Panelists

F. King Alexander
President
California State University, Long Beach

Dr. F. King Alexander was named the sixth president of California State University, Long Beach in November 2005 after serving as the President of Murray State University in Kentucky from 2001-05. He is a well respected national expert in domestic and international higher education finance and public policy. He also serves as a faculty affiliate at Cornell University’s prestigious Higher Education Research Institute (CHERI). He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in higher education finance and public policy, a Master’s of Science degree from Oxford University (England) in comparative education policy, and his undergraduate degree in political science from St. Lawrence University in New York.

Peter H. Appel
Administrator
Research and Innovative Technology Administration
U.S. Department of Transportation

Peter H. Appel was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as administrator of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) in 2009. Before joining RITA, he was affiliated with the global management consulting firm of A.T. Kearney, Inc.

Mr. Appel has acquired more than 20 years of professional experience in transportation. He has supported organizations in the railroad, trucking, airline, and ocean shipping industries with growth strategy, supply chain improvement, post-merger integration, public-private partnerships, and other key business and policy issues. Previously, he served as the special assistant to the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, and as assistant director for pricing and yield management at Amtrak. He earned his Bachelor's Degree from Brandeis University in economics and computer science with highest honors, and he received his Master of Science in transportation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Captain Jerry A. Aspland

President Emeritus
California Maritime Academy

Capt. Jerry A. Aspland is president emeritus of the California Maritime Academy, a campus of the California State University, having served five years in that position. The Academy is one of six maritime colleges in the US, educating students for marine careers, including licensed officers for merchant marine fleets.

In 1962 Capt. Aspland graduated from the Academy to begin a distinguished marine industry career. He began as a third officer and ended in 1968 as master of a US flag tanker. In 1971 he received his MBA from California State University, Long Beach with emphasis in general management and personnel. After assignments in the marine transportation fields of liquid bulk cargoes and liquefied natural gas, Capt. Aspland joined the Atlantic Richfield Company in 1978 as navigation and safety manager for ARCO’s marine tanker subsidiary. In 1985 he became president of ARCO Marine, Inc., retiring in 1995. The US Coast Guard recognized his contributions by presenting him its Distinguished Public Service Award, the Coast Guard’s highest civilian award.

Leticia L. Barajas
Dean, Academic Affairs
Los Angeles Trade Technical College

Leticia Barajas has been dean of academic affairs at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College (LATTC), a two-year technical college, since 2005. Previously, she was dean of grants and specially funded programs at Los Angeles Southwest College, where she developed and managed more than $6 million in grant funding over three years.

Dean Barajas focuses on program innovation, work readiness, and faculty development in the Division of Workforce and Economic Development. Her expertise includes green workforce development, building and construction trades, transportation technologies, adult basic skills, and immigrant education. She supervises more than 150 faculty members in three of the largest departments at LATTC.

Dean Barajas founded the Bridges to Success Center at LATTC, and her programs have increased the college-going rates in South and Central Los Angeles. She also established the nationally recognized Utilities and Construction Preparation program, and she leads LATTC’s K-12 partnerships.

Her work with the Green College Initiative has produced many degree and certificate programs addressing the region’s green workforce development needs. She established a full contract education program with short-term training for new and incumbent transportation technicians, office personnel and managers. Leticia Barajas holds a BA in criminology, law and society from University of California, Irvine with a concentration in biology, as well as an MPA from California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Jeffrey M. Barker

Deputy Executive Director
California High-Speed Rail Authority

As Deputy Executive Director of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, Jeffrey M. Barker oversees outreach, communications, and public policy functions of the Authority. Prior to joining the Authority in August, he was chief deputy director of communications in the office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. For seven years, Mr. Barker was a reporter for a variety of newspapers along the West Coast. He is from San Diego.

Veronica Boe
Director, Sponsored Projects and Extended Learning
California Maritime Academy

For four years, Veronica Boe has directed the Sponsored Projects and Extended Learning (SPEL) department at the California Maritime Academy, a campus of California State University. Previously, she was director of grant development for the Contra Costa Community College District. She also held senior business development and marketing positions for engineering, architectural and real estate development firms in California. SPEL, a self-sustaining enterprise unit of the campus, delivers professional development and licensing courses to mariners and the general community. Custom training programs are developed with maritime industry partners to address specialized workforce needs in maritime security, emergency response, workplace safety, apprenticeship programs and simulation training. SPEL also provides consulting services to shipping companies, public utilities companies, ports and marine exchanges, refineries, and pilot groups, including Chevron, Harley Marine Services, San Francisco Bar Pilots, Foss Maritime, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, San Francisco Marine Exchange, and SeaRiver Maritime.

C. Stephen Bucknam, Jr.
President
Bucknam & Associates, Inc.

C. Stephen Bucknam, Jr., brings 42 years of experience in the administration, management, planning, design and construction management of public works, water resources and development programs and projects in water, wastewater, transportation and drainage. He is a registered Professional Engineer in California and Washington; a lecturer in civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Irvine; and a former lecturer in engineering at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif. He is also affiliated with numerous professional associations.

Mr. Bucknam’s experience includes production control, master planning, emergency planning, system appraisals, hydroelectric projects, surveying, mapping, infrastructure planning and maintenance programming, legal testimony to public boards, commissions and councils, and direction of technical advisory committees to joint powers agencies and water districts, among many other skills.

Previously, he was deputy city manager (public works) for the City of Norwalk; assistant executive director and chief engineer of the utilities agency for the City of Santa Ana; city engineer for Arcadia, Norwalk, and Pacifica, Calif.; and vice-president of four engineering companies, among other positions. He earned a BS in civil engineering and an MS in environmental engineering from Loyola University of Los Angeles.

Lou Anne Bynum

Vice President-Assistant Superintendent
Economic and Resource Development
Long Beach (Calif.) Community College District

As vice president - assistant superintendent of economic and resource development for the Long Beach Community College District, Lou Anne Bynum has administered more than $80 million in grants and contracts. She also and oversees workforce development; community education; corporate education and training; federal and state workforce grants; economic development grants and contracts; and special resource development projects on behalf of the District. Ms. Bynum has acquired more than 25 years of professional experience in the public and private sectors linking education and training to business and industry needs with a focus on developing a well-trained workforce. Ms. Bynum earned a Master’s Degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and a Bachelor’s Degree from CSU Long Beach.

Dr. Richard Callahan

Dr. Richard Callahan, Associate Dean, is Director of State Capital and Leadership Programs for the School of Policy, Planning, and Development of the University of Southern California. Since 1998, he has directed graduate degree and leadership programs with over 2,400 public and nonprofit sector executives. He currently receives funding through a Federal Highway Administration grant to develop executive level training.

Dr. Callahan was the keynote speaker for the U.S. Air Force Academy’s 33rd Annual Faculty Awards, 2009. He was named Professor of the Year for 2007 by the USC GPAC. He was the winner for the Public Management Networks syllabus competition for the University of Pennsylvania Fels School and Harvard Kennedy School.

He formerly served on the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission.

Elizabeth Deakin, PhD
Professor, City and Regional Planning and Urban Design
UC Berkeley

Dr. Elizabeth Deakin is professor of city and regional planning and urban
design at UC Berkeley, where she also is an affiliated faculty member of the Energy and Resources Group and the Master of Urban Design group. She served for 10 years as director of the UC Transportation Research Center, the UTC for Federal Region 9, and for four years as co-director of UC Berkeley’s new Global Metropolitan Studies Initiative, which involves nearly 70 faculty members from 12 departments. Dr. Deakin’s research focuses on transportation and land use policy, the environmental impacts of transportation, and political and institutional factors in transportation. She served for nine years on the City of Berkeley Transportation Commission and was a founding member of the Alameda County Transportation Tax Authority. She also served four years as the Legislature’s representative on the California Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Committee. She serves on the UC Berkeley Budget Advisory Committee and is vice chair of the UC Berkeley Faculty Senate Committee on Academic Planning and Resource Allocation.

Rod Diridon, Sr.
Executive Director
Mineta Transportation Institute
San Jose State University

Rod Diridon, Sr. is director of the Mineta Transportation Institute. He worked his way through college as a railroad brakeman and fireman, receiving a Bachelor of Science in accounting and MSBA in statistics from San Jose State University. His political career began on the Saratoga (Calif.) City Council, and served 20 years and six terms as chair of both the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and the Transit Board.

Mr. Diridon chaired more than 100 programs, most related to transit and the environment. He chaired the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and was North American vice chair of the International Transit Association (UITP) in Brussels. He advised the Federal Transit Administration and chaired the National Research Council´s Transportation Research Board´s Transit Oversight and Project Selection Committee. Mr. Diridon was president of the national Council of University Transportation Centers. He has won many awards, and in 2004 he was named by the international "Metro Magazine" as one of the 50 who influenced mass transportation most in North America in the last 100 years. San Jose’s historic Amtrak/CalTrain Station was renamed the San Jose Diridon Station in his honor.

Doug Failing
Executive Director
Highway Programs, Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)

In addition to his executive director position, Doug Failing is interim chief planning officer for Los Angeles County Metro where he oversees the nearly $8 billion Measure R Highway Program and environmental clearances for the nearly $16 billion Measure R Transit Program.

For more than seven years, he was director of Caltrans District 7, which includes Los Angeles and Ventura counties. In 1994, he and his staff delivered three of the four major freeway rebuilding contracts after the Northridge earthquake, all in record time. In 2006, the Los Angeles Times chose Mr. Failing as one of the 100 most influential people in Southern California. That same year, Los Angeles Magazine named him among the most influential people in that city.

Most recently, under Mr. Failing's leadership, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the early re-opening of the southbound Golden State Freeway (I-5) Newhall Pass truck lanes tunnel for thousands of autos and big-rig trucks that depend on I-5. The tunnel had been closed more than a month for repair and rebuild following an accident and fire. It was re-opened 15 days before the earliest projected date.

Mr. Failing earned a BS Degree in civil engineering from Michigan Technological University, Houghton in 1980 and was soon hired at Caltrans as a Junior Civil Engineer

Karen Trapenberg Frick, PhD

Assistant Director
University of California Transportation Center
UC Berkeley

Karen Trapenberg Frick is assistant director of the University of California Berkeley’s Transportation Center. She also is a lecturer at the university and teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in transportation policy and planning. She holds a Ph.D. in city planning from UC Berkeley and a Masters in planning from UCLA. Prior to her university position, Dr. Frick was a transportation planner at the San Francisco Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission, where she worked on a wide range of activities including transit funding, congestion pricing, legislative analysis, and the agency’s Transportation for Livable Communities program.

Genevieve Giuliano
Margaret and John Ferraro Chair in Effective Local Government
Senior Associate Dean of Research and Technology
School of Policy, Planning, and Development, USC
Director, METRANS Transportation Center

Genevieve Giuliano is professor and senior associate dean of research and technology in the School of Policy, Planning, and Development, University of Southern California, and director of the METRANS joint USC and California State University Long Beach Transportation Center. She was named the Margaret and John Ferraro Chair in Effective Local Government in 2009 for her work in regional transportation policy. She also holds courtesy appointments in civil engineering and geography. Professor Giuliano's research focus areas include relationships between land use and transportation, transportation policy analysis, and information technology applications in transportation. She has published more than 140 papers and has presented her research at numerous conferences in the U.S. and abroad.

Peter J. Haas, PhD
Education Director
Mineta Transportation Institute

Dr. Peter J. Haas is education director for the Mineta Transportation Institute, a research and education organization at San Jose State University. He is also faculty for the master of public administration (MPA) program in the Department of Political Science. Dr. Haas earned his doctorate in public policy and public administration from the Department of Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985 and has taught at the University of North Carolina, East Carolina University, and Virginia Tech. He authored many publications, including a co-authored textbook on policy analysis and program evaluation, Policy Research: Concepts and Cases. He recently published a co-authored text on politics and film, Projecting Politics: Political Messages in American Films. In 2003, he was awarded a Senior Specialist Grant from the Fulbright Foundation to teach and study in Latvia. In his current position, he administers a statewide program that prepares transportation professionals for upper-level management and executive positions.

Tom Holsman

Chief Executive Officer

Associated General Contractors Of California (Agc)

Tom Holsman has served as top executive at AGC of California for more than a decade and has been with the association for more than 25 years. In addition, he brings extensive knowledge and experience serving on various multi-billion dollar trust funds. Headquartered in West Sacramento, Calif., AGC is a leading construction trade association with seven regional/district offices throughout California. AGC serves as the “voice of the construction industry” and advocates on behalf of its members in areas such as public works infrastructure, project delivery, labor, regulatory, and legal. AGC promotes construction-related initiatives and is extremely involved in monitoring the regulatory impact on the construction industry in areas such as environment, legislation, and safety.

Johnathan Pen‑Lei Hou, PE
President
AXIOM Engineering and Science Corp.

Jonathan Hou is the founder and president of AXIOM Engineering and Science Corporation in Tustin, Calif. He is past president of the Asian Business Association and currently serves as president of Asian Business Community Development, Inc. He has been actively involved in promoting small and minority businesses in mainstream American business communities since 1988. In 1991, Mr. Hou was appointed by Judge Harry Pregerson, United States Circuit Judge, to the board of the Century Freeway (I-105 Freeway) Affirmative Action Committee, Inc. (CFAAC) representing Asian Communities. In 2009, under his leadership, Asian Business Community Development, Inc. received an OJT grant from FHWA to provide Construction Management training for Public Works Projects. Mr. Hou received his master of science degree from the University of Idaho.

Gus Koehler, PhD
President and Co-Founder
Time Structures

Dr. Gus Koehler is president and cofounder of Time Structures. He also is an adjunct faculty in the School of Policy, Planning and Development at the State Capital Center, University of Southern California. Time Structures is a consulting and research firm that focuses on business, workforce and economic development public policy issues.

Previously, Dr. Koehler was a senior policy analyst with the California Research Bureau, where he conducted policy research for the California State Legislature, the Governor and other elected officials. Dr. Koehler also provides technical consultation to the California Economic Development Strategy Panel. He received a Small Business Administration Vision 2000 award for his research on early-stage venture capital investment, and he has written more than 100 academic articles and studies. He received his PhD in political science and sociology from the University of California, Davis.

Clark Martin

Affiliate Programs Team Leader

Office of Technical Services

Federal Highway Administration

In his position, Clark Martin oversees the Local Technical Assistance and Tribal Technical Assistance Programs and the strategic and policy management for transportation workforce development. He is also FHWA liaison for the University Transportation Centers Program, and he assists the FHWA Office of International Programs with international transportation technology transfer activities.

Mr. Martin has been involved with transportation throughout his career, serving as Director of Safety for the American Trucking Associations and as National Coordinator for the Commercial Driver License Program for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

Rev. Stephen L. McGlover
Co-Founder
Oasis Business Supplies

Rev. Stephen L. McGlover, co-founder of Oasis Business Supplies, is also pastor of Freewill M.B.C. in Los Angeles and a successful business leader for 30 years. The firm has won numerous awards.

Rev. McGlover is active in a number of religious and secular organizations on the local and state levels. He is former chairman of the Black Business Association, chairman of the Commodities Committee for Caltrans, and member of the Mayor’s Small Business Advisory Board. He is president/ CEO of California Community Connection Corp. and president/ CEO of Freewill C.D.C., for which he directs the Economic Pipeline Development for Outreach programs, including Workforce Development and Building Coalitions. He also was appointed to Senator Curren Price’s Workforce Development Team.

He has a Masters’ Degree in Biblical counseling and a Bachelors’ degree in church administration. He attended Woodbury University for International Business and is a graduate of Harvard University Summer Institute for Community Development.

Laura Melendy

Director, Technology Transfer Program

Institute of Transportation Studies

University of California, Berkeley

As director of the Institute of Transportation Studies’ Technology Transfer Program at UC Berkeley, Laura Melendy oversees professional development, training, conferences, technical assistance, and resources for California’s transportation professionals and practitioners. Tech Transfer trains approximately 4,500 working professionals each year in more than 150 short courses and workshops offered statewide. Ms. Melendy has been with Tech Transfer for seven years, three of them as director. Earlier in her career, she worked on accident investigation and safety for the National Transportation Safety Board. She holds a Bachelors degree in civil engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Masters degree in transportation engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ralph Merced
Transit Maintenance Manager
Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus

Ralph Merced has been transit maintenance manager of Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus since 2001. He oversees 80 employees, 200 buses, an operating budget of $12M, and a capital improvements budget of about $35M. Half the vehicles use natural gas.

During Mr. Merced’s 15 years with the City of Santa Monica, he helped formulate and implement the City’s alternative fuel program, participated in the design, purchase and contract management of more than 400 natural gas units and two natural gas fueling sites, and implemented a vehicle replacement program to purchase alternative fuel trash trucks and support vehicles.

He recently celebrated the grand opening of a 66,000 square foot eco-maintenance facility. Four years ago, his division built a state-of-the-art $15M cryogenic fuel facility for liquefied natural gas (LNG) transit coaches. The fuel station also produces compressed natural gas (CNG) for various city vehicles.

From 1990-95, he was fleet and facility manager for the City of Fontana, where he implemented the city’s first alternative vehicle replacement program. Mr. Merced is a past chairman of the Southern California Regional Transit Training Consortium (SCRTTC) and current board member. He attended George Fox College in Newberg, Oregon.

James E. Moore, II

Professor

Industrial and Systems Engineering; Public Policy and Management; Civil Engineering

University of Southern California

James E. Moore received his BS degrees in industrial engineering and urban planning from Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. He received his MS degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University, his Masters Degree in urban and regional planning from Northwestern, and his PhD in civil engineering from Stanford in 1986.

Dr. Moore specializes in transportation engineering, transportation systems, and other infrastructure systems. He has served on Northwestern's civil engineering faculty and joined the USC faculty in 1988. He is director of the transportation engineering program, and chair of the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering. In 2003, he was elected to the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, United States Section, for outstanding contributions to transportation systems engineering. He has a wide range of research interests – from economic impact modeling to infrastructure investment and pricing policies.

Eloy Ortiz Oakley
Superintendent-President
Long Beach (Calif.) Community College District

Eloy Ortiz Oakley is a true community college success story. After graduating from high school and serving four years in the U.S. Army, the Southern California native found focus at a community college. He went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts degree in environmental analysis and design, and he earned his MBA in business administration from the University of California, Irvine after transferring from Golden West College.

Before joining LBCC in 2002, he was the vice president of College Services at Oxnard College, assistant vice president, Property & Casualty Division of Keenan & Associates, and the manager of Risk Services at Coast Community College District. He was appointed superintendent-president of the Long Beach Community College District after four years as LBCC’s assistant superintendent/executive vice president of Administrative Services, in which he supervised the Measure E Bond construction project on both campuses.

Thomas O’Brien, PhD
Director of Research
Center for International Trade and Transportation
California State University, Long Beach

In addition to his position as director of research for the Center for International Trade and Transportation at California State University, Long Beach, Tom O’Brien is associate director of Long Beach Programs for the METRANS Transportation Center at CSULB and the University of Southern California. His research involves goods movement, international trade, and seaport operations. Dr. O’Brien has developed training programs on goods movement for public sector and elected officials. He is principal author of a report to the California State Legislature on port opportunities and challenges for the California Marine and Intermodal Transportation System Advisory Council, and a columnist on goods movement for the Long Beach Business Journal.

In 2007, he was appointed to the National Cooperative Freight Research Program Panel on Institutional Strategies in the Freight Transportation System. Dr. O’Brien has a PhD in policy, planning and development from the University of Southern California. He is an Eno Fellow and an Eisenhower Transportation Fellow. He was awarded the GLS Program’s George Marshall Instructor Award for autumn 2006 and the 2009 Wisener Award for Distinguished Service.

Don Ott
Executive Officer
Los Angeles County Metro

Don Ott, executive officer of administration at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), oversees human resources and organizational development and training. He began his career with Metro in 1986, having worked previously in curriculum development for public/private universities.

Mr. Ott’s interest in workforce development was the driving force behind a partnership with LA Valley College and the Wilshire Metro WorkSource Center to develop and manage the innovative Bus Operator Bridge Program. Metro has hired almost 400 bus operators through the partnership, which has helped unemployed and underemployed individuals find careers in public transit.

Mr. Ott believes Metro’s college and high school intern programs are among the most effective ways to attract bright young students to pursue careers in transportation. He earned a BA and a BS Ed from the University of Cincinnati.

Bryan Rogers
Executive Director
Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network

Brian Rogers leads a regional workforce development agency administered by the City of Long Beach. The Network encompasses economic development strategies that address the area’s skilled workforce needs.

Mr. Rogers supports the Workforce Investment Board, a 45-person membership led by area businesses, to guide the Network’s policy, strategies and investments of more than $17 million in funding. He coordinates a regional workforce development strategy with several Southern California cities, and he directs services and programs at five regional One-Stop Career Centers.

He began his career in 1992 with the City of Long Beach Community Development Department and later with the Private Industry Council of Long Beach. In 1999, he became a senior associate for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration in Washington. In 2001 he returned to Long Beach and the local Workforce Investment Board and later created the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network.

Gail Brewer Schwandner
Dean of Workforce Development
Long Beach City College

As dean of workforce development in economic and resource development (ERD) at Long Beach City College, Ms. Schwandner develops and administers grants and programs that target high-impact regional industry sectors. In this role, she cultivates opportunities for students to be trained and educated for employment in growth industries that provide high-end career pathways. Her responsibilities include building and expanding relationships with business and industry, grant writing/management, marketing and advertising of programs, enabling high school pathways to college, and developing resources for the Office of the Superintendent-President. Her primary industry sector priorities include advanced transportation technology, healthcare, construction, and "green" technology.

Barry R. Sedlik
President
California Business Ventures

Barry R. Sedlik is president of California Business Ventures, a company he founded in 2003 to focus on international trade and economic development projects. In December 2006, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Mr. Sedlik as acting secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency for the State of California. The governor had previously appointed him as undersecretary and senior economic advisor of the Agency in March 2004.

In April 2007, Mr. Sedlik returned to the private sector, where his current focus is on transit-oriented development, transportation, and foreign direct investment. He is active in California’s economic development community, including his involvement as a member the California Workforce Investment Board and as chairman of the California Green Collar Jobs Council. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in industrial engineering and Master’s Degree in system engineering, both from the University of Florida.

Eric C. Shen, P.E., PTP
Director of Transportation Planning
Port of Long Beach, California

Since 2007, Eric C. Shen, has directed transportation planning for the Port of Long Beach, Calif. He oversees planning, design and development of future transportation strategies, and he evaluates the current transportation system. He helps implement Green Port Policy programs to reduce air pollution from goods movement. Mr. Shen represents the Port to regional, state and federal transportation agencies on critical policy developments.

Mr. Shen specializes in transportation planning and operations, having worked in private and public transportation sectors. He was the transportation planning and development manager for the City of Pasadena, Calif. and a staff engineer in the Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control Center, City of Los Angeles. He also is a leader in many transportation organizations, and he lectures a graduate-level traffic engineering course at USC. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering with honors and a master’s degree in transportation engineering from the UC Irvine. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Alabama and California (Civil) and a Professional Transportation Planner (PTP), certified by the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

Christopher J. Steinhauser
Superintendent
Long Beach (Calif.) Unified School District

Christopher J. Steinhauser has served as superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District since 2002. The school district is California’s third largest, with approximately 88,000 students. As a 28-year veteran educator in Long Beach’s diverse school system, Mr. Steinhauser has earned a national reputation for improving student achievement and closing achievement gaps. His school district has earned the national Broad Prize for Urban Education and has qualified as a finalist for the award five times. He maintains a strong track record of boosting achievement in all geographic areas of the school district. He was educated at Long Beach City College and California State University, Long Beach, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in liberal studies and a Master’s Degree in educational administration.

David M. Stumpo
Founder and CEO
APTREX Institute

David M. Stumpo is founder and CEO of the APTREX Institute, known for its pioneering work in transit workforce development, specifically for Professional Transit Certification of managerial staff from front line supervisors to senior and executive management. For 34 years, he has worked with many public transit agencies in the US and Canada. Mr. Stumpo is an associate professor of business studies at the University of Phoenix and at LaSalle University.

In his present contract role as program manager and FTA Project Administrator for the Southern California Regional Transit Training Consortium, Mr. Stumpo has been instrumental in helping the Consortium advance the development of the new learning model for transit technicians and workforce development. Mr. Stumpo holds a Masters Degree from LaSalle University and BBA from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. He is a Certified Transit Executive Manager.

Linda Tiggs-Taylor
Executive Director
Education Partnerships Pre-collegiate STEM Programs
California State University, Long Beach

Dr. Linda Tiggs-Taylor is executive director of Education Partnerships in Pre-collegiate S.T.E.M. Programs. Previously, she served as assistant vice president for fiscal operations for the California State University, Long Beach Division of Academic Affairs, and as associate dean for research and administration in the College of Engineering. She now holds joint appointments in the Academic Affairs Colleges of Education and Engineering. Dr. Tiggs-Taylog serves as the principal MESA Schools Program and manages the development of university education partnerships related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. She received her Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law, an MBA in finance and accounting from the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and her undergraduate degree in history from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Nader Imad Twal
Project Director
Smaller Learning Communities and Expanding Pathways
Long Beach Unified School District

Nader Imad Twal is Project Director for Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) and Expanding Pathways Project Director at Long Beach Unified School District. He served ten years as a school teacher, SLC lead teacher, and SLC coordinator, giving him unique insight about the operational processes and challenges involved in building authentic pathway programs that successfully integrate academic and technical curricula with meaningful work-based learning experiences and support services.

Under the auspices of the Academic and Career Success Initiative and the Long Beach College Promise, Mr. Twal is working with all Long Beach high schools to build robust pathway courses of study (aligned to the California Department of Education Career Technical Education Industry Sectors) that equip students to have post-secondary options upon graduation.