Beyond the Crossroads
A National Discussion of Transportation
Policy and Regulation
Sponsored by:
- The National Center for Intermodal Transportation
- and
- The Mountain Plains Consortium,
- The Nick J. Rahall, II Appalachian Transportation Institute
- The Mineta Transportation Institute
Wednesday, 27 May
& Thursday, 28 May, 2009
HRTM Building
2044 East Evans Avenue, University of Denver
Beyond the Crossroads
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Registration & Continental Breakfast 
HRTM Atrium 7:30 AM
HRTM Atrium 7:30 AMIntroductions HRTM #229
HRTM #229 Patrick Sherry, Director, National Center for Intermodal Transportation 8:00 AMJoelle Schmitz, Senior Fellow, Mossavar Rahmani Center, Harvard Kennedy School 8:15 AMMorning Keynote
Mortimer L. Downey, Former United States Deputy Secretary of Transportation 8:45 AMWilliam (Bill) Millar, President, American Public Transportation Association (APTA) 9:15 AMAnthony R. Kane, Director of Engineering, (AASHTO) 9:45 AMQ & A10:15 AM
10:15 AMBreak10:30 AM
10:30 AMCraig Lentzsch, Member National Infrastructure Financing Commission11:00 AMRod Diridon, Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute11:30 AMLunch12:00 PMLuncheon Keynote
Francis P. Mulvey, Acting Chair, Surface Transportation Board12:00 PMAfternoon Keynote
James Stem, National Representative, United Transportation Union, (UTU) 1:15 PMC. Michael Walton, Chair, Engineering, University of Texas 1:45 PMQ & A 2:15 PM
2:15 PMBreak 2:30 AM
2:30 AMJoseph Szyliowicz, Intermodal Transportation Institute 2:45 PMAvery Grimes, Operating Partner, CIH Capital Partners 3:15 PMJohn Larew, Senior Partner, Oliver Wyman 3:45 PMClosing Summary
Denver Tolliver, Director, Mountain-Plains Consortium 4:15 PMHosted Reception HRTM Atrium 4:45 PM
4:45 PMThursday, 28 May 2009
Registration & Continental Breakfast 7:30 AM
7:30 AMPanel 8:00 AM
Chair: Gil Carmichael, Chair Emeritus Intermodal Transportation Institute J. Scott Hercik, Appalachian Transportation Institute Lawrence Ratcliffe, CSX (National Gateway Project) Break
Plenary Session: Consensus Building Conversation Circle 9:30 AM
9:30 AMModerator: Joelle Schmitz, Senior Fellow, Mossavar Rahmani Center, HKS Luncheon & Keynote12:00 PM
12:00 PMJames Davis, Dean, University College, University of Denver
Michael Ogborn, Vice Chairman, American Short Line Railroad Association
Dessert and Networking Opportunity 1:30 PM
1:30 PMBeyond the Crossroads Program Speakers
GILBERT E. CARMICHAEL (Gil), Managing Partner Missouth Properties, Sr Chairman of the Board, University of Denver Intermodal Transportation Institute
A leading authority on railroad and intermodal transportation policy, Mr. Carmichael served as Federal Railroad Administrator in the administration of the former President George Bush from 1989 to 1993. He was appointed, by the Secretary of Transportation, to the Amtrak board and served from 1989 to 1993. Mr. Carmichael was one of the founders creating the University of Denver’s Intermodal Transportation Institute, which is developing a master’s level degree education and research programs to prepare graduates for a transportation environment in which intermodal operations have become a global standard. In 1997 he chaired the North American Intermodal Summit, which brought together the Transportation Secretaries of the United States, Canada, and Mexico for high level discussions on intermodal transportation. Mr. Carmichael has been a pioneer in transportation in his state. In 1987 he helped originate, author and pass a $1.6 billion, 1077-mile statewide four-lane highway construction program, and was also instrumental in the creation of a 700-mile regional railroad in East Mississippi and West Alabama, now a major part of the Kansas City Southern Railroad. He has presented and published numerous papers on the transportation industry, and promoting the need for a North America and global intermodal freight and passenger system utilizing the world’s rail network in concert with the other modes.He holds a business degree from Texas A&M University and was a fellow in the Institute of Politics, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, in 1976.
He holds a business degree from Texas A&M University and was a fellow in the Institute of Politics, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, in 1976. MORTIMER L. DOWNEY III, Senior Advisor, Parsons Brinckerhoff
Mr. Downey previously served as Chairman of PB Consult and as a Principal Consultant. Recently, Mr. Downey served on the Transportation Policy Committee for the Obama Presidential campaign, and during the presidential transition was appointed as leader of the Department of Transportation Agency Review Team. Downey is the former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), In office since 1993, he is the longest-serving Deputy Secretary in the Department’s history.
Mr. Downey held the position of U.S. deputy secretary of transportation for eight years, the longest serving individual in that post. As the Department’s chief operating officer, Mr. Downey developed the agency’s highly regarded strategic and performance plans and had program responsibilities for operations, regulation and investments in land, sea, air and space transportation. He also served on the President’s Management Council, as Chairman of the National Science and Technology’s Committee on Technology, as a member of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Council and as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak). In a prior Administration he had served as an Assistant Secretary of the Department. Previously, Mr. Downey was for 12 years the executive director and chief financial officer of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the nation’s largest independent public authority, directing its capital programs totaling over $20 billion, including development of new public and private financing techniques, and had responsibility for oversight of capital project designs, budgets, schedules and performance. He has also worked at the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Budget, and at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Eno Transportation Foundation and has served on the National Academy of Science’s Committee on Science & Technology Countermeasures to Terrorism. He was a member of the Office of Management and Budget’s Performance Measurement Advisory Council, served on a DOT special panel to report on safety impacts of Mexican truck operations in the United States, and recently joined the Industry Leaders Council of the American Society of Civil Engineers. A 1958 graduate of Yale University with a B.A. in Political Science, Mr. Downey earned his masters degree in Public Administration from New York University, completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School and served as an officer in the United States Coast Guard Reserve.
Honorable Rod Diridon, Sr., Executive Director, Mineta Transportation Institute
The son of an immigrant Italian railroad brakeman, is called the “father of modern transit service in Silicon Valley.” Raised in Dunsmuir, California, he worked his way through college on the railroad receiving a BS in accounting and MSBA in statistics from San Jose State University. His political career began in 1971 as the youngest person ever elected to the Saratoga City Council. He retired in 1995 after completing 20 years and six terms as chair of both the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and Transit Board. He is the only person to have chaired the San Francisco Bay Area’s (nine counties, 110 cities, 27 transit agencies) three regional governments: the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the Association of Bay Area Governments. In 1992 he convened the “Bay Vision 20/20 Commission” to merge those regional bodies.
In 2001 and again in 2006, he was appointed by California Governors Davis and Schwarzenegger respectively, to the California High Speed Rail Authority Board, of which he is chair emeritus. He is also chair of the APTA’s High Speed and Intercity Rail Committee. Rod is now the executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) created by Congress in 1991. He recently concluded a term as president of the national Council of University Transportation Centers. Rod has chaired more than 100 international, national, state and local programs, most related to transit and the environment. He served in 1992 as the chair of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) in Washington DC and for five years as North American vice chair of the International Transit Association (UITP) in Brussels. He advised the Federal Transit Administration and in 1995 chaired the National Research Council’s Transportation Research Board’s Transit Oversight and Project Selection Committee. Rod founded and chaired the Transportation Research Board's study panel on “Combating Global Warming Through Sustainable Transportation Policy.” He is frequently asked to provide legislative testimony. He’s provided sustainability keynotes, especially for high speed rail, in more than 50 US cities and a dozen countries and published numerous related articles.
Anthony R. Kane, Director of Engineering and Technical Services, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
Dr. Kane (Tony) joined the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 2001 as Director of Engineering and Technical Services. In this capacity he oversees the development of transportation policy and legislative proposals; the development of hundreds of technical publications and standards, including those for safety, quality, bridges, geometric design, materials and intelligent transportation systems; the development and licensing of AASHTOWare software products; the review and accreditation of laboratories thru the AASHTO Materials Reference Lab (AMRL); the evaluation of transportation products; radio frequency filings with the FCC; and, support to numerous AASHTO committees.
Dr. Kane previously served as the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Executive Director from 1994 to March 2, 2001, with day-to-day management responsibility for the $31 billion-per-year agency and its 2,700 employees. During his thirty year career with FHWA, Tony restructured FHWA by flattening the organization and reorganizing their HQ around core business areas and committed the agency to adopting Baldrige quality principles. In addition, he was instrumental in the enactment and implementation of many surface transportation acts and funding increases.
Dr. Kane holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; a M.S. in Civil Engineering from Northwestern University, with emphasis on Transportation Planning; and a Doctorate of Business Administration from the GW University. Kane also has graduated from the Program for Senior Managers at Harvard’s Kennedy School.
John Larew, Partner, Oliver Wyman
Mr. Larew is a Partner in the Corporate Finance Practice at Oliver Wyman. He joined Oliver Wyman in 2000, having previously spent seven years working as a consultant in the transportation sector in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Mr. Larew’s industry experience encompasses air cargo carriers, parcel express carriers, intermodal, trucking, rail, and passenger aviation. His areas of expertise include network management, revenue management, and enterprise modeling. Prior to joining Oliver Wyman, Mr. Larew was a project manager and consultant for Roland Berger & Partners. Mr. Larew has been published in Airline Business, Deutscher Verkehrszeitung, the German language edition of The Harvard Business Review, and other publications.. Mr. Larew holds a B.A. in social studies from Harvard University. He is fluent in English and German.
Craig R. Lentzsch, former President and CEO American Bus Association, Greyhound Lines, Inc, and Coach America Holdings, Inc.
Coach America is the premier provider of ground transportation and travel services in 30 markets in the major cities in the southern half of the United States. He participated in the creation of Coach America with private equity partners in 2003.
Mr. Lentzsch led Greyhound Lines, Inc. from November 1994 to June 2003 as its president and chief executive officer. In March 1999, upon the acquisition of Greyhound by Laidlaw, Inc., he assumed responsibility for Greyhound Canada and Laidlaw Public Transit as well. Combined revenues reached $1.2 billion with 16,000 employees. A 30-year veteran of the bus transportation industry, Mr. Lentzsch previously served as vice chairman and executive vice president of Greyhound from 1987 to 1989, and he served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Motor Coach Industries International, Inc., the largest manufacturer of intercity coaches and transit buses in North America, from 1992 to 1994. From 1980 to 1989 he led BusLease, Inc. which he co-founded and built into the largest intercity bus leasing company in the U.S.
An honors graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with an MBA, he holds a Congressionally-appointed seat on the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission and he serves on the boards of Dynamex, Inc. and the Intermodal Transportation Institute. Previously he served as the chair of the Winston School board and the chairman of the American Bus Association.
Bill Millar, President of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
Mr. Millar became chief executive officer of APTA in 1996 after 24 years in transportation operations and management. Prior to joining APTA, Mr. Millar was executive director of the Port Authority of Allegheny County (PAT), the principal transit system serving Pittsburgh, PA, for 13 years. As head of one of the country's largest public transit providers, he directed a system that operates bus, light rail, exclusive busway, demand response, and inclined plane transit service.
Active in many professional organizations, Mr. Millar is an internationally recognized leader in public transportation and has served as chair or on the governing boards of the Transportation Research Board, the Transit Cooperative Research Program, Intelligent Transportation Society of America, The Transportation Technology Center, Inc., and several university transportation programs. Mr. Millar is the recipient of many awards and honors, including APTA’s Jesse L. Haugh Award, the Transportation Research Board’s W. N. Carey, Jr. Distinguished Service Award, and the Transit Cooperative Research Program Founding Father Award.
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Francis P. Mulvey, Acting Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board
Nominated to the Board by President George W. Bush Acting Chairman Mulvey was sworn in as the eighth Member of the Surface Transportation Board on June 2, 2004. On December 19, 2007, the Senate confirmed the Vice Chairman's second term as a Member of the Board for a term of office ending December 31, 2012. Dr. Mulvey was designated Acting Chairman of the Board on March 12, 2009, by President Barack Obama.
Prior to joining the Board, Acting Chairman Mulvey was Staff Director, Railroad Subcommittee, and Staff Director, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, for the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. In those positions, he was responsible for all railroad legislative matters for the Ranking Democratic Member of the Committee and served as advisor to the Ranking Member on overall transportation-policy issues.
Other positions held by the Acting Chairman were Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Rail, Transit, and Special Programs, Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Transportation; Assistant Director for Social Security and Pension Issues at the former U.S. General Accounting Office; Assistant Director for Competition, Economic and Regulatory Analyses in the Transportation Issues Area, U.S. General Accounting Office; Director of Economic Research for the New York State Legislative Commission on Solid Waste Management; Programs Manager, Transportation Research Board, at the National Academy of Sciences; and Vice President for Research at the American Bus Association. The Acting Chairman holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Washington State University (1974); a B.S. in Economics from New York University (1966); and an M.A. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley (1968).
Michael J. Ogborn, Vice Chairman, American Shortline Railroad Association
Mike is currently the Vice Chairmanon of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, serving on its Board of Director and he is also the President of the Churchill Gateway Development Corporation, a public/private partnership established with the Governments of Manitoba, Canada, and OmniTRAX and serves on the Manitoba Intercontinental Gateway Council. He previously served in various management capacities. Mike is also the Managing Director for OmniTrax and is esponsible for government relations, public relations, and administrative matters for the company. He is a senior advisor and serves on the acquisitions team participating in every one of the OmniTRAX acquisitions. Mr. Ogborn is also responsible for the negotiation of the purchase and sale agreements concerning acquisitions or dispositions and other commercial matters. Mike has a BA and a JD from the University of South Dakota.
Joelle Anne Schmitz, Senior Fellow, Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Harvard Kennedy School
Joelle is a Senior Fellow, Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Harvard Kennedy School. Schmitz' expertise lies in economic regulation with a focus on transportation. She has published and lectured on these topics in Asia, Europe, and across North America. Schmitz has served the transportation industry within the regulatory affairs office of a Fortune 200 corporation and as an industry consultant, working closely with a broad spectrum of policy stakeholders. Schmitz received an MPP on scholarship from Harvard Kennedy School and was educated, on fellowship, at Johns Hopkins University SAIS, L'Ecole Nationale d'Administration, and McGill University.
Schmitz served as a Fulbright Scholar and policy advisor to the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada on issues of regulatory and transport policy, a consultant to the lead negotiator for the US in international regulatory and trade agreements, and a board member of nonprofit organizations. Schmitz also co-sponsors the Harvard Kennedy School Transportation Study Group which hosts academic, industry, and legislative leaders in public policy community dialogues. A member of TRB, AEA, APSA, IPSA, she resides in Washington, DC and Cambridge, MA
James A. Stem, Jr., U.S. National Legislative Director , United Transportation Union
Mr. Stem began his railroad career in 1966 as a trainman for the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in Raleigh and joined the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. He has worked as a trainman, switchman, hostler helper, hostler, fireman and locomotive engineer and currently holds seniority as a locomotive engineer on CSX between Richmond, Va., and Abbeville, S.C.Stem became interested in the union movement and became active in Local 1129 in Raleigh. He worked part-time as a special UTU organizer from 1973 through 1976 and was elected as secretary-treasurer of Local 1129 in 1975. He has also held the elected positions of local chairman and legislative representative and has served as a delegate to five UTU International Conventions from 1979 to 1995. Stem was elected as North Carolina State Legislative Director in 1984 and served in that position through September 1999. He was appointed Alternate National Legislative Director in April 1998 and was reelected to that position at the UTU Conventions in 1999, 2003 and 2007. He was elevated to the office of national legislative director in January 2009.
Joseph Szyliowicz, Professor, Josef Korbel School of International Studies
Professor Szyliowicz is the Founder and former Director, Intermodal Transportation Institute, University of Denver (1990-1999); Founder and Director Technology, Modernization and International Studies Program, University of Denver (1975-1984). He has taught at Oxford University, University of Michigan, University of Utah, Long Island University, Brooklyn College and Hunter College, and lectured at more than two dozen universities around the world. General Rapporteur and member, Scientific Committee, International Conference on Sustainable Transportation in Developing Countries, United Arab Emirates (2005); International Co-Chair, Sustainable Transportation Task Force, China Council for International Cooperation and Environmental Development (2003-present); member US Delegation to Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) (1999-2003); Member of the Board of Directors, American Jewish Committee (1993-present). Author and or editor of numerous articles, book chapters and books about the Middle East, Turkey, and transportation policy.
Patrick Sherry, Director, National Center for Intermodal Transportation
Dr. Patrick Sherry is a Professor in the Intermodal Transportation Institute with a specialization in intermodal transportation and occupational psychology at the University of Denver. Since 2003 he has served as the Director of the National Center for Intermodal Transportation and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Intermodal Transportation Institute at the University of Denver. In addition to scientific research he has consulted extensively with Fortune 500 transportation companies throughout the US and Canada in the areas of safety, human resources, and leadership training. He has conducted research in the area of human factors related to the hours of service for the transportation industry. Sherry addressed the US House of Representatives' Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure on more than one occasion identifying five major challenges facing the US transportation system. He has also worked in both Europe and Asia training government and private sector individuals on intermodal transportation, workforce development and the development of executive training programs with private industry and government. Sherry has been extremely active in the identification and development of leaders in business and industry. His book on training and development needs of leaders in the transportation industry and 150+ articles and scientific papers have influenced thousands of professionals and students. In addition, he selects potential participants for the Founding Fathers Project, an in-depth study of CEOs and leaders of transportation companies.
Denver Tolliver, Director – Mountain Plains Consortium and Director – Transportation & Logistics Graduate Program, Senior Research Fellow
Professor Denver Tolliver is the director of the Mountain-Plains Consortium (MPC), the director of the interdisciplinary graduate program in Transportation & Logistics, and a senior research fellow at the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute. In addition to his research and administrative activities, he teaches the following graduate courses: Transportation Systems I, Transportation Systems II, Transportation Logistics, Research in Transportation Logistics and Railroad Planning. During his career, Dr. Tolliver has served as principal investigator for more than 30 USDOT, USDA, and state research grants, and testified before the Interstate Commerce Commission or Surface Transportation Board on 22 occasions. He has published more than 50 technical reports and journal articles, and authored a book on highway impact assessment techniques. Dr. Tolliver's primary research interests are freight transportation, highway system planning, and environmental impact analysis. He has served on the Local and Regional Railroad Freight Committee of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and is past president of the Agricultural and Rural Transportation Chapter of the Transportation Research Forum.
