Meet the 2023 candidates for the Colorado/Wyoming Section!
Posted by cowyite on Sep. 29, 2022 / Colorado-Wyoming Section Notifications / Subscribe 0
We are excited to introduce you to the 2023 candidates for the Colorado/Wyoming Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. All current members of the CO/WY Section are eligible and encouraged to vote. Voting will be open October 25 – November 29, 2022. We have one candidate running for each of our elected roles. You can learn more about each of our candidates below:
Secretary/Treasurer- Melissa Gende:
I am honored to be nominated for the Secretary/Treasurer role in the CO/WY section. I moved to Colorado in August 2021 as a COVID transplant from Atlanta, GA. I joined the Colorado Department of Transportation as a Traffic Operations and Technology engineer in May 2022 after spending seven years as a consultant working on traffic analysis and planning projects. I obtained my bachelor's and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Clemson University in 2013 and 2015.
While I am relatively new to the Colorado transportation community, I am not a stranger to ITE. I have been involved in ITE since joining my student chapter at Clemson University where I competed in the Traffic Bowl for 2 years and served as the president of the student chapter. I continued my involvement in ITE after graduation and served several roles within the Georgia section including as a member of the technical committee and chair of the traffic bowl committee. I was also involved at the district level in the Southern District where I was a member of the young member committee. I have wasted no time in getting involved in ITE since moving to Colorado. I am currently serving as chair of the communications committee for the Mountain District as well as participating in the activities committee for the Colorado/Wyoming section.
I am excited for the opportunity to continue my service to ITE on the executive board for the Colorado/Wyoming section. I have always been passionate about supporting others and I enjoy giving back to the transportation community that has provided me support and professional opportunities so far in my career. I believe that, if I am elected ,my enthusiasm and wide range of exposure to other ITE sections and districts will be a benefit to the section during my tenure.
Vice President- Rae Stephani:
Rae Stephani is a project engineer at Y2K Engineering. Rae’s background is focused on the mobility of all roadway users with an emphasis on transportation safety and multimodal planning and design. Rae has been involved in many successful corridor planning studies with a focus on improving the safety and connectivity of the multimodal network. Rae has experience leveraging technology tools to develop software tools that have real-time data connections, respond to changing variables, and display interactive dashboards for visualization of data. Rae has had the privilege of presenting these tools and their applications at several ITE conferences.
Rae started her experience with ITE at Northern Arizona University and knows the importance this organization can have on a career. Rae served as her collegiate ITE chapter’s treasurer and has been involved in young member committees and several mentor/protégé programs for both ITE and WTS in CO and AZ throughout her career. She is passionate about cultivating involvement in professional organizations and providing support to students in the early stages their career. In 2019/2020, Rae taught a traffic engineering course at NAU and has continued to support the NAU ITE student chapter with presentations and facilitating student internships.
Rae moved to Colorado from Flagstaff, Arizona with the opening of Y2K’s Denver office in 2020 and has built on her history of involvement with ITE serving as the CO/WY section secretary/treasurer in 2022. Aside from her engineering pursuits, Rae enjoys spending time outside with her family exploring their new Colorado backyard! Rae is an enthusiastic hiker, runner, camper, kayaker, hunter and lover of all things outdoors.
Rae understands the importance of ITE as an opportunity to build relationships and share ideas and is committed to increasing participation at luncheons, happy hours, and activities. Rae will facilitate events that are fun, engaging and provide value to participants. She is approachable, outgoing, organized, and excited for the opportunity to further serve the CO/WY section.
President- Cara O'Donnell:
Hello! I am Cara O’Donnell – a Traffic/ITS Engineer at IronStride Solutions and the current Colorado/Wyoming ITE Section’s Vice President. I graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2011 and worked outside Washington, DC for the following few years. I chased the mountains to Colorado as quickly as I could, which has been a wonderful decision both personally and professionally. I have had a blend of public and private sector experience throughout my career and enjoy finding and overcoming new challenges in each role. My position at IronStride has allowed me the opportunity to work on a variety of projects throughout the state of Colorado. I find it exciting to be involved with some of the large projects that influence the travel patterns of myself and many people that I know on a regular basis, such as Central 70 and Floyd Hill, but I also find it very rewarding to work on smaller projects that can have a major impact on local communities.
Over the last six years, my involvement with ITE has steadily progressed and has been increasingly rewarding with every new position! This year, I have enjoyed the challenge of stepping outside my comfort zone and into the event planning realm to organize our Section luncheons. I am looking forward to continuing to serve the Colorado/Wyoming ITE Section as the President in 2023, if you’ll allow it! I am passionate about making this community the best that it can be. It has treated me so well throughout my career, and I hope to help continue to provide that to other transportation professionals throughout my tenure on the Board. I would really appreciate your vote!
Past President- Lisa Nguyen:
Lisa Nguyen is a senior airport transportation planner for Denver International Airport, as well as the current President for the Colorado/Wyoming ITE Section. Lisa specializes in bridging the gap between urban design, planning, and traffic engineering. She graduated with a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines and earned her Master’s in transportation engineering at the University of Colorado Denver.
As someone who failed her driver’s permit test at the age of 15 and high-centered the driver’s education test vehicle, Lisa quickly realized transportation and safety were critical to our everyday lives- and is often overlooked. Her goal is to help communities move in a safer, more sustainable manner.
Additionally, Lisa serves actively on boards and committees within ITE, WTS, and SASE. In her free time, Lisa enjoys trail running and skiing, devouring poke bowls and boba tea, and visiting the hippos at the zoo.
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