Chief, Sustainable Transportation and Communities Division of the California Air Resources Board
Annalisa Schilla currently serves as Chief of the Sustainable Transportation & Communities Division at the California Air Resources Board. In this role, she oversees a multidisciplinary team focused on land use, building performance, and policy work that supports coordinated transportation and community planning.
Senior Policy Fellow, School of Public Policy, University of California, Riverside
Barry Wallerstein is a Senior Policy Fellow at the UC Riverside School of Public Policy. Wallerstein served as Executive Officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) from 1997 to 2016. Before joining SCAQMD, Barry Wallerstein was previously an Environmental Control Administrator for Northrop, and was on the rule development staff in the Mobile Source Division of the California Air Resources Board. He has also served as Co-President of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies. Barry Wallerstein holds a doctorate in environmental science and engineering from UCLA, and M.S. and B.S. degrees in biological science.
Bernadette Austin builds cross-sector partnerships to address complex challenges facing communities. As Chief Executive Officer of CivicWell, she leads an organization with a 40-year track record of helping local leaders strengthen community planning, infrastructure, and economic vitality.
Previously, as Executive Director of the UC Davis Center for Regional Change, Bernadette helped strengthen collaboration between universities, public agencies, and community partners. Prior to joining UC Davis, she spent a decade developing and financing affordable housing and other community development projects.
Deputy Chief Economic Development Officer, Rural County Representatives of California
Robert Burris works to bring greater attention and resources to rural California. As Deputy Chief Economic Development Officer at Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), an advocacy and service organization, he focuses on economic development and infrastructure issues for RCRC’s 40 rural county members.
He brings 25 years of leadership experience with municipal, regional, and state economic development agencies and organizations, along with research experience at the California State University Real Estate and Land Use Institute and Economic & Planning Systems. Robert holds a BA in Business Economics from UC Santa Barbara and an MBA from Sacramento State University. He also holds an honorary doctorate from Drexel University-Sacramento and serves on the boards of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy-Accelerating Community Investment, CALED, and CEDA.
Darwin Moosavi Consulting LLC advances policy solutions to improve transportation, housing, and economic development in California and beyond. With more than 15 years in public service, Darwin has focused on building effective connections between transportation planning, housing coordination, and regional growth.
Most recently, he served as Deputy Secretary for Environmental Policy and Housing Coordination at the California State Transportation Agency, where he helped lead efforts related to transit, rail, active transportation, infill housing, and other statewide initiatives.
Transportation Program Director, National Conference of State Legislatures
Douglas Shinkle is the Transportation Program Director in the Environment, Energy and Transportation Program at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). He has worked for NCSL since 2005, focusing on traffic safety, shared and innovative mobility, transportation funding, and many other key areas of transportation. Shinkle has written a number of well-regarded publications for NCSL, and enjoys ensuring members of the Colorado General Assembly benefit from and participate in NCSL activities. A Colorado native, Shinkle worked at the Colorado Capitol on three occasions, as well as for a California Congressman and a California Assemblymember.
Deputy Secretary for Innovative Mobility Solutions, California State Transportation Agency
Emily serves as Deputy Secretary for Innovative Mobility Solutions at the California State Transportation Agency. In this role, she coordinates efforts to support safer and more efficient mobility across all modes of transportation and works on policy and implementation issues related to emerging transportation technologies and shared mobility services. She also serves on the advisory board of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies.
Executive Director, National Association of Regional Councils
Erich Zimmermann is Director of Transportation Programs at the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC), where he manages NARC’s transportation portfolio, supports regional transportation priorities, and leads programmatic, research, and communications initiatives. He also helps shape policy priorities for federal surface transportation authorization and oversees NARC’s transportation technical assistance and education program. He holds a B.A. in Political Communication from The George Washington University and an M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana.
Director, Traffic Management Section, Texas Department of Transportation
Jianming Ma is the Director of the Traffic Management Section of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), where he oversees the development of statewide traffic management programs including Intelligent Transportation Systems, Traffic Signals, Transportation Systems Management and Operations, and Traffic Incident Management. Jianming Ma obtained his Ph.D. degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2006. Dr. Ma has been a registered Professional Engineer in Texas since 2008, and a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) since 2019.
Dr. Joseph K. Lyou believes everyone has the right to breathe clean air. For more than 30 years, he has worked to improve public health and air quality in California. He serves as President and CEO of the Coalition for Clean Air, a statewide organization focused on protecting public health and advancing practical air quality solutions.
Dr. Lyou also serves as the Speaker of the Assembly appointee to the California Transportation Commission, which allocates funding for highway, rail, transit, and active transportation improvements throughout California. From 2007 to 2019, he served on the South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board.
