2025 Southeast Wisconsin Transportation Symposium

Andrea Bill is the Director of the Wisconsin Local Technical Assistance Program and Associate Director of the Traffic Operations and Safety Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With these dual roles, she has been bringing research to technology transfer through in person and virtual webinars throughout Wisconsin and the U.S.

Brad Basten’s background is in electrical and mechanical engineering, and has 25 years’ experience in manufacturing engineering, process improvement and business consulting in various industries. Brad joined WisDOT in 2013 and has worked as the Economic Development Officer, a Program Manager for Local Roads, and managed the Governor’s Steering Committee on Connected and Autonomous Vehicles. Brad has also worked as a business process consultant assisting companies and colleges with Lean and Continuous Improvement training and projects around the state. He is a former County Supervisor in Columbia County and has volunteered time on city planning and utility commissions for the City of Columbus. Brad is the lead for the CAV efforts in WisDOT’s Division of Budget and Strategic Initiatives. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University.

Dr. Bryan Porter began serving as Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in May 2025. For the previous 29 years, he was Professor of Psychology at Old Dominion University with the last nine years serving as Associate Dean of the Graduate School. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Virginia Tech, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in experimental psychology from the University of Memphis. Dr. Porter’s long-running research program focuses on community public health and safety, with a specialization in traffic psychology. His work frequently involves collaborations with government agencies (funded and unfunded), media organizations, and law enforcement to develop and evaluate behavioral interventions aimed at improving roadway safety. He actively seeks interdisciplinary collaborators, including those outside the academy on projects that serve large-scale safety opportunities.

Casey Newman was appointed DBM Administrator in March of 2019. He has spent the majority of his 25-year career with WisDOT, serving in several senior management roles, most recently as the Director of the Bureau of Business Services in DBM and previously as the Director of the Office of Policy, Finance and Improvement (now called the Bureau of Budget). Casey has also held senior positions at the Department of Corrections and UW-Madison.

Dana M. Shinners is a Senior Planner for the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. She has six years of professional experience in planning focused on transportation demand management, economic development, and public participation. Prior to joining to the Commission, Dana worked in the Southeast Region for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. She is a member of the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT). Dana received a BS from UW-Madison (2015) in Community and Nonprofit Leadership and a master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon (2019). Outside of work, Dana spends her time reading novels, biking around town with her family, and camping in the beautiful Wisconsin parks.

Eric Hanson is a construction project manager on the WisDOT Southeast Freeways team. He graduated from UW-Platteville with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in 2009. After starting his career as a materials and geotechnical engineer in commercial construction, he has worked the last 11 years at WisDOT delivering freeway projects including the Zoo Interchange, Wisconn Valley Development Roads, the I-894 rehabilitation project, and the upcoming I-94 East-West program.

Gene Bobier has a Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of WI-Stout. He spent 35 years working in the hospitality industry prior to joining Walworth County as the Mobility Manager in May of 2021. His primary role is to help ensure that the County’s resources are used efficiently and effectively to manage the transportation programs for Walworth County Connect. Walworth County Connect includes a shared-ride taxi service for rides within the county and a specialized transit service for out-of-county rides for non-emergency medical appointments for qualifying residents. His related duties include monitoring, evaluating, and overseeing the performance, performance data, and service delivery of the contracted service provider. He conducts outreach and marketing to educate the community and to identify and fulfill unmet needs. He is accountable, in part, for overseeing and documenting contractor compliance with State and Federal regulations as well as the grant application process. He achieved his Mobility Manager certification in April 2025 through the WI Association of Mobility Managers (WAMM).

Dr. Yu Wang is a Lead Autonomy Engineer at May Mobility, where she leads prediction and planning for autonomous vehicles used in public transit and ride-hailing services. Her work focuses on translating advanced AI research into practical, deployable systems that operate safely and reliably in complex urban environments.

Dr. Wang holds a Ph.D. in Transportation Engineering from the University of South Florida. She has over ten years of combined industry and research experience in autonomous vehicles and transportation systems. Before joining May Mobility, she worked as a Senior Research Engineer at Plus, a physical AI company pioneering virtual driver software for factory-built autonomous trucks.

Dr. S. Ilgin Guler is an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Pennsylvania State University. Her research focuses on enhancing urban transportation systems through the integration of multi-modal traffic operations and control, intelligent transportation systems, connected and autonomous vehicles and infrastructure management. She received dual B.S. degrees in Civil Engineering, and Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey. She the obtained her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California, Berkeley in Civil and Environmental Engineering. After completing her Ph.D., she served as a postdoctoral scholar at the Institute of Transport Systems and Planning at ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

Jeff Lewandowski is a senior engineering professional with more than 40 years of experience in automotive production and engineering, specializing in vehicle development programs for global manufacturers and suppliers. He has extensive expertise in transducers, instrumentation systems, test methodologies, and data acquisition software and analysis. For over 15 years, he served as Lead Project Engineer for the NHTSA FMVSS 208 compliance contract and has contributed to projects involving frontal, side, and rear impacts, rollovers, human subject testing, sensing system development, and servo-hydraulic testing. Jeff holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Marquette University and an A.S. in Electronic Computer Technology from Gateway Technical College. He is an active member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and has served on the Wisconsin Governor’s Steering Committee on Autonomous and Connected Vehicle Testing and Deployment as well as the Wisconsin Automated Vehicle External Advisory Committee.

Joely Overstreet is a graduate research assistant within the Institute of Physical Infrastructure and Transportation at University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (UWM) under Dr. Qin’s tutelage. She is currently pursuing her Master of Science in civil engineering at UWM, while working part-time at Strand Associates, Inc. Joely is the 2025 recipient of the Professor Edward A. Beimborn Fellowship based on her research in transportation safety. She graduated from Valparaiso University with her Bachelor of Science in civil engineering and mathematics in 2024.

Johanna Schmidt is a Policy Advisor with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, where she has researched and made recommendations around pedestrian safety and artificial intelligence. She earned her Master of Public Affairs from UW-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs in 2024, where she worked on a cost-benefit analysis of Wisconsin’s policy of license suspension for failure to pay forfeitures and an analysis of shared-ride taxi regionalization in Wisconsin’s rural areas. She holds a B.A. in Spanish Studies and a B.S. in sociology from the University of Minnesota, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Public Management from the University of Connecticut. Prior to her work at WisDOT, she served as a Govern for America fellow working for the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, a Project Assistant for the Center for Financial Security at UW-Madison, and as a Foreign Language and Area Studies fellow at UW-Madison studying Polish language and culture.

Joseph Jones works as a Senior Project Manager for Payne and Dolan out of the Waukesha/Milwaukee area. He has been working in the heavy civil construction industry for 16 years in both Wisconsin and Indiana. Throughout his career he has worked with DOT’s, municipalities, private and industrial customers to ensure their projects’ needs are met promptly and efficiently. He attended Purdue University and where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. Some of the most recent projects he has been working on include IH 41/894 84th to 35th from and IH 43 from Brown St. to Capitol Dr., both in the Milwaukee County.

Kayla is a Project Manager and Transportation Planner with AECOM and a graduate of the UW–Milwaukee Master of Urban Planning program. With more than a decade of experience, she brings deep expertise in shaping safe, sustainable, and multimodal transportation systems. Her work spans safety action plans, corridor and environmental studies, bicycle and pedestrian planning, and transportation demand management programs—helping communities link innovative planning with practical, real-world solutions.

In September 2024, Governor Tony Evers appointed Kristina Boardman to serve as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT). WisDOT is one of the largest state agencies, with more than 3,200 employees and a biennial budget of more than $8 billion.

The department supports all modes of transportation, including state highways, local roads, railroads, public transit systems, airports, and harbors. In addition, the department includes the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), which serves about 50,000 customers each week, and the Division of State Patrol that enforces laws and assists motorists throughout the state.

Kristina’s public service career began with the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1995. She transitioned to WisDOT in 2005 and held previous positions including Deputy Secretary, DMV Administrator, DMV Deputy Administrator, and the Director of DMV Field Services.

Kristina enjoys both policy and operations work, and especially appreciates the rewarding work of serving the public through the implementation of new programs.

Kristina plays an active role at the regional and national levels and served as Chair of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) International Board of Directors for the 2022-23 federal fiscal year.

Kristina has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. 

Lea Collins-Worachek was appointed DBSI Administrator in January of 2023. Prior to becoming administrator, Lea served as the Director of DTSD’s Office of Business Opportunity and Equity Compliance Director since September of 2020. Prior to coming to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), Lea worked since 2000 in various leadership positions at the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD). Lea has a Bachelor of Arts degree from UW-Madison and a Master of Science degree from UW-Stout.

Liz Wells grew up in Madison, WI and graduated at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in 2012 with a bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering and a minor in Women’s Studies. Her past work experience includes working as an Office Engineer and Project Engineer at Gilbane Building Company. She currently works as a Project Leader, in construction, for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation on the SE Freeways Backbone Team. This year she will celebrate 13 years at WisDOT.  Her interests include all things wellness, traveling and paddleboarding. She resides in Hartland with her husband and 2 cats: a 13-year-old maine coon named Simba and a 2-year-old tortie named Rocky. They hope to be dog parents one day.

Maryne Emma Taute (she/her) is a Strategic Initiatives Policy Advisor at WisDOT. Maryne currently leads the WisDOT Safety First Initiative and Safety First Workgroup. She also facilitates the Wisconsin Non-Drivers Advisory Committee (WiNDAC). Her professional experience includes working within Higher Education and Student Affairs and she earned a master’s degree in Post-Secondary Education from University Northern Iowa.

Matt Rauch has over 35 years of experience in Transportation Engineering, with the last 27 years with the Bureau of Traffic Operations.  He currently is the supervisor for the work zone, pavement marking, signing and state sign shop program areas.  Matt serves on the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Guide and Motorist Information sign technical committee.  He has been actively involved over the years with the Wisconsin MUTCD updates that corresponded with the 2000, 2003, 2009 and 2023 versions of the Federal MUTCD.  He is a graduate of UW-Platteville and he and his wife (who are empty nesters with three grown children and a grandchild) have lived in Cross Plains Wisconsin for over 30 years.  He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Wisconsin.

Matt has 30 + years of experience in Highway Engineering and Contracting.  He has been in his current position with WTBA as the Director of Engineering and Construction Policy for 19 years.  Prior to joining WTBA, Matt spent 13 years in the engineering consulting industry, serving as a Highway Construction Engineer and Department Manager.

Matt is the WTBA State Engineer / Industry Liaison to Government Agencies, for all operations related to the Highway Construction Industry, in the State of Wisconsin.   WTBA membership includes 100 Contractor Members and 150 Associate Members.  His responsibilities include the Development and negotiation of WisDOT specifications and contract administration policy,  membership training, , dispute resolution and mediation, labor development and minority contracting collaboration, union labor negotiations and the mediation of state and federal labor contract and compliance issues.  Matt also serves as the WTBA Safety Committee Director.

Megan Bergum currently serves as the Director of the Office of Compliance, Accounting and Technical Solutions for the Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Since joining the DMV in 1999, Megan has held leadership roles across nearly every facet of the division, including vehicle title and registration, plates, administration, and legislative affairs. In 2022, she expanded her expertise by transitioning to WisDOT’s Bureau of Technology Services, where she served as the Management Information Chief. She returned to the DMV in 2023 to assume her current role, where she oversees fraud and compliance operations, revenue accounting, and technical support teams. Megan is now leading the DMV’s ambitious system modernization initiative. A multi-year, phased project aimed at replacing legacy systems to streamline operations, enhance security, and improve customer service. Outside of work, Megan enjoys exploring new adventures with her partner and four children.

Mike Schulteis is currently the operating as the Paving Superintendent for Payne and Dolan for the SE Wisconsin and Central Wisconsin areas. He has worked for the company for the past 20 years starting as a laborer to operator, foreman, in both paving the paving and milling divisions to his current role as Paving Superintendent. Over multiple years with Payne and Dolan, Mike has played a key role in local projects such as the IH 43 Brown to Capitol,  Fond Du Lac Fwy and multiple stretches of IH 94 for Payne and Dolan as well as countless other major freeway projects. Mike has an immense spectrum of knowledge regarding paving operation and materials making him vital to Payne and Dolan’s day to day operations.

Dr. Mitzi Dobersek is an associate professor in the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s (MSOE) Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management (CAECM) Department, where she teaches transportation engineering courses.  She also serves as the faculty advisor for MSOE’s student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE).  Prior to joining MSOE’s full-time faculty, she was an adjunct assistant professor at MSOE, Marquette University, University of Wisconsin-Platteville and University of Wisconsin-Madison Engineering Professional Development.

Dr. Dobersek is the proud recipient of the 2024 Regal Rexnord Educator of the Year Award, MSOE’s 2024 Diversity and Inclusion Staff and Faculty Advocate Award, and MSOE’s 2023 CAECM Faculty Appreciation Award.   

Prior to joining MSOE, Dr. Dobersek was employed by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) for over 32 years.  While at WisDOT she held various roles including traffic operations supervisor, integrated corridors operations engineer, signal operations engineer, and roadway design engineer. 

Dr. Dobersek earned her doctorate degree and master’s degree in civil engineering, with an emphasis in transportation engineering, from Marquette University.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, with an emphasis in structural engineering, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  She has been a registered professional engineer in the State of Wisconsin since 1993.  She is also a member of ITE’s Great Lakes District.

Nick Jarmusz has served as Director of Public Affairs for AAA – The Auto Club Group since 2014.  In this role he manages external affairs, media relations, and advocacy efforts in Illinois, Indiana Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska.

Nick previously spent seven years as a Public Affairs Specialist for AAA, coordinating events, programs and special projects to promote safety among the most vulnerable roadway users: children, teens and seniors.  Prior to joining AAA, Nick worked for the Institute of Real Estate Management, the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Boy Scouts of America.

Nick is a graduate of DePaul University in Chicago, where he earned a B.A. in political science.  He and his wife, Carrie, live in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin with their three children.

Peter joined the Texas A&M Transportation Institute earlier in 2025 as a Senior Research Engineer in TTI’s Planning Group. In this role he continues building on his 27 years of experience in academia and consulting developing and implementing operational improvements across modes. (Though an Aggie, he’s still a Madison resident.) While TSMO Program Manager with the UW-Madison TOPS Lab, he led the formation of the federally designated Wisconsin AV Proving Grounds, facilitating early CAV R&D. His expertise in systems engineering has supported numerous high-impact initiatives, including the USDOT CV Pilot Deployments evaluation, ITS4US technology-enabled access improvements, and the federal V2X Accelerator program. Peter welcomes every opportunity to help agencies leverage emerging technologies and innovations to advance measurable performance outcomes in safety, mobility, and access.

Richard Hough has served as the Director of Public Works and County Highway Commissioner of Walworth County since September 2018. As Director, Rich has championed innovation, modernization, and department reform, leading efforts to achieve national accreditation from the American Public Works Association, which was successfully accomplished in July 2023.

Prior to working in local government, Rich served the interests of the United States Army for 30 years. Retiring at the rank of Colonel, Rich was an engineer officer with significant assignments as an engineer battalion commander, brigade commander, strategic plans officer, and as a Senior Fellow on the Chief of Staff of the United States Army Strategic Studies Group, also known as the Army Futures Studies Group. Rich is married to Shannon Gayle (Thomas) of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and they have three children, Jackie, Justin, and Cody.

As DTSD administrator, Rebecca Burkel leads a division of more than 1,300 employees who work throughout Wisconsin overseeing the development, maintenance and operation of the state highway system. Rebecca earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. Her WisDOT career began as an environmental coordinator in 1993. She was promoted several times to managerial positions, most recently serving as deputy administrator before her 2019 appointment to administrator. Throughout her time at WisDOT, Rebecca has focused on process improvement, innovation, efficiency and consistency of policy application among DTSD’s functional, technical and regional areas.

Scott Lawry was appointed Deputy Secretary at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in October 2024. In this role, Scott oversees the department’s operations, which includes 3,200 employees, dozens of field offices and a biennial budget of more than $8 billion. Scott has spent his entire professional career with WisDOT, beginning as an intern at the Division of Transportation System Development (DTSD) Southwest Region La Crosse office in 1987. Upon graduating from UW-Madison in Civil Engineering, Scott joined WisDOT full time in May 1991 in the La Crosse office where he worked as a staff engineer, project manager and supervisor in the technical services and project development sections. He then served as the Proposal Management Section Chief for five years, the Director of the Bureau of Technical Services for four years and Deputy Administrator of DTSD for about three years.

Tina currently serves as the Director of the Bureau of Driver Services at the DMV. Since joining The Department in 2008, she has held a range of leadership positions across all three DMV Bureaus. Throughout her tenure, Tina has successfully led cross-functional teams through complex projects, policy reforms, and operational improvements, consistently advancing the agency’s mission and service delivery. She was appointed to her current role in March 2025. Outside of work, Tina enjoys life with her husband Matt, their two children, and a lively household of pets.

Victoria Sheehan is the executive director of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Sheehan came to the National Academies from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (DOT), where she was commissioner for seven years. Before joining the New Hampshire DOT, Sheehan spent 10 years at the Massachusetts DOT leading strategic planning and highway performance, managing the bridge consulting program, and overseeing an eight-year, $3 billion Accelerated Bridge Program. Sheehan served as president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for 2020-2021.

Dr. Xiaopeng (Shaw) Li is currently Harvey D. Spangler Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and an affiliate in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). He directs the USDOT Rural Autonomous Vehicle Program for People Movement. He also serves as the executive director for Smart Highway Research Center (SHRC) at UW-Madison. Before joining UW-Madison, he served as the director of one USDOT national university transportation center, the National Institute for Congestion Reduction (NICR). He was a recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award. He has led a number of federal (e.g., NSF, USDOT, USDOE), state, and industry grants, mostly as the PI, with a total budget of over $35 million in addition to over $25 million in local matching. He has published over 140 peer-reviewed journal papers. He is a fellow of ASCE and a senior member of IEEE. He chairs the IEEE ITSS Emerging Transportation Technology Testing committee and leads the ASCE Smart Infrastructure Task Force. His major research interests include sensing, automated vehicles, and connected vehicles.

Dr. Xiao Qin is the Lawrence E. Sivak ’71 Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) and the Director of UWM Institute for Physical Infrastructure & Transportation (IPIT). Dr. Qin has over 25 years of research and teaching experience in the transportation field. He is the author/co-author of over 150 articles and technical reports, and a recipient of several best paper awards. Qin’s research improves the safety and efficiency of the transportation system across all modes through data analytics and technologies. He is a committee member of the Transportation Research Board, an editor of several transportation journals such as Transportation Research Record, Journal of Transportation Safety & Security, Urban Lifeline, and a co-author of the textbook “Highway Safety Analytics and Modeling” published by Elsevier. Dr. Qin received his Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut.

Dr. Xiaowei (Tom) Shi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and is also affiliated with the Institute for Physical Infrastructure and Transportation at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (UWM). He is the director of the Automated, Connected & Electric Mobility Systems Lab at UWM. He is also a co-chair of the IEEE Emerging Transportation Technology Testing Technical Committee. Dr. Shi’s research focuses on evaluating existing emerging mobility technologies, such as automated, connected, and electric vehicles, and developing novel technologies through the utilization of field experiments and hardware-in-the-loop methodologies. He has led/participated in over $10 million federal/state-level intelligent transportation system-related projects. His works have been published in top transportation journals, e.g., Transportation Science, Transportation Research Parts B & C. He also serves as a reviewer for many top-tier journals in the transportation field, including Transportation Science, TR Parts A-E, IEEE T-ITS, etc. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of South Florida in 2021 and 2020, respectively.