North Texas Tollway Authority
Boardroom
5900 West Plano Parkway
Plano, Texas 75093
Join the Dallas/Fort Worth Chapters of WTS and ASHE for the latest on driverless cars. Our panel consists of the following industry leaders and will be moderated by Natalie Bettger:
Natalie Bettger is a Senior Program Manager for the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG). The North Central Texas Council of Governments serves the region as its Metropolitan Planning Organization by developing transportation plans and programs that address the complex needs of the rapidly growing Dallas-Fort Worth area. Natalie serves as the manager of the Congestion Management, Safety, Security, and Information Systems program areas for NCTCOG. She earned her undergraduate degree in Geography from Northwest Missouri State University, and a graduate degree in Urban Planning from the University of Akron.
Jim Barbaresso is Vice President and National Practice Leader for Intelligent Transportation Systems at HNTB Corporation. He has more than 37 years of experience in transportation planning, traffic operations, and ITS in both the public and private sectors. Throughout his career, Jim has demonstrated leadership in the development of emerging technologies, transportation safety, ITS deployment, and new concepts in transportation financing. In recognition of Jim’s international reputation and leadership in Intelligent Trans
portation Systems, he was selected to chair the 2014 ITS World Congress, which was a springboard for new developments in vehicle connectivity and automation.
Jennie Ecclestone has served as the Manager, Arlington Assembly and Western Regional Communications since December of 2014 based in Dallas, Texas. Prior to this role, Jennie supported the external communications manager for the global engineering, cybersecurity and safety teams at GM’s headquarters in Detroit, Mich.
In her current position, Jennie leads internal and external communications efforts for GM’s most financially significant assembly plant, Arlington Assembly. She also serves as an extension of the West Coast Regional Communications team acting as a brand advocate for regional auto shows, managing regional media relations and vehicle fleets and creating innovative grassroots programming.
Dr. Christopher Poe is the Assistant Director at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute for Connected and Automated Transportation Strategy. In his current position, he is leading connected and automated vehicle, intelligent transportation system, transportation operations, and toll road research projects for a number of sponsors nationally. Dr. Poe is currently involved in the I-35 Connected Work Zone deployment, eco-signal operation, and truck platooning research. Prior to his current position, Dr. Poe spent six years in the private sector leading ITS projects in the Central U.S. Region.
Dr. Jianming Ma is a Transportation Engineer with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Prior to joining TxDOT, he worked as a Transportation Safety Engineer for the District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT). Dr. Ma has more than twenty years of professional and research experience in connected vehicle, econometric modeling, human factors, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), systems engineering, traffic engineering, and traffic safety. Dr. Ma is a member of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Safety Data, Analysis and Evaluation, ANB20 and SAE DSRC Technical Committee. He also sits on TRB’s Traffic Speed and Safety – Cross-cutting Issues Joint Subcommittee (ANB20-5) and TRB Active Traffic Management Joint Subcommittee (AHB20-5). He is a friend of TRB’s Freeway Operations Committee (AHB20).