What's Your Elevator Pitch?

Session 7D | Thursday | 4:15 PM – 5:30 PM (PT)

About the Session

In this interactive session, participants will work in teams to craft our "elevator pitch" to some of the key messages that planners are having to deliver to diverse communities. The following represents the list of suggested topics:

Topic 1: Why invest in bike infrastructure when cyclists represent less than 2% of mode share?

Topic 2: If transit doesn't reduce congestion, why should we invest in it?

Topic 3: I don't like change - why is upzoning a good idea?

Topic 4: Why do vehicle miles of travel (VMT) matter, won't electric vehicles fix the problem?

Topic 5: Don't we already pay enough for transportation - why should we accept tolling too?

Topic 6: Potpourri (audience-identified topic)

It is hoped that audience members will come away with new approaches to difficult conversations & new vocabulary for responding to community members most gnarly questions.

About the Moderator

Kendra Breiland, AICP

Principal, Principal & Fehr & Peers

Kendra is a Principal at Fehr & Peers with over 15 years of experience in all aspects of transportation planning, including comprehensive planning, multimodal planning, and fee program development. Over the past decade, she has supported more than 50 communities throughout the Pacific Northwest in the development of subarea plans, complete street redesigns, transportation system plans, and impact fee programs in settings that span rural counties, small towns, suburbs, and central cities. Kendra excels on projects that require flexibility, creativity, and interaction with diverse stakeholders.

About the Speakers

Kate Drennan

Transportation Planning Manager, City of Vancouver

Kate Drennan is the Transportation Planning Program Manager for the City of Vancouver, WA. She leads transportation planning, policy, and programs -- including large Complete Streets projects that reflect the changing nature of Vancouver's suburban form to a more urban, multimodal city. Kate began her career working on federal transportation policy in Washington, DC before returning home to her native NW to pursue transportation planning as a practitioner. She has worked in consulting, regional planning and transit operations, as well as for local governments. Outside of work, Kate spends her time cooking, gardening, and racing her bikes around Washington and Oregon.

Nytasha Walters

Transportation Services Manager, City of Shoreline

Nytasha Walters has decades of experience leading and managing innovative, complex, and often controversial multi-modal transportation projects for the City of Shoreline, Sound Transit, WSDOT - including creation updates of master plans, multi-modal corridor planning, tolling, high-capacity transit and capital projects. Nytasha is currently the Transportation Services Manager for the City of Shoreline, where she is responsible for managing the creation of and funding for over $200 million in transportation mobility projects, as well as advising on strategic project delivery. In this position she is focused on how to plan, invest and implement transportation programs and projects that effectively address climate change, mobility, social inequities, and safety concerns at the local and regional level.Nytasha received a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Washington and is also a graduate of the University of Washington’s Foster School of Businesses Environmental Management Program.

Jacob B. Gonzalez

Director of Community and Economic Development, City of Pasco

Jacob joined the City of Pasco in 2018 and was appointed as the Director of Community and Economic Development in 2023. He is particularly interested in developing strategies to increase access to housing and transportation. Before joining the City, Jacob worked with several organizations, including the Benton-Franklin Council of Governments, the Puget Sound Regional Council, and the Port of Seattle, where he led various successful projects. Jacob has served on several boards, including United Way, the US Census Transportation Planning Committee, and the Downtown Pasco Development Authority. Currently, he serves on the Washington State Main Street Advisory Committee and Washington's Transportation Choices Coalition. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington and recently completed a Master of Public Administration from Claremont Lincoln University. Outside of work, Jacob enjoys traveling across the United States and internationally, documenting his adventures with his camera.

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