What do you do?
I’m a Senior Transportation Planner on the Long-Range Plan Team. I work on the long-range plan (known as the Metropolitan Transportation Plan or Mobility Plan), financial planning, scenario planning, and our department's policy implementation effort known as the Policy Bundle. My day consists of meetings, emails, and chats, but also writing, collaboration sessions called "Peer Reviews", and even presenting at committee meetings, public meetings, and one day, even conferences!
How long have you worked at NCTCOG?
I've worked here for almost five years. This is my first full-time job in transportation planning, though I worked at my university's Center for Transportation Research while in school and had an internship in the Knox County stormwater department.
Why did you choose this field?
In college, I had an exercise for my English class to identify a problem in my community and explore it in a paper. I noticed there was often a lack of sidewalks in the Knoxville community and, through research, found it's like that in many places! I wanted to find out everything I could about how transportation gets built and funded and who makes those decisions. Then I found my path to planning in one of my geography classes. While I don't work directly on sidewalk implementation, I found making plans and coordinating with other agencies on community issues to be very rewarding.
What do you like to do for fun?
My husband and I are huge foodies. We often ask ourselves, "What would we get if we went out to eat tonight,” and then make that at home. One time we even made sushi at home. We like to take the train into Dallas or Fort Worth and go to interesting restaurants whenever we get the chance. My husband used to work for a food truck at Klyde Warren Park, so that was a top destination for a while.