November 18, 2020

Description

This first stop in the MCOTA volunteer driver virtual forum series, Minnesota’s Road to Volunteer Drivers, addressed the state of volunteer drivers in Minnesota and the vision and goals of the series. Upcoming forum speakers invited participant questions and comments to guide the content of their presentations.

Forum Materials

Speakers

Tom Gottfried (moderator) is executive director of the Minnesota Council on Transportation Access (MCOTA) and program director for Mobility Management with the MnDOT Office of Transit and Active Transportation (OTAT). Tom has more than 40 years of transportation and transit experience from operations to management. Tom is a Metro State University graduate in business administration and has a masters in business management from the University of St. Thomas. Tom’s 30 years of experience with MnDOT OTAT has ranged from grant specialist, program administrator to supervisor to manager, and to his current role with MCOTA.

Suzanne Sobotka is a policy advisor for in the Office of Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan. In this role, she serves as a primary connection for the Governor’s Office to legislators and advocacy groups on transportation and environment issues. Prior to joining the Walz-Flanagan administration, she worked for six years at the Minnesota Senate, serving in multiple roles pertaining to the Transportation Committee. Suzanne also has worked as a health writer on cardiovascular health issues at Mayo Clinic. She holds a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology, and a Master of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota. Suzanne is a MCOTA council member.

John Doan, P.E., is co-founder and CEO of Mobility 4 All, the personalized ride service for seniors and people with disabilities. As a public sector entrepreneur, John is dedicated to ensuring that autonomous vehicles, mobility as a service, and shared-use mobility are accessible, equitable, and affordable for all people. John honorably served as a Civil Engineer Corps officer in the US Navy, an engineer at MnDOT and Hennepin County, and vice president for a national consulting firm. He graduated from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government with a focus on housing, transportation, and urban development. John was an appointed member to the Metropolitan Council and currently serves on the Minnesota Board on Aging, which he represents as a council member with MCOTA.

Professional Development Hours

To the best of our knowledge, this event meets the continuing education requirements for 1.0 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) credit. If you participated in this virtual forum and would like to request a PDH form, please email kkirk@umn.edu. We will email the form.

More Information

Please contact Kaydee Kirk at 612-626-5854 or kkirk@umn.edu with any questions.

Sponsors

Sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), the Minnesota Council on Transportation Access (MCOTA) in partnership with the Minnesota Volunteer Driver Coalition.