Meet the Team

Executive Board

  • Smiling person with long dark hair, wearing a white shirt and necklace, on a white background.

    Lucy Chen

    PRESIDENT

    After attending her first Transport Chicago as a graduate student at UIC, Lucy is thrilled to grow in her involvement with the conference and serve as this year's president. Lucy thrives at the intersection of the technical and human sides of transportation planning, which she's lucky to explore both through Transport Chicago and as a project manager at HNTB. When not at the conference, you can find her gazing out a bus window, watching kpop music videos, and thinking about what to get for lunch.

  • Smiling man in a suit with a pin on jacket

    Quinn Kasal

    VICE PRESIDENT

    Like many TC regulars, transportation and Chicago happen to be two of Quinn's favorite things. He is honored to serve on the Transport Chicago board for its momentous 40th anniversary. A city native who grew up riding CTA, Quinn now works there in long-range rail system planning. Quinn is an urban planner by way of UIC and before that, the University of Miami. When not planning TC or 'L' modernizations, Quinn can be found on the lakefront, checking off another taco spot from his list, or lamenting yet another dismal Cubs or Bears season.

  • Smiling person in a blue sweater and collared shirt on a white background.

    Damian Hamielec

    TREASURER

    Although Damian works in construction tech, he is a huge fan of transportation and urban planning. His favorite part about Transport Chicago is bringing people in different phases of their careers and from different agencies together. Damian has a masters in civil engineering and smart mobility from Purdue University.

  • Smiling person with curly hair wearing a dark jacket and blue shirt against a white background.

    Em Hall, Ph.D. (she/her)

    SECRETARY

    Em is the owner of Em + H Chicago, a boutique consulting firm that’s a certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) with the Chicago Transit Authority and Women Business Enterprise (WBE) with the State of Illinois. Em is a spin instructor, yogi, and Law & Order enthusiast. On the weekends, she’s teaching her old cats new tricks.

Steering Committee

*List in formation

Dimitris Nioras - Chicago Transit Authority

Edward Bury - Urban Transportation Center at UIC

Grace Zheng - WSP

George Kandathil - Kane County DOT

Hugo Coronado - Metropolitan Planning Council

Jill Kramer - Parametrix

Kara Komp - HNTB

Lauren Mattern - Journey

Mary Buchanan - TYLin

Megan McPhilimy - STV

Michael Dunst - Cambridge Systematics

Nora Goebelbecker - Impact Partners

Quentin Shipley Mellon - Chicago Transit Authority

Sarah Grumulaitis - Arup

Sophie Blumenstein - Illinois Department of Transportation