Zachary Doerzaph, Ph.D., is the executive director of VTTI, a global leader in transportation research, and president of VTT, LLC, a university-affiliated non-profit company. He also serves as the President of the Intelligent Transportation Society of Virginia (ITSVA), where he helps advance the development and deployment of intelligent transportation solutions across the state.

In these roles, Doerzaph cultivates VTTI’s strategic vision, talent, research infrastructure, and partnerships with the aim of creating a positive global impact on transportation. Known for innovative and extensive transportation research and leadership projects, he focuses on creating a future of ubiquitous, safe, and effective mobility by overseeing groundbreaking and impactful research today. He oversees VTTI’s research portfolio of nearly $50M/yr and has served as principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on more than $61M in research awards since 2009.

Doerzaph also serves as a faculty member within the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics at Virginia Tech, where he works with faculty colleagues to provide experiential learning opportunities to prepare the next generation workforce for careers within the rapidly evolving transportation sector through hands-on industry engagement and traditional coursework.

Click here to view the presentation

Lance Collins is the inaugural vice president and executive director of the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, which was announced by the university as part of the state’s successful effort to attract Amazon’s HQ2 to Northern Virginia. In this role, he provides strategic direction for the Innovation Campus (see the campus Strategic Plan), helping to build a campus that will impart a lasting influence on the region’s tech ecosystem.

Collins is a professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech.  His research is focused on the application of direct numerical simulation to a broad range of turbulent processes. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. In 2021 he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Alyia Gaskins, Alexandria’s first African American female mayor, was elected in 2024 after serving on the City Council, where she advanced initiatives in affordable housing, public safety, and education. She is also an active member of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA), contributing to regional transportation initiatives. With a background in public health and urban planning, Alyia founded CitiesRX, a consulting firm focused on community health. She holds multiple advanced degrees and has been recognized for her dedication to public service and leadership.

Since April 2013, Nicole Barranco has directed State Government Relations for the Volkswagen Group of America; becoming Head of State Government Relations in 2023.  She was selected VWGoA to work with EPA and CARB to draft the VW TDI settlement and to implement the settlement’s initial rollout, which included electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, EV outreach and education, early discussions and site selection with a potential EV Clean City, as well the establishment of VWGoA’s EV infrastructure company – Electrify America.   Through her work in Electric Vehicle (EV) public policy, Barranco was appointed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Georgia Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson to serve on the State’s EV Task Force.

Barranco is a Board Member of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Virginia Free, the Tennessee Business Roundtable and the Civil Justice Association of California to name a few.  Barranco serves as the Chairman of the Auto Innovators’ State Relations Committee for 2025-2026 (as well as for the 2016-2018) term.  She also sits on the Auto Innovators Executive Committee.

Click here to view the presentation

As the Deputy Director for Transportation for the City of Alexandria, Hillary leads innovative efforts in smart mobility, transportation technology, and multimodal planning. She oversees the Transportation Engineering, Transportation Planning, and Mobility Services divisions, driving initiatives in advanced transportation systems, Vision Zero, and regional coordination. Her focus on leveraging technology to enhance urban mobility includes cutting-edge approaches to curbside management and long-range transit planning, ensuring Alexandria remains at the forefront of sustainable and efficient transportation solutions.

Hillary has spent her career striving to enhance multimodal networks to create safe, vibrant, and future-ready communities. Prior to her work in Alexandria, she served at the New York City Department of Transportation, where she spearheaded the development, design, and implementation of roadway safety projects. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from Wake Forest University and a Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

Click here to view the presentation

Dr. Mudge is a nationally recognized expert in the economics and finance of all modes of transportation. Much of his current work covers transportation technology, shared mobility, and automated vehicles.  He is also a member of the Board of Directors of The Transportation Channel, a firm that provides podcasts, transportation news updates and covers all modes of transportation.   He has a Ph.D. in Regional Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree from Columbia College.    

He has held a series of management positions as a transportation consultant. These include co-founder, President, and Chairman of the Board for Apogee Research. He also directed the transportation policy group for the Congressional Budget Office and worked in applied research at the RAND Corporation.   

Dr. Mudge is a member of the organizing panel for the ITS World Congress in Montreal, Hamburg, Los Angeles, and Atlanta and organizes a workshop for TRB’s annual Symposium on Automated Vehicles that focuses on economics, finance, and related cross-cutting policy topics.  He is a  member of TRB’s committee on Economics and Finance and a past member of Committees on ITS, Demand Management, Freight, Aviation Forecasts, and History.  He is a frequent speaker at conferences and has served as an expert witness in federal court and before Congressional Committees. 

Click here to view the presentation

Raka Choudhury is the Director of Bus Priority at WMATA. In this role, Raka leads Metro’s coordination efforts with jurisdictions in the DC Metro area to design and implement bus lanes and queue jumps, and manages key initiatives like Transit Signal Priority, Clear Lanes, and All Door Boarding.  

Raka’s 20+ years of work experience spans the public and private sector primarily in the DC region working at the intersection of land use and transit. Bus lane projects that she has led or worked on include the H & I and 14th Street bus lanes in DC, and Metroway and West End Transitway in Alexandria. Most recently, she coordinated with Montgomery County and Maryland State Highway Administration to deliver 7 lane miles of bus lanes on Georgia Ave. She led the launch of Clear Lanes in DC in 2024, which is the automated camera enforcement of bus lanes and the first in the world to enforce bus stops. She is now leading her team’s next big technology project to prioritize buses on our region’s streets – Next Gen TSP.  

Click here to view the presentation