THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 Page 9 MBTA | FROM Page 6 Commuter Rail, and bus systems through her successful leadership and collaboration with and across multiple MBTA departments on the same project. She has served in a number of transportation construction roles in the public sector for over 20 years. Prior to joining the MBTA, Katie worked as Chief Engineer and Director of Construction Management at the City of Boston Public Works Department where she oversaw a range of sectors including construction management, asset management, utility coordination, and resiliency initiatives. At Boston Public Works, Choe led the development of the award-winning Public Works Climate Resilient Design Standards, the StreetCaster equity-based infrastructure investment strategy, and was responsible for an annual $40 million construction program. She began her career in various roles at Massport, including as a construction project manager, Sustainability Program Manager, and Assistant Director of Capital Programs, overseeing the development of the awardwinning Sustainable Design Standards and Guidelines and responsible for the development and implementation of Massport’s fi veyear, $1 billion capital plan. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering through the Construction Management Program from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is an active member of Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) and WTS, serves on the CMAA Board of Governors, and served as Chair of the Construction Management Certification Institute Board of Governors. This year, she was honored as the WTS-Boston 2022 Woman of the Year. In addition, the MBTA has taken several other immediate steps to address these actions, including engagement with stakeholders and union groups and development of a series of Requests for Proposals (RFQs) designed to provide support for MBTA staff . The MBTA is targeting the end of the week to issue RFQs directly related to the scope of the Offi ce. With a goal of the T’s workforce fully embracing a safety-fi rst culture and adopting its practices for sustained improvement, the T’s unions and MBTA leadership, including the General Manager, began meeting at the end of last week in order to engage these groups on workforce safety communications and meetings on safety themes and issues. Also, based on the FTA’s concerns regarding the MBTA’s ability to balance larger capital projects and day-to-day maintenance, MassDOT will lead an engagement with a consultant to investigate the potential benefi ts of a multi-modal large construction unit apart from the MBTA and other agencies of MassDOT that would develop, design, construct, and deliver large capital assets to the operating agencies, relieving them from the burden of managing large capital projects while also trying to maintain day-to-day maintenance. The MBTA has already employed this type of project management with the Green Line Extension and South Coast Rail projects, as they are separate projects reporting directly to the General Manager, but this new engagement will investigate the opportunities to expand this model. Today, Governor Charlie Baker is fi ling a supplemental budget that includes $200 million for the MBTA to provide additional resources towards addressing the FTA’s safety directives and ensuring a safe, reliable transit network for its riders. The supplemental budget also includes $10 million for MassDOT, in collaboration with the MBTA, to develop a training academy to create a talent pipeline to address the staffi ng challenges at the MBTA. Over the last several months, the MBTA has continued to make progress on the FTA’s initial safety concerns through safety plans to address track conditions and maintenance, updated safety trainings and directives, and has addressed staffi ng shortages. The MBTA has met all the FTA’s deadlines and requirements to date in response to the four special directives issued. For more information, please visit mbta.com or connect with the T on Twitter @MBTA, Facebook /TheMBTA, or Instagram @ theMBTA.
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