Workshop: Public Transport and Large Events - Public Transport Makes Large Events Possible (and Successful)

Felicia Alexander is Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation.  Before joining the Office of the Under Secretary, she served as the Associate Administrator for FTA’s Office of Planning and Environment, providing executive direction to all FTA activities relating to transit and transportation planning and environment while also leading FTA’s $4 billion Capital Investment Grants Program.

Felicia previously worked as the Program/Policy Development Team Leader and Manager in the Office of Project Development and Environmental Review at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), where she directed oversight for developing environmental policy, programs, and research funds. She also served as a Deputy Director/Division Chief with the Maryland State Highway Administration where she managed $5.4 billion of the six-year Consolidated Transportation Program and oversaw major capital and system preservation highway programs in the annual Statewide Planning and Research Program and the State Transportation Improvement Program.

Conan Cheung serves as Metro’s Chief Operations Officer. In this capacity, he is responsible for the operations and maintenance of the Metro bus and rail system, ExpressLanes, Metro Micro, bikeshare and vanpool. He also oversees capital project start up, resource and service planning, scheduling, operations ITS and highway programs. Mr. Cheung previously served as the Executive Officer of Finance and Budget and the Senior Executive Officer of Service Development, Scheduling, and Analysis. Prior to Metro, he was the Director of Planning and Scheduling with San Diego Metropolitan Transit System and also worked in the San Francisco Bay Area for various transportation planning organizations. Mr. Cheung received a Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning and Public Administration from the University of Southern California (USC), and a Master of Arts in Urban Planning from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2018, Corbett led efforts to modernize and enhance New Jersey’s mass transit system. Notable achievements during Corbett’s tenure include the implementation of Positive Train Control systems, initiating the replacement project of the century-old Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River, the introduction of NJ Transit’s first-ever electric buses, the restoration of the ranks of New Jersey’s locomotive engineers and bus operators, the creation of NJ Transit’s first-ever 5 Year Capital Plan, and winning recognition by the American Public Transportation Association as “Outstanding Public Transportation System” with 50 million or more annual passenger trips in 2023. Corbett announced his resignation from NJ Transit on December 9, effective January 15, 2025.

Previously, Corbett held leadership roles at infrastructure consulting firm AECOM, overseeing major projects including Moynihan Station Phase One, the Second Avenue Subway–Phase One and Amtrak’s Gateway Program. He also led global marine and freight operations at DMJM+Harris and other AECOM subsidiaries.

Corbett’s involvement in the transportation field includes having served on the Executive Committee of the Regional Plan Association and Co-chair of its Transportation Committee and as President of the Maritime Association of the Port of New York-New Jersey. He also currently serves as the US representative to the Executive Board of the International Association of Public Transit. Corbett is a Georgetown University graduate and former Fellow at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School. He also serves as a Blue and Gold Officer for the U.S. Naval Academy.

Elodie Hanen joined Île-de-France Mobilités as deputy general director in charge of prospective, transport planning, and infrastructure in 2017. For the last two decades, she has been involved in the design and construction of complex projects in the fields of building and transport infrastructure in France and internationally (Asia and the Middle East).

Ms. Hanen acquired Franco-American training in the field of structural engineering and architecture (Ecole Polytechnique, University of California, Berkeley, Columbia, New York).

Alok is the CEO & Managing Director of Trans-consult. He is an international expert in public transport operations and management, with specialisation in new technology, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and clean fuel technologies. With 30 years of experience in the industry, Alok has worked with an array of international consultants and leading transport operators such as MTR Corporation Hong Kong and Kowloon Motor Bus Hong Kong.

He is an international expert trainer and a Fellow of Civic Exchange, a Hong Kong-based non-profit independent think tank. He regularly teaches at the University of Hong Kong and serves as a Member of the Transport Policy Committee of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Hong Kong. He has several publications to his credit, including contribution to a book on best practice in railways operations and management.

Alok is a civil engineer and holds post-graduate degrees in transportation engineering and management.

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Alok Twitter @alokjainhk

Following 17 years with Metrovias and Benito Roggio Transporte, in Buenos Aires, Roberto Labarthe joined CCR in 2010 as Business Development Executive in the Rio de Janeiro office of the company.

He was then envolved in various projects, especially acting as Project Leader for the design and contract negotiations for the construction of the VLT Carioca, the tramway of Rio, and participated in the Salvador Metro Project in Bahia, amongst others..

Currently, in addition to continue to participate in the Business Development activities of the CCR’s Mobility Division, Labarthe is in the Board of Directors of the public transport companies of the group.

Labarthe is member of the UITP Policy Board, of the Transport Economic Comission and Vice President of the UITP Latin America division.

Lauren Nathan-LaRusso currently serves as the Co-Host City Manager and General Counsel of the New York New Jersey Host Committee for the FIFA World Cup 2026, which is responsible for delivering all aspects of the tournament with FIFA. Lauren’s professional background spans both the public and private sectors. Most recently, she served as Senior Counsel for the New Jersey Governor and oversaw various state and bi-state authorities to ensure complex project delivery and management. Her work in the state on various aspects of government services, including transportation, security, community development, and economic growth, along with her legal experience negotiating inside and outside the courtroom, has prepared her well to ensure New Jersey and the region leverage the unique opportunity and diverse benefits the FIFA World Cup brings to our community.

Graduated from the Institute of Technology of Turin and Lausanne (EPFL), Stefano developed mobility studies for prof. Bovy for the Olympics in Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Turin 2006

In 2003 he joined the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee, as specialist on urban mobility, public transport, rail services between urban and mountain clusters, and venue transport operations.

In 2006 Stefano co-founded Citec Italia, the Italian branch of our Swiss based transport and mobility engineering firm where, almost 20 years later, he still serves as the Managing Partner, as well as member of the Board of Directors and Head of the Events Department.

During his career, he worked as consultant for Organizing Committees and Host Countries on numerous transport projects of the Winter and Summer Olympic Games Biddings such as Annecy 2018 and Istanbul 2020; he produced strategic mobility assessments for Sochi 2014, FIFA World Cup 2018, while he led the Transport teams of the Ryder Cup of Paris 2018 and Rome 2023.

Since 2007 Stefano has been working as mobility and transport advisor for UEFA contributing to the following projects: UEFA Euro 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, as well as UCLF UEFA Champions League Final in Milan 2016, Kiev 2018, UELF Seville 2021 and UCELF Prague 2023. He also worked with FIFA, where he developed the Transport Bidding Requirements and the evaluation methodology to evaluate the candidatures and assign  the FIFA World Cup 2026.

From 2012 to 2015 he worked as advisor to the IOC-International Olympic Committee as member of the Evaluation Committee working group for the 2020 and 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games then assigned to Tokyo and Beijing respectfully. Stefano was also involved in the early transport planning phases of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games of Pyeongchang 2018.

In 2015 Stefano was appointed as Transport expert by the Bidding Committee for Paris 2024, to manage and develop the mobility concept, coordinating local public partners and authorities. Since 2018 he has been the director of the transport technical assistance mission of Citec to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee.

During the last part of the bidding phase of Milano-Cortina to win the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Stefano was the Bidding Committee Transport Expert. Since 2020, he has been the Head of Transport for Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026.

Jaspal Singh has 16+ years of experience in mobility, innovation, and technology space. He is currently serving as the Senior Director of Membership and Global Operations (MGO) at UITP (International Association of Public Transport). His earlier roles include serving as the Manager of the IT and Innovation Committee and as the Head of the UITP India Office.

He is also the host of Mobility Innovators Podcast. He has a 360-degree view of the sector as he has worked with the public agencies, operator, startups, and consulting firms.

He is also Principal at Valoriser Consultants, Inc. specializing in new mobility, cleantech, startups, electric mobility, and ITS. Previously, he was working with a public transit authority, reforming the urban transport system in India. In past, he also worked with Uber India’s early team to navigate the regulatory challenges and build partnerships.

He has received several awards for his contribution in the field of public transport and social work, as well as has been widely quoted in publications. He completed his Master of Management and Innovation (MMIE) at Queen’s University, Canada and received his master’s in business administration specialized in International Business.

He is actively working with startups in mobility and logistics space as an advisor, mentor, and investor. Jaspal is an avid traveller and travelled to around 55 countries around the world and counting.