Category: Member Profiles

Senior Associate at Nelson\Nygaard

Yanisa Techagumthorn is a transportation planner dedicated to improving public transit, which she sees as a great way to increase the wellbeing of communities and the environment. She is a Senior Associate at Nelson\Nygaard, where she focuses on bus service planning, transit master plans, and equity in transportation. She works with transit agencies and transportation departments across the country, with a focus on MA, NY, and NC. Yanisa lives in Brooklyn, NY, and has a Master in City Planning from MIT. Outside of work, you can find her biking around the city and training to become a yoga teacher.

1. What is your favorite YPT-NYC memory?  

The Trivia Night! I attended last year, and I was just amazed at the wealth of knowledge in the room. I’m pretty sure I didn’t help my team answer a single question (lol sorry), but I love being a part of this nerdy, wonderful community.
 
2. If you could snap your fingers and make one change to regional transportation, what would it be?

I would put transit signal priority for buses everywhere. I love my B26 bus, but cry a little bit every time it stops at every single intersection followed by every single bus stop along the whole route. Putting TSP along every bus route in the city would make buses so much faster and more reliable, and most car drivers wouldn’t even notice.

3. What’s your favorite way to get around the YPT-NYC region?

I’m truly a multimodal girly, but here are some of my favorite ways to get around depending on the situation:

• Any subway line that goes overground between Manhattan and Brooklyn so that I can get that beautiful skyline view.
• Biking home from a bar on empty streets on a breezy summer night – makes me feel like I’m the main character in a coming-of-age movie.
• Taking the bus back from the farmer’s market and seeing what the rest of the neighborhood is up to on a Saturday morning.
• Walking pretty much anytime and anywhere.

4. What sparked your passion to work in the transportation industry?

I was looking for a career that helps both people and the environment, and through that somehow landed in transit planning, which definitely fits the bill. I started college as a materials engineering major wanting to work on clean energy, but realized I wanted to do something more people-focused. I love how my work now is a good mix of technical analyses and community and stakeholder coordination, and how my small tweaks to a city’s bus network can have major impacts on someone’s quality of life.

Thinking back, I’m not surprised I landed in transportation planning. I grew up in the Seattle area, and spent hours of my childhood waiting at King County Metro and Sound Transit bus stops for delayed or ghost buses. They also took away the bus stop in front of my apartment due to bus stop consolidation (which I now know is a good thing, but I was so bitter about having to walk up a hill to the new bus stop every day). My family’s restaurant also had to close down and move due to the construction impacts of the Link Light Rail. Public transit has been intertwined with my life in both positive and negative ways, and when I realized that these impacts were due to policy and planning decisions, I knew that I wanted my career to be dedicated to those who grew up like I did.

5. Do you have a favorite transportation book, blog, newsletter, podcast, or YouTube channel?

I’m a big fan of Dr. Adonia Lugo’s book “Bicycle/Race: Transportation, Culture, & Resistance.”

6. What famous celebrity do you think should be given the opportunity to voice a NYCT Subway announcement?

Keanu Reeves – I love that he’s a regular subway rider and watching the videos of him giving up his seat for people.

7. What upcoming YPT event are you looking forward to the most in 2023?

The holiday party!

Transportation Planner at VHB

Matthew Kalish is a transit and rail planner at VHB with a passion for creating more livable cities and towns, and working on improving public transportation and promoting active mobility to help make that possible. Throughout his time at VHB, Matthew has worked on a variety of transit projects in the New Jersey and New York City region, including a First-Mile/Last-Mile toolkit, the Gateway Program expanding rail access for the Northeast Corridor, and redesigning a bus network in southern New Jersey. He obtained a Masters in City and Regional Planning at Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, which is what brought him to New Jersey after living in Washington, DC for eight years.

1. What is your favorite YPT-NYC memory?  

My favorite memory was the Jersey City walking tour a few months ago. The city is leading the way in creating pedestrian and bicycle-friendly streets and public spaces. Being able to see that firsthand by the people working on it was a great experience.
 
2. If you could snap your fingers and make one change to regional transportation, what would it be?

I wish there could be a truly interconnected transit network in the NYC metro region, both with regard to fare payment and ease of transfer. Between the three commuter railroads, many bus networks, two subway systems, light rail, and ferries, people are frequently needing to change between two (and sometimes even three!) different fare payment systems, all of which come with their different intricacies. If there was a single fare payment system that could be used through someone’s phone or smartcard and transfers were timed and convenient, it would revolutionize the way people travel in the area. I also think that as far as wishes go, this is quite attainable!

3. What’s your favorite way to get around the YPT-NYC region?

Prior to moving to New Jersey (I currently live in Newark), I lived in Washington DC. One of my favorite parts about living there was how bike-friendly the city was. While a much smaller city than NYC, it felt like I was never more than 15-minutes away from anything on my bike. As we all know, prioritizing wider roads and more car lanes takes away from a city in many ways, but building a safe and connected bike network in cities and towns allows for people to get around in an efficient (and fun!) way. I love that Newark is piloting scooter and bikeshare programs, and am very encouraged by NYC’s implementation of new bike lanes and the growth in people biking around the city over the last few years.

4. What sparked your passion to work in the transportation industry?

One of the main reasons I became so interested in working in transportation is because it affects every person in one way or another. People who work in transportation, be it the train operators, bus drivers, construction workers, car cleaners, or decision-makers, all play a role in whether a stranger has a good or bad day.

5. What are you working on currently that you’re most excited about?

I recently completed working on a First-Mile/Last-Mile online interactive toolkit with MTA that helps towns, cities, counties, and transportation organizations plan and fund microtransit and micromobility projects in the seven New York counties surrounding NYC. The toolkit was a fantastic initiative brought on by MTA, and I can’t wait to see what programs come out of its use in the next few years.

6. What famous celebrity do you think should be given the opportunity to voice a NYCT Subway announcement?

Being from Boston and a diehard Boston sports fan (with the exception of the NBA–story for another time), I would love to hear David Ortiz over the subway PA system just to see everyone’s reaction in the subway car.

7. What upcoming YPT event are you looking forward to the most in 2023? Trivia night! YPT does a great job running the event, and it was great finally being able to do it in-person last fall.

Senior Manager of Planning, MTA Construction and Development

Alexandra Aiello is a Senior Manager of Planning at MTA Construction and Development. Prior to joining C&D in 2022, she was at MTA Bridges and Tunnels where she worked on the Central Business District Tolling Program and the Cashless Tolling Transition.

Previously, she was a GIS Analyst at NJ Transit and was a political campaign organizer, which included President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign in Florida. She served on the YPT-NYC Board from 2015 to 2018 as Director of Programs and Deputy Chair. Originally from Callicoon Center, NY, a small hamlet in the Catskills, which doesn’t have a traffic light and boasts a population of 403, Alexandra has called the greater NYC area home for 10 years and lives in Brooklyn with her rescue cat, Smidge. Alexandra holds a Master of Public Administration from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Bachelor of Science in Philosophy from SUNY Oneonta. She is currently writing her first children’s book.

1. What is your favorite YPT-NYC memory?  

I always loved the YPT Hikes where we’d take public transportation out to a hiking trail and spend the day together. I found that they are really great ways to get to know one another because there are so many opportunities for conversation.
 
2. What’s your favorite way to get around the YPT-NYC region?

Definitely by bicycle. As I write this, I’m on vacation in Iceland, and it makes me realize how lucky we are to have such a rich network of bicycle infrastructure in New York City as transportation in Iceland is very car-dependent. It’s also amazing what you can transport on just two wheels – one time, I even transported a rug on my bicycle’s rear rack and rode down to my apartment!

3. What sparked your passion to work in the transportation industry?  

It all started with a bicycle. When a sharrow was installed in my neighborhood in Albany, I decided to try out city cycling. I immediately became smitten – you can only imagine how I felt after riding in a protected bike lane! Afterwards, I started bike commuting, read blogs about bicycle and pedestrian planning, and attended public city planning meetings. At the time, I was a campaign organizer, but knew I couldn’t do it forever because of the long hours and I would move so frequently from campaign to campaign that I didn’t live in the same zip code for more than six months. I knew that I still wanted to make a difference and decided that after the Obama campaign concluded, it would be so wonderful to work in a field I was so passionate about, so I sent an application off to Rutgers and the rest is history.

The cause is personal as well – after losing my younger brother in 2020 from complications with depression, I am committed to promoting active transportation and its proven positive benefits on mental health. I also live with depression and generalized anxiety disorder and can relate all too well how it can be a struggle to simply get out of bed in the morning or not think you’re good enough, and while I certainly know a bike ride may not be able to solve all your problems, it can help ease stress and negative feelings. That is one of the reasons why I’m so passionate about improving access to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

4. What career advice would you give to other YPT-ers interested in your career path?

e have all been that person where you walk in the room and don’t know anyone. I absolutely encourage you to strike up a conversation because you never know where it may lead you. Taking those chances have helped me not only advance my career, but also gain friendships I cannot imagine my life without. Also, if you have FSA or HSA benefits at your job, I highly recommend that you use them. I find that a lot of people, especially those early in their careers, who have these benefits at work do not use them. I know it’s a little scary seeing money deducted from your paycheck but the way to look at it is: the money for healthcare and wellness products (bandages, sunscreen, over the counter medicines like Ibuprofen, etc.) is going to be spent anyway – might as well do so pre-tax! You come out ahead, I promise!

5. What famous celebrity do you think should be given the opportunity to voice a NYCT Subway announcement?

I think Tom Waits would be fantastic with his deep, gravelly voice. If you’ve ever listened to his album, “Nighthawks at the Diner,” I could see him giving every stop its own story. “Downtown Train” is one of his classic songs so I feel like it’s a natural fit.

Deputy Director, Bus Priority at NYCDOT

Philip Betheil is a transit enthusiast and planner who loves working to improve bus service for all New Yorkers as Deputy Director for Bus Priority at NYCDOT.

1. What is your favorite YPT-NYC memory?  

It’s too hard to choose one, but it’d have to be from the wonderful tours YPT sponsors. Gazing down on Grand Central from a catwalk high above, everyone covering their ears as a 6 train screeches by at Old City Hall Station, or standing on the bridge of the Staten Island Ferry, I really appreciate the opportunity to get behind the scenes and learn about how our transportation system works.
 
2. If you could snap your fingers and make one change to regional transportation, what would it be?

Regional fare rationalization and integration. Making intra-city commuter (regional!) rail fares affordable and allowing for free transfers to subway/bus/ferry/bike-share would do a lot to speed travel for people in the outer boroughs who might otherwise endure long bus and subway commutes due to economic necessity.

3. What sparked your passion to work in the transportation industry?  

Riding in the front of the 1 and 9 (RIP) trains and looking out the window as tracks, signals, and stations fly by got me excited about transit at a young age and I’ve never looked back.

4. What career advice would you give to other YPT-ers interested in your career path?

Once you get your foot in the door in the transportation industry, figure out what you want to do and what skills your current job gives you that overlap with where you want to be. The first job I could get coming out of grad school was doing traffic analysis for environmental review, which I was not particularly interested in. Expressing an interest in other parts of the business and figuring out what skills were transferrable allowed me to change the type of work I was doing and take transferrable skills from one job to another, and meant that I have a broader skill set than I would have had if I got my dream job right out of school.

5. What is your favorite transportation-related fun fact or joke?

That the Outerbridge Crossing is named after Eugenius Outerbridge and is not just the “outer bridge.” Or that the Holland Tunnel is likewise named after Clifford Holland and has nothing to do with the Dutch.

6. What upcoming YPT event are you looking forward to the most in 2023?

Summer Tours and Transportation Trivia.