Session No. 2F

Advancing Transportation Goals through State Legislation

Moderator: Beth Kigel, Vice President and Director of Smart and Connected Solutions, HNTB Corporation

Panelists

• Frank Walker, Executive Vice President of Government and Political Relations, Florida Chamber of Commerce

• Barbara Rohde, Executive Director, Mileage-Based User Fee Alliance (MBUFA)

• Beau Memory, Chief Operating Officer, North Carolina Department of Transportation

Bios

Beth Kigel serves as national practice consultant, director of smart and connected solutions and vice president for HNTB Corporation. She is based in HNTB’s Miami office. Kigel is a global thought-leader in new mobility and smart city ecosystems and is responsible for assisting transportation agencies, cities, and regions in developing smart and connected infrastructure solutions. Previously, Kigel served as president and CEO of the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce covering a 10-municipality region with 850 member organizations. Under her leadership, the Chamber took on key strategic initiatives and programs contributing to improved economic prosperity in the region. Prior to this role, Kigel served in various private sector leadership positions, within engineering and other firms, in areas such as finance, business development, and quality assurance, to government relations. As a thought-leader in smart city solutions, Kigel delivers frequent public presentations to a variety of audiences ranging from the ITS World Congress, emerging mobility symposiums and Chambers of Commerce, to real estate and insurance organizations. Kigel is active on numerous appointed boards and industry associations, including ITS World Congress Board of Directors; Florida Polytechnic University Board of Trustees; University of Florida Transportation Institute External Board of Advisors; Freight Mobility Research Institute Advisory Board for Florida Atlantic University; Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; chair of the Autonomous Florida Program for the Florida Chamber of Commerce; CoMotion LAB MIAMI Board of Directors (Chair, UAM Task Force); Leadership Florida where she served as Chair, Board of Directors 2017-2018; the Florida Transportation Commission, appointed by Gov. Rick Scott, from 2012-2019; and more. She received the 2018 Leadership and Innovation Award, presented at the Florida Automated Vehicle Summit. Kigel received a Master of Business Administration from University of Central Florida and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a degree in Finance from the University of Florida.

Frank Walker serves as Executive Vice President of Government & Political Relations of Florida’s largest and most influential business advocacy organization, the Florida Chamber of Commerce. In his role, Walker leads the Chamber’s extensive legislative and political operations. Prior to joining the Chamber, Walker spent nearly 11 years in Washington, D.C. serving two Members of Congress, two U.S. Senators and the Governor of Florida. Having most recently served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative Daniel Webster, Walker also held key policy and leadership positions with former Senator George LeMieux, former Representative Dave Reichert, and former Senator Mel Martinez. Walker’s policy work included advising members on energy and natural resources, environment, agriculture and transportation. He also brings an understanding of congressional parliamentary procedure after serving as an Associate to the House Rules Committee. Additionally, Walker has served on multiple successful congressional campaigns, including campaigns for Webster, Reichert, former Representative Steve Southerland and former U.S. Senator Bob Corker. Walker was raised in Tallahassee, Florida, where he went to Maclay School. He graduated from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a scratch handicap. After college he moved to Kanazawa, Japan to teach English through the Japanese Exchange Teaching (JET) program before returning home and heading to our nation’s capital. Walker and his wife, Katie, reside in Tallahassee with their two daughters.

Barbara Rohde is the Executive Director of The MBUF Alliance that was created as an educational organization to further information on mileage based user fee projects in the United States and worldwide. Currently, members include State DOTS, local units of government, various consulting, tolling and telematics firms and research based organizations. In addition to her work with the MBUF Alliance she holds an appointment as a Research Fellow /Washington in transportation policy at the Humphrey School at the University of Minnesota. She also serves as Chair of the Diversity Award Committee for the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Organization of Licensed Women Pilots.

Beau Memory is the chief operating officer, the Division of Highways, Ferry Division, Aviation Division, Rail Division, the Integrated Mobility Division (Bicycle and Pedestrian Division, Public Transportation Division), Division of Planning& Programming, and Office of Communications, Community Outreach and Public Engagement. Memory has spent his career working in transportation and has served in leadership roles in the public and private sectors. In his previous role, Memory served as National Transportation director at SAS Institute, supporting transportation agencies as they leverage available data for evidence-based decision making, operational efficiencies and cost savings. Before joining SAS, Memory served as the executive director of the N.C. Turnpike Authority from 2015 to 2019. During those years with the Turnpike Authority, he oversaw the construction, completion and successful opening of the Monroe Bypass and was twice awarded the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association's President's Award, the highest recognition in the tolling industry. Memory previously served as Government Relations director for NCDOT and was recognized by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy as one of the most influential voices at the state capital. As the senior policy advisor on transportation to the North Carolina Senate, he played a lead role in the development of the state's strategic Transportation Investments law, which establishes a process by which all projects are considered and approved openly in a transparent, data-driven and depoliticized manner. A native of Whiteville, Memory graduated from UNC Charlotte with a degree in political science and government. Memory lives in Cary with his wife, Ashley, and his two children.