The Commuter Blueprint: Shaping Tomorrow's Mobility

The Artistry of Costume in OZ: Are you feeling wicked? Discover the world of costume design that brought the Land of Oz to life! From glittering gowns to intricate details, this exhibit unveils the artistry, craftsmanship, and creativity behind the iconic costumes of OZ. Follow the yellow brick road to Wicked Threads, where every stitch tells a story.

Address: Arlington Museum of Art (AMA)

1200 Ballpark Way

Arlington, TX 76011

Time: 1 p.m.

Cost: Free

*There are other exhibits available for a fee upon arrival

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At night, come for the connections, stay for the fun! Meet fellow attendees, share ideas, and make lasting connections in a relaxed, casual setting. Savor tasty treats and refreshing beverages, enjoy great music and a lively atmosphere, and fun activities like old school arcade games, bowling, and virtual golf.

Address: 1650 E Randol Mill Road, Suite 120

Arlington, TX 76011

Time: 7 pm

Cost: Self Pay

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Explore how Texas is planning for the future of mobility with the Statewide Multimodal Transit Plan--a bold vision to build a coordinated transportation system that enhances connectivity, eases congestion, and drives economic growth through 2050. This keynote session will highlight key strategies for improving the movement of people and goods across the state.

Caroline Mays, AICP, Director of Planning and Modal Programs, TxDOT

Discover how GoCarma is transforming commutes by leveraging HOV Lanes and technology to promote efficiency, sustainability, and smart transportation solutions.

Speakers include:

• Paul Steinberg, Chief Business Officer, Go Carma

Discover how parking management and Transit-oriented development are creating efficient, accessible, and eco-friendly mobility solutions for North Texas.

Speakers include: 

• Brayan Cervantes, Transportation Planner I, NCTCOG
• Travis Liska, Program Manager, NCTCOG
• Benjamin Whisnant, Transportation Planner I, NCTCOG

Join the City of Austin staff and Movability to unveils the transformative power of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG), driving innovative climate solutions, and funding initiatives that pave the way for a sustainable future.

Speakers include:

• Lonny Stern, Executive Director, Movability
• Jacob Barrett, Program Manager, City of Austin

Explore how high-speed rail is transforming transportation, connecting communities, reducing emissions, and leading the charge toward a sustainable mobility future. 

Speakers include: 

• Rebekah Gongora, Program Manager, NCTCOG
• Ezra Pratt,  Principal Transportation Planner, NCTCOG
• Hua Yang, Principal Transportation System Modeler, NCTCOG  

From first-mile to last-mile connectivity, discover how aerial mobility can enhance urban transport, reduce congestion, and create new opportunities for smart cities. Discuss regulatory challenges, infrastructure development, and the technology driving this revolution.

Speakers include: 

• Ernest Huffman, Program Manager, NCTCOG 

Explore strategies for managing transportation demand during major events like the Texas State Fair and the World Cup 2026, highlighting innovative approaches to reduce congestion and enhance mobility.

Speakers include: 

• Natalie Bettger, Senior Program Manager, NCTCOG
• Anthony Fuller, Vice President Commuter Rail Services, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART)

Caroline Mays, AICP, serves as Director of Planning and Modal Programs. In this role, she is responsible for the management and control of the Aviation, Maritime, Public Transportation, Rail, and Transportation Planning and Programming divisions.

Mays is a recognized regional, state, and national leader experienced in multimodal transportation planning and programming, policy, and project development. Mays joined the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in late 2012 and has held several positions including, Statewide Freight Coordinator, Freight Planning Branch Manager, Director of Freight and International Trade/Border Section, and Director of Freight, Trade and Connectivity. She was responsible for TxDOT’s statewide multimodal freight, international trade, and statewide corridor planning programs and was instrumental in establishing the multimodal freight planning program, developing the first multimodal Freight Mobility Plan, and the Texas-Mexico Border Transportation Master Plan.

TDM Program Manager, City of Austin Transportation and Public Works Department

Jacob Barrett serves as the City of Austin’s Transportation Demand Management Program Manager. He is responsible for a portfolio of programming which includes implementing the City’s $48M Climate Pollution Reduction Grant to reduce VMT in Central Texas, electrifying and expanding the City’s public bikeshare system, providing resources and incentives for both Austin community members and the City’s employees to get to work more sustainably, and guiding the community towards the adopted Austin Strategic Mobility Plan goal of a 50-50 commute mode share. 

While at the City, Barrett has led efforts to secure federal grant funding for TDM, moved forward the first five-year strategic plan for the TDM program, and has elevated TDM programming within the department and the City. Before managing the TDM program, he worked to make communications from the Transportation and Public Works Department more approachable and intuitive across programming, including TDM, safety, and infrastructure. He led the consolidation of multiple programs under the Get There ATX brand umbrella and has prioritized using local culture and quality vendors in incentives. 

Prior to the City of Austin, Barrett had a career in Advertising and Marketing serving clients like L.L.Bean, the Houston Rockets, Houston Dynamo, Austin YMCA, Trail Conservancy, and others. He also worked to launch Austin ISD’s first marketing campaign to increase and retain student enrollment. Barrett holds a Master’s of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor’s in Advertising and Public Relations from TCU. 

Outside of work, Barrett enjoys raising two daughters, running, and gardening with native plants. He also strives to lead by example by living a high-TDM lifestyle by commuting by bike on his in-office days and has been a single-car household for nearly a decade.

Natalie Bettger
Senior Program Manager – Congestion Management
North Central Texas Council of Governments

Natalie Bettger is a Senior Program Manager for the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG).  NCTCOG serves the Dallas-Fort Worth region by developing transportation plans and programs that address the complex needs of the rapidly growing area.  She received her master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Akron and a bachelor’s degree in Geography from Northwest Missouri State University.     

Natalie is currently oversee the Congestion Management and Systems Operation Program Area.  This area includes planning in the areas of Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSM&O), aviation, congestion management, safety, security, special events and transportation technology.  Her responsibilities also include coordinating with partner agencies to implement congestion management strategies, traffic signal retiming, ridesharing, incident management and other demand reduction and operational projects.

Natalie is active in the transportation profession and has served on the board of professional organizations including the Women’s Transportation Seminar, the Fort Worth Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the Texas Chapter of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America. 

Contact Information:
North Central Texas Council of Governments
616 Six Flags Drive, P.O. Box 5888
Arlington, Texas 76005-5888
Telephone: (817) 695-9280  
Email: nbettger@nctcog.org

Brayan Cervantes is a Transportation Planner at the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Dallas-Fort Worth region. In this role, he has contributed to various projects focused on transit-oriented development (TOD), parking management, and the integration of land use and transportation planning. His recent work includes the Deep Ellum Parking Study, the Silver Line Corridor TOD Planning Study, and NCTCOG’s Parking Management toolbox initiative. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Policy and Planning from the University of North Texas and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning at the University of Texas at Arlington. 

Anthony is the Vice President Commuter Rail Services Trinity Railway Express (TRE)/Silver Line Operations and Maintenance for Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), reporting to Sr. Executive VP/COO Bernard Jackson.

In this capacity, he oversees all aspects of the commuter rail lines, including operations, dispatch, equipment maintenance, maintenance of way for track infrastructure, maintenance of signal infrastructure, compliance, customer service, and standard operating procedures.

He is a performance-driven executive with 36 years of experience in the transportation industry.

Fuller has a Master’s of Science Degree in Leadership and Management. He works closely with key personnel at both DART and Trinity Metro, as well as with State, Federal, and local regulatory officials.

In late 2018 and early 2019, he also served as the interim Chief Operating Officer for TEXRail.

Fuller has also worked at TriMet, where he was the Director of the Operations Command Center and Field Operations. In that role, he was responsible for overseeing the combined dispatch center which housed both lightrail and bus dispatchers. He also oversaw lightrail and bus field supervisors, and fare enforcement officers.

Fuller has experience in commuter rail startups as he worked in Denver for Denver Transit Operators, where he served as the Deputy Chief Transportation Officer. In his role, he helped Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) start up their commuter rail line from downtown Denver to the airport.

Fuller enjoys public service and is currently the Vice Chair for the APTA Chief Operating Officer’s Committee. In his spare time, Fuller loves to travel. He has been to 49 out of 50 US States. He is also a sports enthusiast, loves to read, and loves music. Fuller loves volunteer work and has participated in habitat for humanity, big brothers/big sisters, and has been a mentor for the Trinity Metro Mentorship program.

Rebekah Gongora is a Program Manager at the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Dallas-Fort Worth region.  Rebekah joined NCTCOG in 2010 and manages government relations and public involvement efforts for the Transportation Department. In this role, Rebekah leads communications with elected officials, while monitoring and reporting on federal and state legislation related to transportation and air quality issues. She also oversees public involvement activities for NCTCOG transportation projects and studies. 

Rebekah holds a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of Texas at Arlington and a bachelor’s degree in Government from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Travis Liska, AICP is a Program Manager at the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Dallas – Fort Worth region.  He has over ten years of experience in regional planning for transit-oriented development, parking management, and coordinated land use and transportation projects. At NCTCOG he’s led the creation of the Coordinated Land Use and Transportation Planning Task Force, successfully won several competitive federal infrastructure and planning grants, and developed numerous regional plans and studies on topics ranging from value capture to housing. Travis is also the Director-Elect of the Midwest Section of the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association.   He earned both a bachelor’s in Geography and a master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from Texas A&M University.

Mr. Paul Steinberg has more than 20 years of experience in global business development for high profile technology, cloud, mobile, IoT, and enterprise solutions companies. His leadership at 10 startups and 2 publically traded companies have produced 6 acquisitions and 2 IPOs. A native Texas educated at the University of Texas in Austin (Computer Science), and Stanford University (Marketing) in Palo Alto.

As Chief Business Officer for Carma, Paul is responsible for Government Relations, Sales, Partnerships and is the spokesperson known as “Captain Carpool” as seen on leading media channels including; Bloomberg TV, CNN, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Alice Radio, KRON, NPR, CBS, and Fox.

Ezra Pratt is a Principal Transportation Planner with the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Dallas-Fort Worth region. He has worked in transit planning since 2020 and is part of NCTCOG’s Metropolitan Transportation Plan team. He works on regional transit studies and corridor planning, including the role of deputy project manager for high-speed rail projects. He graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2021 with a master's degree in city and regional planning and is the board secretary for the Young Professionals in Transportation Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter and a certified planner with the APA (American Planning Association).

Lonny Stern is the Executive Director of Movability (the Transportation Management Association of Central Texas), which is working with individuals and employers to build Central Texas around people -- not cars. Previously, he worked as a Public Involvement Manager at the Austin Transit Partnership, Community Engagement Administrator for CapMetro, Senior Director of the STEM Council at Skillpoint Alliance, Outreach Director at Empower Texans, Communications & Outreach Director for Hope Street Group and 91.7FM - KOOP Radio, Executive Director of aGLIFF, and Public Relations Director at Project Transitions. Lonny earned his master’s degree at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT-Austin. He earned a BA in English & Communications at Florida State University.

Ben Whisnant is a Transportation Planner at the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Dallas – Fort Worth region. He earned a bachelor’s in Biology and Global Studies: Environments + Sustainability from the University of Virginia and recently earned a master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Iowa. At NCTCOG he is part of the Land Use and Mobility Options team with a focus on transit-oriented development.

Principal Transportation System Modeler
North Central Texas Council of Governments   
Tel: (817) 718-4316
E-mail: hyang@nctcog.org
Webpage: http://www.nctcog.org/trans/programs/modeling.asp

Mrs. Yang is a Principal Transportation System Modeler at North Central Texas Council of Government (NCTCOG). Her working experience can be summarized into two major aspects: 1) of travel demand forecasting process; 2) public transportation planning and project analysis. Mrs. Yang’s 25-year experience as a civil engineer, including 18-year tenure at NCTCOG, has provided extensive exposure to planning needs of large urban areas. As an important member of the planning team, she has worked through both analytical and communicational processes of plan development. As a public transportation expert, she has worked with operational transit data, and created travel models for forecasting and project analysis. Mrs. Yang is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas, the United States.