Vision Safe Drive Conference
Presenter Bios
Use the following links to jump directly to presenter's bio:
Darin Bergquist was named Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Transportation in October 2007. Bergquist began working for state government in 1996 after two years in private law practice. He was an administrative law judge with the Department of Labor. He joined the Department of Transportation in 1998 as an assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel and served as the program manager for the Right of Way Office and director of operations before his current appointment. Bergquist is a graduate of Jamestown College with a degree in business administration. He obtained his Juris Doctorate from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1993.
Keith Berndt has been an engineer with Cass County, ND, since 1992. Before that he served as civil engineer with the U.S. Navy, both active and reserve duty. Berndt has taught construction contract and specifications courses to civil engineering and construction management students at the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University. He currently is North Central Regional Vice-President with the National Association of County Engineers. He also holds committee and office positions with both the National Association of Counties and North Dakota Association of County Engineers. Berndt graduated from North Dakota State University with a B.S. in civil engineering in 1983 and from the University of Florida with a masters of Engineering in 1989.
Tamiko Burnell currently works for the US DOT, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Office of Safety, where she is the transportation specialist for the Office of Safety Programs. She is responsible for managing the development and implementation of the Strategic Highway Safety Plans (SHSP) and co-managing Transportation Safety Planning with the Office of Planning. Other offices Burnell has worked for include FHWA, Office of Professional and Corporate Development where she was part of a team which conducted interagency program improvement reviews; and FHWA, Michigan Division Office as a planner, research, and technology transfer engineer. She has more than 13 years in federal service, which includes working with other agencies outside of FHWA. The majority of Burnell's federal work experience has been in transportation infrastructure, planning, safety, technology transfer and freight. In addition to federal service, she also worked four and half years as a highway engineer for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). During her time at MDOT, she worked in the local services unit, high speed rail, design, and traffic and safety. Burnell has a B.S. degree in mathematics from Bowie State University, a civil engineering degree from Southern University, an M.S. in mathematics from Southern University, and an M.S. in logistics from Michigan State University.
Matthew (Matt) Carlson became the Wyoming State Highway Safety Engineer in 2004. He had worked in numerous field engineering positions throughout the state, the Materials Laboratory and on the construction staff for the previous 20 years of his career with WYDOT. During his time as the State Highway Safety Engineer and as Governor's Representative for Highway Safety, Wyoming has developed and implemented a Strategic Highway Safety Plan. He has overseen the implementation of an electronic crash reporting collection system and a new crash analysis software tool (Critical Analysis Reporting Environment, CARE). Wyoming is pursuing enhancements to the foundation they have recently implemented. Reporting, GIS applications, and access and coordination with safety partners remain as areas to be improved. Carlson graduated from the University of Wyoming with a B.S. in civil engineering in 1985.
James Carpenter has been the director of the South Dakota Office of Highway Safety since January, 2008. Carpenter is retired from the South Dakota Highway Patrol where he served for 29 years. His last position with the Patrol was the assistant superintendent holding the rank of major. Carpenter is a graduate of the University of South Dakota.
John Dewar is the team leader for State and Local Programs in the FHWA Office of Safety Programs, Washington, DC. He and his team develop and administer programs for Local and Rural Road Safety, Road Safety Audits (RSA), Safe Routes to School (SRTS), and the High Risk Rural Roads (HRRR) Program. His team maintains safety partnerships with LTAP, NACE and APWA. Before joining the Office of Safety in 2007, he was assistant division administrator in the Delaware Division of FHWA. He has extensive experience in various positions in FHWA field offices in California, Maine, New York and Missouri. He is committed to helping all levels of government obtain the Federal resources available to them to improve highway safety. Dewar has a B.S. in civil engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA and an M.S. in Civil engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY.
David Engstrom is the state traffic safety engineer with the Office of Traffic, Safety and Technology for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. He has been a state employee for more than 30 years, with more than 20 years at Mn/DOT. The majority of his professional career has been spent in the area of traffic engineering and safety. His lifelong goal has been to serve the public by providing products and services that add value to their lives. Engstrom has a B.S. degree in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota and is a registered professional engineer.
Randy Hartley has been the assistant superintendent of the South Dakota Highway Patrol (SDHP) since May of 2008. He began his career with the SDHP in 1988 and was stationed in Presho, SD. In 1991, Hartley moved to Brookings where he worked until being promoted to the Rapid City squad sergeant position in 1999. In 2003, he was promoted to lieutenant and served as the assistant district three commander in Rapid City until 2006 when he was promoted to captain and the district three commander position in Rapid City. He served in that capacity until May of 2008 when he was promoted to major. Hartley is a graduate of the University of South Dakota and Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command.
Mary Hunter is the highway safety manager at the Idaho Transportation Department. She oversees Idaho's crash database and research analysts, as well as the grant program designed to reduce traffic deaths by changing behavior. The Office of Highway Safety is part of the Office of Highway Operations and Safety which oversees the Highway Safety Improvement Program as well as the behavior program. Hunter was the Occupant Protection Program Coordinator from 1999 to 2007. Before her work in Highway Safety, she coordinated the Commercial Drivers License program and also put together Idaho's car drivers' license skills testing program. Hunter earned a bachelor's degree in microbiology with a minor in chemistry from Cal State University - Chico.
Brent Jennings is the state highway operations and safety engineer with the Idaho Transportation Department. He has been with the department since 1984, serving in both the District and Headquarter offices. In the District 3 Office, which encompasses southwestern Idaho, he served as a project construction engineer and district materials engineer. At the Headquarters Office in Boise, he served as an associate construction engineer, state construction claims engineer and assistant state construction engineer. Jennings also served several years as the assistant district engineer in the District 6 Office, which encompasses eastern Idaho. Jennings earned his B.S. degree in civil engineering from California Polytechnic University and obtained his Idaho Professional Engineering License in 1987.
Lt. James Johns started working with the Rapid City Police Department in 1995 as a patrol officer and is currently assigned to the Traffic Section as a lieutenant. He is responsible for the management of all traffic crashes occurring within Rapid City. Johns has authored highway safety grants to allow the RCPD greater ability to combat the problem of impaired driving in Rapid City. The push for greater enforcement and education is a specific responsibility of the Traffic Section. In addition to the Traffic Section responsibilities, he is also the deputy commander of the department's special response team. Johns has a master's degree in human resources.
Sharon Johnson has been the safety & traffic engineer in the FHWA division office at Pierre, SD, for 10 years. Before that she worked for twelve years for the SDDOT as the Pierre Region traffic engineer and eight years as the traffic engineer for Rapid City. She is a native of South Dakota and a graduate of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Doug Kinniburgh is region traffic engineering supervisor for the western third of South Dakota. The last 17 years of his 23 years of experience in the construction industry have been with the South Dakota Department of Transportation. For the past nine years he has been a coordinator of DOT's involvement in traffic safety with regard to special events and emergency responses in the region. Kinniburgh has a B.S. in civil engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Gene LaDoucer manages AAA's public relations, corporate community involvement, traffic safety, legislative affairs, and corporate communication efforts in North Dakota. He is also AAA's spokesperson on gas prices in North Dakota and regularly reports on travel trends and on a full range of safety and mobility issues that affect travelers. Outside his regular duties, he serves on the executive committees of three coalitions: Safe Kids North Dakota, Safe Kids Fargo/Moorhead and Safe Communities Coalition of the Red River Valley. LaDoucer has an A.A.S. in public affairs from the Community College of the Air Force, a B.S. in business from Excelsior College, Albany, NY, and an M.B.A. from Webster University, St. Louis, MO.
Marsha Lembke is the Safety Liaison for the North Dakota Department of Transportation. She facilitates the development of safety programs and projects to maximize safety improvements for travelers of North Dakota. Previously, Lembke was director of the Drivers License and Traffic Safety Division and led the team that adopted a "customer service with hospitality" approach which helped boost the customer satisfaction rating to an all-time high of 90%. She worked diligently to establish positive traffic safety partners through the 4Es: education, engineering, and emergency management service and enforcement to form a cooperative agenda. She has served on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration/Governors' Highway Safety Association Liaison Committee and as Publicity Committee chair, as well as past chair for GHSA. She is a current member of the Transportation Research Board nation-wide driver behavior study. Lembke graduated with a nursing degree from the State College of Science, Wahpeton, ND, and a management degree from the University of Mary, Bismarck, ND.
Robyn Litke is coordinator for the Safe Communities Coalition of the Red River Valley, a bi-state, bi-region coalition bringing together the states of North Dakota and Minnesota and NHTSA Regions V and VIII. She has held this position for seven years. Litke provides technical assistance to Safe Communities programs in eastern North Dakota and serves on the state's Trauma Committee and Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup. She received NHTSA's Public Service Award in 2006 and was a speaker at the 2007 Lifesavers Conference in Chicago. She has attended MADD's Public Policy Institute and NHTSA's Traffic Safety Institute. Litke earned a B.A. from Creighton University.
Jim Lynch is director of the Montana Department of Transportation, leading a team of more than 2,200 employees who plan, design and maintain 12,950 miles, and 2,100 bridges on Montana's highway system. He also manages state aviation, transit, and rail programs. Lynch has a wide variety of experience in the construction industry. Most recently he served as a public policy advisor to an international construction consortium. He holds a degree in management science from Kean University. Lynch serves as the governor's representative for the National Highway Traffic Safety Programs. For AASHTO, he serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on Highway Transport. In 2005, Lynch led the team that brought the Beartooth Highway Emergency Slide Repair Project in ahead of schedule and under budget. The project was the largest design/build project ever undertaken by the Montana Department of Transportation. Lynch is a champion for highway safety and has led legislative initiatives resulting in enactment of a ban on open containers, and graduated driver's licenses. Under Lynch's leadership Montana completed its first Comprehensive Highway Traffic Safety Plan.
Ron Marshall is a technical assistance provider for SD LTAP. He concentrates on low volume rural road safety, including road safety audits and development of a tool box for local road managers interested in safety improvements. Previously, Marshall spent more than 33 years with the Federal Highway Administration. He retired in 2004. His career with FHWA included positions in engineering, planning, environment, and management in South Dakota (1975 thru 1978), Florida, North Dakota (1979-1986), Wisconsin, Illinois, and Washington, DC. He is a registered professional engineer in Wisconsin. Marshall earned a B.S. in civil engineering from Bradley University, and an M.S. in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin.
Karin Mongeon is the manager of the North Dakota Department of Transportation, Traffic Safety Office and has held this position since January 2007. She administers all traffic safety program areas including traffic records, police traffic services, occupant protection, alcohol/impaired driving prevention, motorcycle safety, and Safe Communities. She has prior experience with administration of public health and human services programs through employment with both the North Dakota Department of Human Services Medicaid Program and the North Dakota Department of Health as an epidemiologist and later as the Department's HIV/AIDS/TB program director. Mongeon graduated from the University of Mary, Bismarck, ND, with a B.S. in nursing.
Jerry Ortbahn is an engineering supervisor directing the Planning and Programs section of the Office of Project Development in the South Dakota Department of Transportation. The Planning and Programs section is responsible for developing the STIP, implementing the Pavement Management System, developing the Statewide Long Range Plan, implementing the Safe Routes to School Program, coordination of the MPOs activities as well as conducting corridor studies and other special studies for the department. Ortbahn is a 1977 graduate of the University of South Dakota with a degree in economics.
Lowell Porter was appointed Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) in 2005. The WTSC is responsible for coordinating and facilitating traffic safety initiatives throughout Washington at the city, county, state, tribal, and Federal levels to ensure a safe motoring environment. The WTSC is recognized nationally as a leader in public health and safety. Previously, Porter was the chief of the Washington State Patrol, the largest public safety agency in Washington State. He began his career with the Washington State Patrol in 1980 and was promoted through the ranks from trooper to chief with a variety of assignments in both operations and administrative areas of the agency. As chief of the Washington State Patrol and director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, Porter has served on the executive board of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and currently serves as the vice chair of the Governors Highway Safety Association. He has also served on several expert panels, committees, and formal research projects sponsored by the Transportation Research Board, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration. Porter holds a bachelors degree from City University and masters from Gonzaga University, and has been recognized for his significant contributions to traffic safety at both the state and federal levels.
Cliff Reuer has worked the last 15 years as Traffic & Safety Engineer for the SDDOT Office of Local Government Assistance and Office Project Development with responsibilities for the HSIP, HES, RSA/RSAR & traffic engineering for local governments. He started with the Department of Transportation in 1970 and worked for six years as a surveyor, project inspector on grading, asphalt & concrete surfacing, and signing projects; four years in the billboard/junkyard control; six years with the Pierre Region maintenance crews as a maintenance analyst; and nine years in traffic engineering in the Pierre Region working with work zone signing and normal traffic signing/striping.
Neil Schuster is president and CEO of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. AAMVA is a non-profit association representing motor vehicle and law enforcement agencies in North America. AAMVA helps agencies in 69 jurisdictions in the United States and Canada to develop best practices to improve road safety and ensure the security and accuracy of drivers' licenses and other identification credentials and reduce motor vehicle title fraud. Before joining AAMVA in 2007, Schuster was president and CEO of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America. He also served as executive director of the international association representing toll roads. Schuster has a B.A. in economics from Brooklyn College and an MBA in transportation management from the University of Colorado.
Kasey Skalicky is the Safe Communities Coordinator for a 10-county region in the southeastern part of North Dakota. She has worked in prevention for seven years, and has been with Safe Communities since 2006. Skalicky is a graduate of Valley City State University.
Lt. Jody Skogen was promoted to lieutenant and appointed as the North Dakota Highway Patrol's Safety and Education Officer earlier this year. His current responsibilities include serving as the North Dakota Amber Alert Coordinator, Director of Capitol Security and the Highway Patrol's Public Information Officer. He began his career with the Highway Patrol in 1995 as a trooper stationed in Harvey. In 2005 he was promoted to the rank of sergeant and served as a regional sergeant in both Fargo and Bismarck until his most recent appointment. Skogen received a B.S. degree in criminal justice from Minot State University in 1993. He is a 2006 graduate of Northwestern University Traffic Institute's School of Police Staff and Command.
Ken Skorseth is the program manager of SDLTAP. His previous experience includes 19 years as field services manager, also for SDLTAP, eight years as a county highway superintendent in Deuel County, SD, and 12 years in the highway and heavy construction industry. Skorseth has studied unpaved roads across the United States and as far away as New Zealand and has lectured on the subjects of gravel road maintenance and low volume road maintenance to audiences of engineers, managers, elected officials and maintenance workers over the past 15 years. He also served as the lead author of the FHWA Gravel Roads Manual. Skorseth is a graduate of Minnesota West Community College, Canby, MN, and Associated Schools, Miami, FL.
Joseph S. Toole is the associate administrator for the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Safety. The office is the focal point within the Federal Highway Administration for efforts to reduce highway fatalities and serious crashes on our nation's roadways, and building partnerships with those throughout the industry who share that objective. Prior to 2008, Toole served as the associate administrator of the FHWA Office of Professional and Corporate Development (OPCD) which focused on the development of the transportation workforce, and accelerating the deployment of innovative technologies and practices. Through the National Highway Institute (NHI) and the Local and Tribal Technical Assistance Program (LTAP/TTAP), more than 3,500 training sessions were delivered to nearly 150,000 participants each year. In addition, through the Eisenhower Fellowship Program, his office provided grants to graduate students to pursue transportation careers. Toole also oversaw the agency's quality initiatives and corporate improvement efforts. In addition, Toole served as FHWA's acting executive director in 2008. Toole has been active in the World Road Association/PIARC, representing the FHWA on the organization's Executive Committee, Strategic Planning Commission and serving as the Strategic Theme Coordinator for Safety. As a member of PIARC's Technology Exchange and Development Commission, he also focused on improving knowledge exchange among nations and establishing a network of Technology Transfer centers around the world. Throughout his 33-0year career with the FHWA, Toole served in a variety of positions including the director of FHWA's Office of Technology Applications, deputy regional administrator in FHWA's Mid-Atlantic Region, as well as special assistant to the FHWA administrator, where he served as executive director to the National Motor Carrier Advisory Committee and the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Regulatory Review Panel. Toole is a licensed professional engineer and a graduate of the Harvard Program for Senior Managers in Government. He received his MBA in finance from George Washington University and his bachelor's degree in transportation engineering from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.
Dennis Trusty has been the director of the Northern Plains Tribal Technical Assistance Program (NPTTAP) located on the campus of United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, ND, since 1999. He manages the daily functions of the NPTTAP and is active in selection and creation of workforce development materials, workforce safety training materials, and is involved in transportation safety and road safety audit reviews. Trusty has completed the National Highway Institute "Road Safety Fundamentals Train-the-Trainer" and the "Road Safety Audits for Local Governments Train-the-Trainer" held at the NHI Training Facility in Arlington, VA, and has received training from in transportation safety and safety audit reviews. Trusty recently wrote the Northern Plains TTAP Safety Manifesto for Local Roads which identifies the components required to have safe local roads. He has been a registered professional engineer in North Dakota for more than 20 years. Prior to joining the NPTTAP, Trusty was a senior product design engineer for Bobcat. He holds three patents and four disclosures. He was recognized as a design engineer on a list of top 100 Products of the Year. Trusty graduated from North Dakota State University with a B.S. in mechanical engineering and has completed additional training in transportation safety, engineering economics, statistics, and management.
Rudolph (Rudy) M. Umbs serves as the FHWA's Resource Center program manager for Pedestrian Safety and Strategic Highway Safety Plans and is the secretary to the AASHTO Subcommittee on Safety Management Systems. During his 39-year FHWA career, he has held headquarters and field positions in virtually every aspect of highway safety including legislation, strategic highway safety plans, the Manual on Traffic Control Devices, and pedestrian safety and accessibility. While at headquarters, he was the director of the Office of Safety Design and the FHWA's chief highway safety engineer. Umbs is a member of the Transportation Research Board's panel on the implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan, as well as, the panel for the development of the NCHRP 500 series "Implementation Guides." He has provided assistance to the states in the development and now the implementation of States' Strategic Highway Safety Plans. Umbs is a graduate of Marquette University and a registered professional engineer.
Bill Watada is the regional administrator for the Region 8 Office of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S. Department of Transportation. States that fall under his responsibility are Colorado, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. In partnership with the states, Watada serves as the federal representative for the administration in managing a variety of complex traffic safety programs in the field. Prior to his appointment as regional administrator, Watada was one of three team leaders in NHTSA Region 8, and provided fiscal and programmatic assistance to the state highway safety offices. He was the regional coordinator for finance and administration and served on the National Grants Tracking System Team. He has been with NHTSA for nearly two decades. Prior to NHTSA, Watada worked in the private industry for over 15 years, managing accounting, finances, and administrative functions. Watada is a graduate of the University of Colorado with a B.S. in accounting and a MBA from the University of Denver.
Scott Zainhofsky is the planning & programming engineer for the North Dakota Department of Transportation. He has been a registered professional engineer, in North Dakota, since 2002. Zainhofsky began working for the NDDOT in 2004, holding positions in the Maintenance & Engineering Services Division, the Devils Lake District, as both the assistant district engineer & district engineer, and currently the Planning & Programming Division. Prior to working for the NDDOT, he worked for the city of Grand Forks Engineering Department and the U.S. Geological Survey, starting while he was in junior college. The NDDOT Planning and Programming Division is responsible for a wide range of activities, including: long-range multi-modal transportation planning, STIP development, mapping, roadway & traffic data, pavement management, traffic operations analyses, and HSIP development. Three of the Division's personnel were chosen to help develop the statewide safety program framework that began the effort of implementing system-wide fatal- and injury-crash countermeasures in North Dakota. Zainhofsky has an A.S. degree in pre-engineering from Bismarck State College, a B.S. degree in civil engineering as well as a master of engineering degree in civil engineering, both from the University of North Dakota.
Francis G. Ziegler currently serves as North Dakota's Director of Transportation. He has worked for the Department of Transportation since 1970. During his career, Ziegler has served the state of North Dakota in a number of capacities, including director of the Office of Project Development, West Region engineer, assistant chief engineer (Operations), assistant construction engineer, construction engineer, and project and resident engineer. He is a professional engineer with a background in field construction, statewide operations (construction and maintenance), planning and programming of projects, budget, environmental document preparation, and plan development. Ziegler has also served on a number of civic organizations. He has been president of the Bismarck Park Board, the Bismarck Recreation Council, and the Ronald McDonald House Board. He is a member of the American Society of Highway Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers. Ziegler earned his B.S. degree in civil engineering from North Dakota State University in 1970.
