Full Name
Joana Conklin
Job Title
Manager II, Transit Development, Advancement, and Innovation
Company
Montgomery County Department of General Services
Speaker Bio
Joana is a Certified Public Manager and is Montgomery County’s lead for Transit Advancement, Development, and Innovation. For the last 12 years, she has been leading the County’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) program, which has a 6-year capital budget of over $700 million. In this role, she is responsible for all programmatic elements of the new 100-mile BRT system, including planning, design and construction, marketing/outreach, financing, and operational elements. She played a critical leadership role in implementation of the County’s first BRT line on US29, which was partially funded with a $10 million USDOT TIGER grant and was delivered through a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) approach. In addition, she is currently the Director of AccelerateMC, the County’s Regional Infrastructure Accelerator being funded by the USDOT Build America Bureau.
Joana is a Civil Engineer with 28 years of experience planning, designing, and implementing transportation projects and is a recognized leader in the public transportation sector, with expertise in transit planning, fare policy and technology, project implementation, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), transit finance, transportation operations, pedestrian safety, and event management. She also has a depth of experience in team leadership, organizational analysis, and communicating transportation issues to stakeholders and the public.
Joana has worked in both the public and private sectors in a number of transportation disciplines for clients in the federal, state, and local sectors. Prior to joining the County, she worked in the private sector at Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB) and Transystems Corporation, where she led a number of public transportation projects across the country. While at VHB, she also managed the Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s Traffic Management Center. In addition, she served at the Transportation Director for the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. She served for six years as Chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Standing Committee on Public Transportation Planning and Development. Joana holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and Operations Research from Princeton University and a Master of Science degree in Transportation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Joana is a Civil Engineer with 28 years of experience planning, designing, and implementing transportation projects and is a recognized leader in the public transportation sector, with expertise in transit planning, fare policy and technology, project implementation, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), transit finance, transportation operations, pedestrian safety, and event management. She also has a depth of experience in team leadership, organizational analysis, and communicating transportation issues to stakeholders and the public.
Joana has worked in both the public and private sectors in a number of transportation disciplines for clients in the federal, state, and local sectors. Prior to joining the County, she worked in the private sector at Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB) and Transystems Corporation, where she led a number of public transportation projects across the country. While at VHB, she also managed the Rhode Island Department of Transportation’s Traffic Management Center. In addition, she served at the Transportation Director for the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority. She served for six years as Chair of the Transportation Research Board’s Standing Committee on Public Transportation Planning and Development. Joana holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and Operations Research from Princeton University and a Master of Science degree in Transportation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Speaking At
