Public policy and urban planning professional
Hello! I’m Sonja, a public policy and urban planning professional with more than ten years of experience developing and implementing large capital infrastructure programs at the city and state level. In my current role, I specialize in pursuing outside funding sources to maximize the resources available to the MBTA.
Senior Manager of Capital Program Planning, Sources Group Lead, April 2021-Present
In my current role in the Capital Program Planning group at the MBTA, I lead the development of strategy for Federal discretionary grants and other outside sources. I created a team to manage the agency’s grant application development, which increased MBTA’s access to funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and build out a pipeline of capital projects for recurring grant programs. This new strategy and improved applications produced more than $170 million in grant awards to date. We also have $1+ billion in applications pending decisions by the Federal government, and several applications in active development.
I also support the annual update of the MBTA’s approximately $9.5 billion five year capital plan by developing decision support tools for leadership. This prioritization process resulted in a fiscal year 2023-2027 capital investment plan that made significant investments in bus electrification, accessibility upgrades for stations, needed major bridge replacements, and other state of good repair work.
Manager of Capital Program Planning, January 2019-April 2021
In my prior role in the Capital Program Planning group, I led implementation of the 5-year approximately $9 billion Capital Investment Plan (CIP). I worked closely with other capital finance groups and department heads to support decision-making by senior leadership around acceleration of the capital program, addressing new needs arising mid-year, and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. I managed a group of three analysts to support CIP development.
Project Manager, Fare Transformation, June 2017-December 2018
The Fare Transformation project office at the MBTA manages the design, development, and implementation of a $700+ million public private partnership to replace the current fare collection system with modern technology (hardware and software). The new model will improve service by reducing “dwell time” at stops and will have the functionality to support significantly more complex fare types, such as means-tested fares.
I held several project manager roles in this team. As Project Manager for Policy Implementation, I lead the process of translating system functionality into fare policy in the new fare collection system, acted as liaison between the AFC2 Project Office and outreach and policy leads. I represented the project to local governments and regional planning bodies, and managed the development of an approach to data privacy and security in the new fare collection system.
As Interim Project Manager for Construction, I lead an extensive design review process on installation plans along with a team of expert consultants, and coordinated a group of diverse stakeholders within the MBTA and MassDOT on issues relating to installation of fare collection equipment, including installation schedule, constructability, and accessibility.
As Project Manager for Contracts and Finance, I participated in the procurement process that resulted in the $700+ million public-private partnership with MBTA, Cubic Transportation Systems, and John Laing and coordinated with financial advisors to develop the internal financial model for this program.
Master’s thesis, “Buyouts as Resiliency Planning in New York City After Hurricane Sandy,” referenced in the 2019 IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, Chp. 6 Extremes, Abrupt Changes, and Managing Risk.
While at NYCDOT, I was tasked with managing the budgets and shepherding implementation of PlaNYC, the City’s sustainability plan. All of my work in transportation and public transit in particular is informed by sustainability goals.
LEED Green Associate certified, 2011-2016.
Course work at the graduate and undergraduate level on environmental policy, environmental planning, green building technology, and green infrastructure.
I’m interested in exploring my next career move in transportation, city governance, or green energy. Please reach out if you think my experience, education, and perspective is a good fit for your organization.
Email: sonjakbw@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonjakbw/
