IRTBA Planning & Design Annual Conference

Other Speakers

Jesse Elam

Director of Strategic Planning and Policy at Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways

Jesse Elam is the Director of Strategic Planning and Policy at the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways. In this role he oversees the...

Jason Osborn

Director of the Office of Intermodal Project Implementation at IDOT

Osborn was named director of the Office of Intermodal Project Implementation in 2022 after more than 20 years in the transportation field. Prior to jo...

Rebecca Wingate

CREATE Program Manager at Association of American Railroads

Rebecca is the CREATE Program Manager for the Association of American Railroads (AAR). She is a licensed professional engineer and transportation plan...

Dave Nisula

Program Manager for Connect Chicago Alliance JV at Jacobs

Dave Nisula is the Program Manager for Connect Chicago Alliance JV, a role he has had since the summer of 2022, supporting the Chicago Department of A...

Jeff Wytaniec

Assistant Commissioner at Chicago Department of Aviation

Jeffrey Wytaniec is the Assistant Commissioner of Design and Construction at the Chicago Department of Aviation, where he has been a dedicated city em...

Karyn Robles

Chief of Planning at Illinois Tollway

Karyn Robles is the chief of Planning for the Illinois Tollway and is responsible for the agency’s strategic programming and planning, intergovernment...

Bria Scudder currently serves as Deputy Governor for Infrastructure, Public Safety, Environment, and Energy in Illinois, where she manages over ten state agencies, and implements top policy initiatives. Bria came to this role after serving as Director of State Government Affairs for the Midwest region at AbbVie. Prior to that, Bria served as First Assistant Deputy Governor in Governor JB Pritzker's administration. In this role, Bria spearheaded COVID-19 response efforts, including securing medical supplies for front-line workers, and planning the transition to work from home for over 50 state agencies and boards. Before joining the Pritzker administration, Bria was the Senior Government and Community Liaison at the Illinois Attorney General's Office. There, she developed strategies to advance the office's legislative agenda and worked with communities on critical issues, including the consent decree for police reform. She has also worked as a staff member for the Illinois House of Representatives and managed several state Statehouse campaigns. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri- Columbia.

Keynote Address

Jesse Elam is the Director of Strategic Planning and Policy at the Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways. In this role he oversees the annual Invest in Cook grant program, which helps local governments and non-profits cover the costs of planning, engineering, right-of-way acquisition, and construction associated with transportation improvements. He also leads countywide transportation planning initiatives, including development of the county’s bike and transit plans, along with implementation of the county’s freight plan and special initiatives such as Fair Transit South Cook. Prior to Cook County, Jesse worked for 15 years at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), where in his last role as deputy executive director for research, analysis, and programming he oversaw roughly $160 million annually in federal grants programmed by CMAP as well as supervising travel demand modeling and research activities. He also played key roles in the development of CMAP’s GO TO 2040 and ON TO 2050 regional plans. Jesse has a masters in urban planning and policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

CREATE Update

Osborn was named director of the Office of Intermodal Project Implementation in 2022 after more than 20 years in the transportation field. Prior to joining IDOT, he worked at Metra, leading system and performance analytics, Title VI conformity and GIS development. He also worked at an engineering consultant firm and the McHenry County Division of Transportation. At the beginning of his career, he worked for consultants on strategic highway realignment, bridge replacement and grade separation projects. Areas of expertise include: long-range planning, project management, transportation policy, economic development and public administration. Osborn earned master’s degrees in urban and regional planning from the University of Iowa and public policy and administration from Northwestern University.

CREATE Update

Rebecca is the CREATE Program Manager for the Association of American Railroads (AAR). She is a licensed professional engineer and transportation planner with a wide skillset specialized in railroad engineering and planning. She has Class I railroad design and construction experience, a Master’s in Construction Engineering and Management, and she researched the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB/CFF/FFS) through a 12-month Fulbright Fellowship in Geneva/Lausanne, Switzerland. Her professional background includes a range of skills such as railroad bridge design, construction, and inspection; federal grant application narratives and benefit cost analyses; GIS, data visualization, and communication; and railroad construction and contract management. Her alma maters include the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and Illinois Tech.

CREATE Update

Dave Nisula is the Program Manager for Connect Chicago Alliance JV, a role he has had since the summer of 2022, supporting the Chicago Department of Aviation in their delivery of the O’Hare 21 program. He is employed by Jacobs where he has spent the last 26 years of his 35-year career. He has more than 20 years of experience in Program Management, with the last 12 years in Aviation. Prior to working on the O’Hare 21 Program, Dave was the Program Manager for Philadelphia International Airport’s Capital Development Program. He has had a varied career with work in Solid Waste, Environmental, Ports & Maritime, and Highway/Bridge markets prior to his time in Aviation. He has a BS - Civil Engineering degree from Drexel University and Professional Engineering licenses in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Aviation Terminal Project

Jeffrey Wytaniec is the Assistant Commissioner of Design and Construction at the Chicago Department of Aviation, where he has been a dedicated city employee for 12 years, with 9 years of specialized experience in aviation. Jeffrey holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago, equipping him with a strong foundation in engineering principles and practices.
In his current role, Jeffrey oversees the construction efforts of major initiatives under the O'Hare 21 program. His leadership has been instrumental in the successful execution of significant projects including Runway 9C-27C, the Runway 9R-27L extension, O'Hare 21 enabling projects, and the future development of Satellite 1. His expertise ensures that these projects are completed efficiently, enhancing the infrastructure and capacity of one of the world's busiest airports.
Jeffrey's commitment to excellence in design and construction has made a significant impact on the Chicago Department of Aviation, contributing to the safe and effective modernization of O'Hare International Airport.

Aviation Terminal Project

Karyn Robles is the chief of Planning for the Illinois Tollway and is responsible for the agency’s strategic programming and planning, intergovernmental agreements, environmental and landscaping, community relations, property management, geographic information system and geometrics.

With more than two decades of experience in public transportation, Robles is currently leading the planning process to help inform, shape and develop the Tollway’s next capital plan and provide a framework to advance its long-term capital priorities. The planning process brings together voices from stakeholders, drivers and partners across the region and will result in an open, transparent and impactful capital program.

Robles, who joined the Illinois Tollway in 2023, previously served as the Director of Transportation for the Village of Schaumburg, where she oversaw the intricacies of the village's transportation network.

Her leadership was integral in setting the strategic direction for multi-modal transportation planning efforts, which included spearheading innovative transportation improvements, implementing cutting-edge technologies and securing grant funding to advance village projects. Her oversight extended to management of the Schaumburg Regional Airport and Helistop, traffic signal systems, transit initiatives and development of bikeways programs.

Robles’ past transportation planning experience includes leadership roles in transportation and planning with the City of Naperville and positions with the cities of Carmel and Bloomington, Indiana. Throughout her journey, she has consistently demonstrated her dedication to elevating transportation infrastructure and urban planning.

Robles is active within the transportation industry and her commitment to progress is reflected in her various roles with the American Institute of Certified Planners, the American Planning Association, Institute of Transportation Engineers, the Legacy Project and the Illinois Public Airports Association.

She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University (Ohio), majoring in Public Administration and Urban and Regional Planning, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Illinois Tollway

Sponsors and Partners

Agenda

July 25, 2024

11

^00AM

Registration

12

^00PM

12

^30PM

Keynote Address

12

^30PM

1

^30PM

Lunch Service

1

^30PM

2

^15PM

CREATE Update

2

^15PM

2

^30PM

Afternoon Break

2

^30PM

3

^15PM

Aviation Terminal Project

3

^15PM

4

^00PM

Illinois Tollway

4

^00PM

5

^00PM

Networking Reception

Sponsorship Opportunities

The IRTBA Planning & Design Annual Conference is the biggest P&D event of the year. Your contribution will support agency participation in the conference, as they are all invited as guests. This is a prime opportunity to highlight your company in front of the best and brightest transportation industry and agency professionals. Company logo recognition sizing; platinum sponsors will be at a large scale, gold sponsors will be at medium scale, and silver will be at small scale.

Platinum Sponsorship Package - $3,000

Limited Availability

Company logo on all event emails to industry leaders and agency reps.
Company logo appearing on the P&D Conference webpage
Company name listed in the Friday Facts, received by over 2,000 industry & agency professionals
Company logo featured on the scrolling screen during registration, lunch and the networking reception
Platinum Sponsor recognition ribbon on all company attendee name badges
Company Name in Lights during sessions for all attendees and agency members to see
Additional company signage during networking reception.
Three Complimentary tickets to the conference

Gold Sponsorship Package - $1,750

Company logo on all event emails to industry leaders and agency reps
Company logo appearing on the P&D Conference webpage
Company name listed in the Friday Facts, received by over 2,000 industry & agency professionals
Company logo featured on the scrolling screen during registration, lunch and the networking reception
Gold Sponsor recognition ribbon on all company attendee name badges
Two Complimentary tickets to the conference

Silver Sponsorship Package - $800

Company logo on all event emails to industry leaders and agency reps
Company logo appearing on the P&D Conference webpage
Company logo listed in the Friday Facts, received by over 2,000 industry & agency professionals
Company logo featured on the scrolling screen during registration, lunch and the networking reception
Silver Sponsor recognition ribbon on all company attendee name badges

Bria Scudder

Bria Scudder,
Deputy Governor for Infrastructure, Public Safety, Environment, and Energy at State of Illinois

Featured Sessions

Other Speakers

Jesse Elam

Jason Osborn

Rebecca Wingate

Dave Nisula

Jeff Wytaniec

Karyn Robles

Sponsors and Partners

Agenda

July 25, 2024

11

12

12

12

1

1

2

2

2

2

3

3

4

4

5

Tickets

Venue

Contact us

Sponsorship Opportunities

Community

Connect with 196 people attending this event

Bria Scudder

IRTBA Planning & Design Annual Conference

Bria Scudder, Deputy Governor for Infrastructure, Public Safety, Environment, and Energy at State of Illinois

Featured Sessions

Other Speakers

Jesse Elam

Jason Osborn

Rebecca Wingate

Dave Nisula

Jeff Wytaniec

Karyn Robles

Sponsors and Partners

Organizer

Platinum Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

Agenda

July 25, 2024

11

12

12

12

1

1

2

2

2

2

3

3

4

4

5

Tickets

Venue

Contact us

Sponsorship Opportunities

Community

Connect with 196 people attending this event

Bria Scudder,
Deputy Governor for Infrastructure, Public Safety, Environment, and Energy at State of Illinois