Transportation Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Director Leah Treat meet with the PBOT Bureau and Budget Advisory Committee in January 2017. Photo: Portland Bureau of Transportation
(Sept. 19, 2017) We are thrilled to unveil the PBOT Bureau of Transportation’s Bureau and Budget Advisory Committee (BBAC) for fiscal year 2017-2018. BBAC members will inform the bureau’s annual transportation budget; review program priorities and infrastructure project lists; and provide input on the strategy and direction for incorporating equity into PBOT’s work and engaging communities that PBOT has traditionally underserved.
All City of Portland bureaus are required to have Budget Advisory Committees. These committees provide residents the opportunity to provide important input into the budget priorities of the individual bureaus. In 2015, Director Leah Treat expanded PBOT’s own Budget Advisory Committee into the Bureau and Budget Advisory Committee in an effort to offer a more robust avenue for public input year around.
“PBOT is committed to hearing from a diverse cross section of Portlanders so that we better understand the people we serve and their transportation needs. Our public advisory groups are key venues for us to seek public input and reimagine the future of Portland’s transportation system," said Director Treat. "Our policies and programs have become stronger because of the BBAC’s engagement and we plan to continue on that path this year. The 2017-2018 committee members represent both the veterans of the transportation world and the next generation of transportation leaders. The diverse mix of experience, backgrounds, areas of expertise, geographic and community affiliations will be a great resource for our upcoming budget and policy discussions.”
The 2017-2018 BBAC will include 5 new members and 13 returning members. BBAC members are appointed by PBOT Director Leah Treat for a one year term and may sit on the committee up to five years. The group includes representatives from PBOT’s modal committees (Bicycle Advisory Committee, Pedestrian Advisory Committee and Portland Freight Committee) and representatives from PBOT employee unions. The new members were selected via a competitive application process over the summer. 2017-2018 BBAC member bios are available below. For more information about the BBAC and to follow committee business throughout the year, please visit the committee website.
September Meeting Notice
The first meeting of the Bureau and Budget Advisory Committee is scheduled for Thursday, September 21, 2017 from 4:00 – 6:00pm at the Portland Building (8th floor, Hawthorne Conference room). The meeting is open to the public. The committee meets monthly on the third Thursday of each month from September 2017 to June 2018. Meeting materials will be posted online after each meeting.
New BBAC Members
Patricia Montgomery
Patricia Montgomery has worked in the transportation industry for over 30 years. She has taken on various roles within that industry that includes previous ownership of a medical transportation company, COO of New Rose City Cab Company and Bantu Enterprises, and over 20 experience as a taxi driver in the field. Her vast experience includes Private for Hire Transportation Board Voting Member, and numerous transportation committees. She currently is Co-Chair of the Elliott Neighborhood Association, and Junior Warden of St. Philip the Deacon Episcopal Church. With the changing transportation industry Patricia has joined this committee to provide direct insight and knowledge from her experience.
Kevin Vandermore
Kevin Vandemore is an experienced Certified Public Accountant who specializes in enhancing organizational value by providing risk based and objective assurance, advice and insight. His career includes work in public accounting and private industry, and he has experience working with a diverse set of companies from smaller entities to large public corporations. He earned a Masters of Science in Financial Analysis from Portland State University where he took the university’s motto to heart – let knowledge serve the city. In addition to volunteering and being active in the community he enjoys mountaineering, traveling and riding his bike.
Maria Hernandez
Maria Hernandez Segoviano was born and raised in La Cruz de Aguilar, Guanajuato, México. She moved to Woodburn, Oregon at the age of 12, with her family, and has since considered Woodburn home. After acquiring a bachelor’s of science degree from Willamette University in Political Science and minoring in Sociology and Latin American Studies, Maria went on to do a Public Affairs Fellowship with CORO Northern California. Most recently, Maria was the Deputy Campaign Manager working to elect State Representative Teresa Alonso Leon, the first Indigenous Latina to represent a district in the state of Oregon. Presently, Maria is the Advocacy Coordinator for OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon. Maria leads OPAL’s statewide community-connecting, providing our partners access to solidarity networks and opportunities to build local power. She also serves on the Oregon Latino Agenda for Action Board.
Frannie Knight
Frannie Knight is a senior at Valor Christian School International located in Beaverton, Oregon. She wants to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and Political Science and then either go to law school or get a graduate degree in Environmental Engineering. In high school, Frannie participates in numerous science competitions and Mock Trials. She enjoys reading, going to school, and being with friends and family.
Molly Baer Kramer
Molly has worked in nonprofit fundraising and administration in Portland since 2001, primarily for conservation organizations. Most recently she served as Deputy Director for the Oregon League of Conservation Voters. She is currently a consultant and holds a DPhil in history from the University of Oxford.
Molly’s key focus as a member of PBOT’s BBAC will be to represent the interests of disabled communities. She is able-bodied but her long-term partner is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair. She will utilize her connections with disability-rights organizations, including the Portland Commission on Disability, to ensure that the needs of the disabled are understood and integrated into PBOT’s planning and budgeting.
Returning BBAC Members
Arlene Kimura
East Portland supporter/activist since 1992. Arlene initially became involved through the neighborhood system with land use planning, transportation issues, including urban trails, and environmental concerns. As East Portland has changed, Kimura has also become interested in health and economic development opportunities.
Elaine O'Keefe
Pedestrian Advisory Committee Representative
Elaine O’Keefe worked in local government for more than two decades. Including over a decade with Portland Fire and Rescue. Currently, she is a board member of the Sellwood-Moreland Improvement League (SMILE), a member of the SMILE Transportation Committee, and a member of the Portland Pedestrian Advisory Committee.
Heather Bowman
Heather Bowman is a partner with the law firm Bodyfelt Mount where her litigation practice includes employment discrimination and professional liability defense. Bowman’s practice includes engagement in civil rights issues and other volunteer work includes examining equity issues in legal practice. She uses all forms of transportation, and particularly appreciates transportation cycling.
Heather McCarey
Bicycle Advisory Committee Representative
Heather McCarey has a master's degree in City and Regional Planning from Georgia Tech and works with Transportation Management Associations in urban, suburban, and park settings. McCarey is currently the Executive Director of Explore Washington Park, one of the first Transportation Management Associations in the nation created to address transportation issues both to and throughout a city park.
Kaliska Day
Kaliska Day, is a native Oregonian and an Alaska Native of the Tligint/Haida Tribe. With a degree in Construction Management from Arizona State University, Day has multi-year experience in the construction management sector, including serving as a construction management consultant for various public works agencies in California and Oregon.
Meesa Long
A resident of Southeast Portland, Meesa Long is a Reading Specialist in an East County Middle School and is also passionate about serving her community and neighborhood. In her work with transportation issues in Portland, Long’s main goal has been to increase safe pedestrian travel for children and families within under-served neighborhoods, and to think outside the box to create positive and equitable transportation improvements within the city.
Momoko Saunders
BBAC Co-Chair
Momoko Saunders is a software engineer and resident of East Portland. She is on the board of the non-profit Bike Farm, which she co-founded in 2007. Momoko is also an active volunteer for App Camp 4 Girls and board member of Portland Society.
Pia Welch
Freight Advisory Committee Representative
Pia Welch began her career with Flying Tigers in California which was later acquired by FedEx Express. She has since worked for FedEx for close to three decades. Welch has served as President of Portland Air Cargo Association, Board Member American Association of University Women, and member and Vice Chair of the Portland Freight Committee. She is currently the Chair of the Freight Committee. She has been involved in city projects including; The Comprehensive Plan, Airport Way Project and various sub-committee groups when topics required more in-depth study.
Ruthanne Bennett
PTE Local 17 Representative
An civil engineer with PBOT, Ruthanne Bennett represents PTE Local 17/COPPEA Chapter. She has been a union member for 20 years and a COPPEA Steward for five years. She has consistently advocated for transportation priorities, including supporting the Fix Our Streets package and the COPPEA Value Capture program. She was instrumental in creating the COPPEA Value Capture program, which is an innovative program to encourage and fund the construction of safe street infrastructure during development projects. In addition to her B.S. in Civil Engineering she has a B.S. and M.S. in Mathematics from Portland State University.
Ryan Hashagen
Ryan Hashagen is a volunteer with Better Block PDX. A Professional Tricyclist, he has founded and run several tricycle based businesses in Canada & the U.S. Hashagen won the Cargo Messenger World Championship in 2003 & 2004 in Seattle & Edmonton. He enjoys working to connect, collaborate, and facilitate tactical urbanism projects with a wide range of organizations, businesses, and agencies.
Samuel Gollah
Sam Gollah has over a decade of experience in entitlement processing, including land use and permit compliance as a public and private planner throughout the Willamette Valley. Gollah has also provided zoning and equity consulting services for the City of Portland’s Comprehensive Plan update (2035). He currently serves as a member of the City of Portland’s Transportation Expert Group (TEG).
Thomas Karwaki
Thomas Karwaki chairs the University Park Neighborhood Association, an organization with over 9,000 members and that includes the University of Portland. Karwaki coordinates land use, public safety, emergency response, communication and public relations efforts of the UPNA.
Tony Lamb
BBAC Co-Chair
Tony is a graduate of Portland State University’s Community Development program with a focus on community empowerment, economic development and the creation of a livable community for all without displacement. He is currently pursuing a graduate degree at the Portland State University Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) program.
Tony has served on numerous social justice and economic development initiatives including the following: Social Justice and Civic Leadership Cohort with the Urban League of Portland, East Portland Action Plan Economic Development Subcommittee, PBOT Transportation Expert Group, Multnomah County Digital Inclusion member, Steering Committee for McLennan County Reintegration Round Table, City of Waco Poverty Reduction Committee and Open-Table Anti-Poverty Program International Tech Committee.