TRANSOPTIONS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Manager, Business & Community Partnerships
Anne "Annie" began her non-profit career at Morris 2000 (Morris Tomorrow) in 1990 and considers the seven years she spent there an invaluable experience that has served her throughout her career. After many years in the corporate sector, Annie decided to return to her non-profit roots, joining our team in 2010. Annie's overall experience includes a background in human resources, including staffing management, training and development, project management and event planning.
Job Titles:
- Member of the LEADERSHIP Team
- Secretary - T - Mobile
Dan joined what was then TransOptions in April 2011 and became President of the organization in January 2018 following the retirement of John Ciaffone. In his various roles with the organization, Dan has lead the staff in multiple areas including the implementation of community safety programs, environmental education, Safe Routes to School efforts and work with businesses and developers. He has guided the organization through its recent rebranding and spearheaded the adoption of new technologies and advancement of Avenues in Motion's TDM programs through tools such as their GoForGood app, which "gamifies" the alternative commute. Additionally, Dan has extensive experience implementing shuttle services for municipalities and businesses, promoting ridesharing and transit usage, and is well versed in the public policy issues that impact transportation.
Dan serves on the Morris County Economic Development Corporation Advisory Board, the Morris County Tourism Bureau Board of Directors, and has represented us on numerous committees and projects, including Morris County's Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan Update, and is involved with several professional associations, such as the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT) and the Governors Highway Safety Association. Dan holds an MBA from Temple University's Fox School of Business and a BA in political science from Christopher Newport University.
Danielle joined our team in 2010 after working in sales and customer service. As Business Manager, Danielle's responsibilities include the financial aspects of our grants. Additionally, she is in charge of HR and accounting. She is the interface with all outside professional services including legal, accounting and auditing as well as maintaining all vendor operations.
Danielle serves as the first line of support for all staff activities. She graduated from William Paterson University in 2009 with bachelor's degrees in sociology and anthropology.
Denis joined our team in May of 2018 as a Program Specialist. He coordinates and delivers Pedestrian and Driver Safety programs for teens, parents, senior citizens and other groups in the community. Denis also works on the Street Smart pedestrian safety campaigns with other members of our staff and represents Avenues in Motion on the NJ Teen Safe Driving Coalition.
Prior to joining us, Denis served as a municipal Police Officer for 29 years. He retired in good standing at the rank of Police Captain after serving in multiple positions including Patrolman, Detective, Sergeant/Field supervisor, Sergeant/ Traffic/ Crime Prevention supervisor, Lieutenant/Watch Commander, Captain/Uniform services, Captain/Administrative services. He is a trained Crime Prevention/ Community Policing officer, Police Academy Instructor, Fatal Crash Investigator and has supervised multiple traffic safety task forces dealing with Drunk Driving enforcement, Motor Vehicle Roadside Inspections, Click-it or Ticket, Pedestrian Safety and others. He also has experience in administering NJ Division of Highway Traffic Safety grants for his former agency.
Job Titles:
- Active Transportation Manager
Emily brings her expertise and enthusiasm to the organization since 2016. Throughout her time with us, she has embraced various roles and is currently Active Transportation Manager, where she helps to envision a more connected, accessible, and resilient community for all.
Emily's passion for creating vibrant, people-friendly streets that are safe all road users has been at the forefront of her most recent work. Emily strives to utilize a collaborative approach to strengthen relationships with local government bodies, community stakeholders, developers and advocacy groups to help advance policies and initiatives relating to micromobility, neighborhood development and Complete and Green Streets.
Emily's education background includes a Master's degree in Sustainable Design from Thomas Jefferson University and a Bachelor's in Education and Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont. She is also a certified LEED Green Associate and League of American Bicyclist Instructor (LCI). Emily holds additional program certificates in nonprofit and executive business management and leadership.
Job Titles:
- Member of the LEADERSHIP Team
Job Titles:
- Communications & Outreach Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the LEADERSHIP Team
- Treasurer - Medvacon, LLC
After graduating school, Judy's first job was with Public Service Bus Company, which is now NJ Transit. Her later professional experience was focused on customer service and retail management. Destined to work on transportation related issues, she joined our team in 2001. She has since become an expert in assisting the public with transit information. Judy currently administers Avenues in Motion's on-demand ride programs for human services populations using transportation management companies (TNCs). Her duties have also included planning shuttle routes, mapping, and database management for all our services.
Justin joined our team in March 2016 with a background in travel planning and customer service. As GIS Program Coordinator, Justin updates and manages our Map It website page, which includes Park and Ride data, bus routes, transit routes, and other assets. Justin also assists with our Speed Sentry program, often in relation to ongoing efforts such as audits, Street Smart, and Safe Routes to School programming. He works with business services on zip code analysis and creates radius maps for ridematching efforts and coordinates our carpool and vanpool programs.
Justin graduated from William Paterson University with a Bachelor's degree in Geography and a minor in History. He also has a Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems from the University of Connecticut Graduate School.
Job Titles:
- Environmental Education Manager
Kristen joined our team in July 2014. She creates educational programs to deliver to schools in our service area for grades K-12. The programs are focused on energy, air quality, and sustainability. These free programs have been mapped to the Next Generation Science Standards as well as the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards. Kristen also works with teachers involved in Junior Solar Sprints and the Hydrogen Car Challenge races. She creates lesson plans and extension activities for educators to prepare their students for the race day.
Laura joined our team in January 2013. As Director of Program Development, she oversees projects to advance the organization's mission through our programs and specializes in addressing pedestrian and driver safety. Laura has overseen our Street Smart NJ campaign efforts for many years and works on various projects to advance health and safety in our service area. Laura is passionate about eliminating serious crashes on our roadways and addressing traffic safety through a public health approach.
Laura holds a Master's in Public Health with a concentration in Social & Behavioral Health Sciences from Rutgers University, is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), and has a Bachelor's in Communication Studies from Bloomsburg University. In 2019, Laura was recognized as a Rising Star of Safety from the National Safety Council.
Melissa joined our team in 2018 to work on air quality and electric vehicles. She is Certified in Volunteer Administration and has an M.Div from Princeton Theological Seminary and a B.A. from Loyola College. She is an active volunteer with NJDEP's CHANJ road ecology project.
Job Titles:
- Bicycle and Pedestrian Programs Coordinator
- Pedestrian Coordinator
Omeed joined our team in 2023. As the Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, Omeed helps manage our Bike Right Program by organizing Learn to Ride classes, Bike Rodeos and other community engagement activities. Working with different community partners within our service area, he develops and customizes engagement programming to best suit the needs of the community. Additionally, he assists within our Safe Routes to School program. Omeed is passionate about creating vibrant, walkable, and livable spaces in an effort to build upon community as well as improve and protect the environment.
Omeed graduated from The College of New Jersey in 2021 with a Bachelors of Science in Biology and a minor in Environmental Studies. He has worked in Evolutionary Biology research to study the effects of anthropogenic issues on behavioral adaptations of animals. Since then, Omeed has worked in different environmental nonprofit settings focusing on community outreach. He hopes to continue working with different communities on improving general quality of life.
Job Titles:
- Member of the LEADERSHIP Team
- Chairman - Governors Highway Safety Association
Job Titles:
- Member of the LEADERSHIP Team
- Vice Chair - BHX Engineering