with numerous roads, bridge, tunnel, and port facility projects. In 2015 he joined Applied Research Associates (ARA) as Director of Commercial Aviation Services. Since joining ARA, Mr. Murrell has been the technical lead for support of the FAA’s Airport Technology Research focusing, on airport pavements, and airport consulting projects.
Mr. Murrell is a registered Professional Engineer in the states of New York and New Jersey and a recognized authority in transportation engineering. He has won numerous professional awards, including the 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Robert Horonjeff Award for the Advancement of Air Transportation Engineering and 2010 ASCE Civil Engineer of the Year (New Jersey Section). He has participated in several professional organizations, including TRB, AASHTO, ACRP, ASCE, and FAA committees, boards, and panels.
Scott is a charter member of T&DI and has served in a variety of roles including Airfield Pavement Committee Chair, Council Chair, and two-year appointed board member. He was co-chair of the First T&DI Congress, which later became the ASCE International Conference on Transportation & Development. Scott is a familiar face at Airfield and Highway Pavement Specialty Conferences having served as co-chair and steering committee member from 2006 through 2020. He also continues to be an active member of the Airfield Pavement Committee.
Roger M. Millar, P.E., F.ASCE, FAICP
Past-President
Roger Millar joined the Washington State Department of Transportation as Deputy Secretary in October 2015 and was appointed Secretary of Transportation in August 2016. He oversees an agency that is the steward of a complex, multimodal transportation system, and responsible for ensuring that people and goods move safely and efficiently.
Millar is an experienced land use and transportation engineer, planner and program manager with an international reputation for innovative approaches to conservation and development. The prominent theme that has run through his career has been planning and implementing transportation systems that are not ends unto themselves; but rather the means toward economic vitality, environmental stewardship, social equity, public health, and aesthetic quality. His work on the Portland Streetcar and the Glenwood Springs to Aspen Bus Rapid Transit system provided communities nationwide with new mobility tools. His Complete Streets leadership helped create a national movement for transportation systems that are safe, convenient, and pleasant for all users, regardless of how they choose to travel. His State DOT leadership is bringing innovation to agencies with enormous influence on transportation investment.
Millar is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He is the President of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), President of the ASCE Transportation and Development Institute, Immediate Past Chair of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America Board of Directors, and a member of the USDOT Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity, the National Operations Center of Excellence Strategic Advisory Council and the National Complete Streets Coalition Steering Committee.
Millar graduated from the University of Virginia in 1982.
Diniece Mendes, EIT, A.M.ASCE
Treasurer
Diniece serves as Director of Freight Mobility at the New York City Department of Transportation where she oversees a multi-million dollar program to advance urban freight policies and initiatives that reduce the adverse impacts of trucks on infrastructure and communities while improving safety, truck delivery efficiency, and New York City's economic competitiveness.
Diniece has 8 years of progressive experience leading, streamlining, assessing, and implementing large-scale transportation planning and performance systems across the Greater New York City area. Diniece has held several leadership roles within T&DI, ranging from chairing the Infrastructure Systems Committee, and Planning and Development Council, and most recently supporting Diversity and Inclusion initiatives. In New York, she is the President of the City College of New York Engineering School Alumni, a board member of the CE Civil Engineering Advisory Board, and is extremely passionate about building connections with CCNY engineering students, faculty, and alumni. She is a registered Engineering Intern (E.I.) in the State of New York. Diniece graduated from the City College of New York with a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering in 2012 and received her Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Diniece lives in Brooklyn with her husband, loves to travel, entertain, and enjoys rich cultural experiences.
Lucy Priddy, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE
ASCE President-Appointed Member
Dr. Priddy currently serves as the Program Officer for Research Programs aligned to the Army Modernization Priorities at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Prior to taking on that role, she served as the Assistant Program Director at ERDC where she assisted in the planning, technical direction, financial management, and execution of the Army research programs related to force projection, maneuver support, and force protection. Dr. Priddy graduated from the University of Mississippi with her bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering in 2002 and completed her master's degree in Civil Engineering from Mississippi State University in 2005. She completed her Ph.D. from Virginia Tech in 2014. Dr. Priddy is the author of numerous technical articles, papers and reports and served as liaison to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology in 2010-2011.
Jianming Ma, Ph.D., P.E., PMP®, M.ASCE
Appointed Member
Dr. Jianming Ma is with TxDOT’s Traffic Safety Division, coordinating connected and automated vehicle (CAV) activities, whether demonstration, pilot projects, national studies and university research. Jianming has over 20 years of professional and research experience in CAV, ITS, and systems engineering. He is the Research Coordinator for the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Safety Performance and Analysis (ACS20), a member of TRB’s Traffic Signal Systems (AHB25) and a liaison for SAE DSRC Technical Committee. Jianming is a Research Development and Implementation Coordinator for AASHTO Committee on Transportation System Operations. Jianming has been invited to serve on numerous national research panels and working groups such as TxDOT, NCHRP, SHRP2, AASHTO CAV Working Group, Cooperative and Automated Transportation (CAT) Coalition, and the CV Pooled Fund Study. Jianming co-chairs the CAV Impacts Committee of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
Tom Klin, A.M.ASCE
Appointed Member
Tom is a planner with an environmental science background and currently serves as EVP/General Manager of GHD’s Americas Advisory business. He joined GHD in 2019 to support the firm’s growth in infrastructure development and strategic consulting. Prior to joining GHD, he led businesses at Jacobs and CH2M that included significant transportation infrastructure CAPEX projects (in airports, highways, transit/rail and ports), as well as rolling stock procurement and fare collection system modernization. Tom’s career is founded on technical and regulatory expertise and he has progressed to executive leadership, client relationship management, and business growth with US domestic and global responsibilities. Tom is experienced with financial management and stewardship and has a successful track record in strategic planning, business processes and performance metrics. He has previously served in leadership roles on TRB committees and various airport organizations.
Jessica Garcia, EIT, A.M.ASCE
Appointed Younger Member
Ms. Garcia has been a Transportation Engineer at Choice Engineering Consultants since January 2021, where she’s worked on a multitude of different projects. Her engineering experience involves fatal crash reviews, traffic operations and safety analysis, traffic impact studies, pedestrian/bicyclist safety studies, and planning studies. She is a Florida International University (FIU) alumna, earning both a B.S. (2020) and M.S. (2021) in Civil Engineering from FIU. In 2020, she received her Engineer Intern (EI) license and passed the Professional Engineer (PE) Transportation exam. She will receive her PE license in 2024.
A South Florida native, Ms. Garcia is heavily involved in activities in the Miami metropolitan area. She is currently the Vice-Chair/Chair-elect of T&DI’s Miami-Dade Chapter and has held several positions within the Miami-Dade Branch including Younger Member Group President, Younger Member Group Events Director, Student Relations Chair, and member of the Field Day Scholarship Fundraiser Committee. She is also one of the two Florida representatives on the Region 5 Younger Member Advisory Council (YMAC) and the Eastern Region Multi-Region Leadership Conference (MRLC) Chair, helping plan the MRLC 2024 in Miami. Ms. Garcia previously served as the E-Board President of the ASCE FIU Chapter (2019-2020), Conference Chair (2018-2019), and is continuing her role as Practitioner Advisor for the ASCE FIU Student Chapter.
In addition to her ASCE involvements, Ms. Garcia has engaged in humanitarian activities such as developing FIU Students Involved in Composting – a project aimed at improving FIU’s recycling program, volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, conducting beach cleanups, and led fundraising efforts for the American Red Cross and the More Than Pink Walk.
In March 2023, she was announced as the recipient of T&DI’s 2022 Outstanding Younger Member Award.