2025 Transportation Summit
Burlington, Vermont
Join us for the 4th annual Transportation Summit on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 at the beautiful UVM Davis Center in Burlington, Vermont
Tuesday 14 Oct 2025
Registration Open
Registration opens at 8:00am and continues throughout the day.
8:00 am – 9:00 am
Breakfast, Networking & Exhibits
Join us for breakfast located in the Silver Maple Ballroom, catch up with colleagues, make new connections and visit our Exhibitors located in the Fireplace Lounge.
9:00 am – 9:15 am
Welcome Remarks
Silver Maple Ballroom
Greetings by CATMA Board of Directors and Sandy Thibault, Executive Director of CATMA
9:15 am – 10:00 am
Keynote Address
Mirna ValerioSilver Maple Ballroom
We’re thrilled to welcome Mirna Valerio—ultramarathoner, cyclist, skier, author, and DEI leader—as our keynote speaker. Known as The Mirnavator, she brings powerful insights on resilience, equity, and the joy of movement.
10:00 am – 10:15 am
Break, Networking & Exhibits
10:15 am – 11:00 am
Morning General Session
Panel of Vermont ExpertsSilver Maple Ballroom
We Can Get There from Here: The intersection of transportation, housing, and population growth. Stay tuned
Panelist will connect transportation innovation with housing and economic vitality. Moderated by Catherine Dimitruk, Executive Director of the Northwest Regional Planning Commission
Alex Farrell, Commissioner of Housing and Community Development, State of Vermont
Kevin Chu, Executive Director, The Vermont Futures Project
Matthew Arancio, Regional Planning Manager, State of Vermont Agency of Transportation
Taylor Newton, Planning Program Director, Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission
11:00 am – 11:15 am
Break, Networking & Exhibits
11:15 am – 12:00 pm
Morning Breakout Session 1
Choose from four presentations. Each presentation is 45 minutes.
A 360 Approach to Implementing Transportation Demand Management (TDM)
Bryan Davis and Nick AthertonJost Room
The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) is finalizing a Regional Transportation Options Plan with recommendations on how TDM can help meet long-range transportation and climate goals. This session will take a closer look at the “why and how” of those recommendations and describe South Burlington’s wrap-around approach to implementing TDM to achieve the City’s goals and outcomes. Learn how your community or business can take a similar approach to see tangible benefits.
Employer Assisted Housing: A catalyst for connected communities
Chad SimmonsSugar Maple Ballroom
Employers have a long history in Vermont of meeting the housing needs of a community. This workshop will explore recent trends and future opportunities for employers to be a catalyst for housing security. Vermont Housing Finance Agency staff will share key findings from an updated version of the Employer Assisted Housing Resource Guide, including case studies, transportation considerations and emerging trends to unlock new resources.
Expanding Capacity for Transit Services – The Vermont Way
Ross MacDonaldChittenden Room
To review the critical capacity volunteer drivers provide to the Medicaid and Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities programs. Highlight the $600K funds provided from the legislature to expand program in the 2025 transportation bill. Cite related efforts and request help to amplify
Transportation Systems to Support Food Access, Housing and Economic Opportunity
Peggy O’Neill-VivancoWilliams Room
Reliable public transportation is essential for housing stability, food access, and local economic opportunity. In Vermont, gaps in service, aging fleets, and unstable funding make daily life harder—especially for residents already facing high housing costs and limited resources.
Through U.S. Department of Energy–funded outreach in the Champlain Valley, we heard how Vermonters often spend hours navigating disconnected transit systems just to access food, frequently combining grocery or food shelf trips with commutes. Misaligned transportation and food systems add significant daily burdens.
This session will explore how a more resilient, sustainable transit network can improve housing, food access, and economic opportunity while advancing climate goals. Panelists will discuss:
- Co-locating charitable food distribution with transit routes and grocery stores
- Innovative ways to connect people and food
- Aligning transit routes with housing corridors
- Promoting transit equity for low-income and transit-dependent Vermonters
12:00 pm – 12:15 pm
Break, Networking & Exhibits
12:15 pm – 1:00 pm
Lunch & Networking
Silver Maple Ballroom
Join us in the Sugar Maple Ballroom for a delicious catered lunch from our partners at Sodexo. Be sure to take the break you need before afternoon sessions begin at 1pm.
1:00 pm – 1:15 pm
Break, Networking & Exhibits
1:15 pm – 2:00 pm
Facilitated Interactive Activity
Mapping Vermont’s Transportation Future: A Collective Design Jam
Peter Plumeau and Michelle HobbsSilver Maple Ballroom
How might we turn today’s insights into meaningful connections and next steps? Join us for a high-energy, interactive session that sparks new connections and fresh ideas for Vermont’s transportation future. This session, brought to you by Reframe Lab, is designed to shatter the post-lunch slump and ignite energy, connection, and optimism. It’s a moment to harvest fresh ideas and relationship-building to help you power through the afternoon.
2:00 pm – 2:15 pm
Break, Networking & Exhibits
2:15 pm – 2:45 pm
Afternoon Breakout Session 2
Choose from four presentations. Each presentation is 30 minutes.
Bikes for All!
Sarah Camille WilsonWilliams Room
Old Spokes Home (OSH) is a nonprofit bike shop in Burlington’s Old North End. Our mission is to transform lives and communities by increasing access to bikes.
Our Everybody Bikes (EB) program is the largest way that we deliver our nonprofit mission through our retail shop. Through EB, we reduce barriers to affordable, active transportation and help our low-income neighbors access the agency and mobility the bicycle provides.
Integrating Multimodal Transportation into Vermont’s Evolving Housing & Land Use Framework
Kati GallagherSugar Maple Ballroom
Vermont’s 2024 Act 181 updates land use planning to support housing and economic growth in downtowns and villages. This session explores how integrating transit, biking, and walking can reduce car dependence, offering strategies and opportunities for state and local action to create connected, multimodal communities.
Rethinking Rural Mobility: When the Best Transportation Is Prevention
Caleb Grant and Nicole GrattonChittenden Room
Imagine villages where proximity is power—intentionally planned so people can live, work, and connect without leaving their neighborhood.
In this joint presentation, Rural Community Transportation and the Preservation Trust of Vermont show how integrating housing, services, and social spaces into vibrant community hubs can reduce transit dependence by design. Using real Vermont examples, they’ll explore how aligning transportation planning with historic preservation and smart growth creates healthier, more connected, and more resilient rural communities. Sometimes, the best transportation solution isn’t a vehicle—it’s a vision.
Trends and Opportunities in Smart Growth: Burlington and Beyond
Jason Schrieber, Stantec’s Urban Places and Gummi Jonsson, City of BurlingtonJost Room
At many new development opportunities such as in the city’s South End, the City of Burlington is advancing smarter zoning incentives, new mobility approaches, smart parking opportunities, and new measures to reduce driving demand so that badly needed housing and economic activity does not negatively impact neighborhood vitality while fostering sustainable land use. Local and national best practices and their applicability to upcoming development will be presented and discussed.
2:45 pm – 3:00 pm
Break, Networking & Exhibits
3:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Afternoon Breakout Session 3
Choose from four presentations. Each presentation is 30 minutes.
Charged Debate: Battery Safety, Regulatory Reactions, and the Cost to Local Housing Goals
Jack EvansJost Room
An overview of the risks that micro mobility batteries are posing, and the major regulatory reactions in places like New York, San Francisco, London, Paris, and within Chittenden County. Looks at the causes of these fires, how governments are responding, the costs those regulations are imposing on new housing, and what all of that looks like in the context of Chittenden County’s housing goals.
Connecting Public Transit with Third Party Programs to plug gaps and increase capacity
Jordan PosnerChittenden Room
In Vermont, public transit and school transportation often operate in silos due to federal vehicle rules. Yet, with school consolidations, budget pressures, and rising property taxes, collaboration can cut costs, expand capacity, and fill service gaps. Public transit providers can invest in vehicles, offer competitive services to supervisory unions, and strengthen both community access and their own operational sustainability.
Hypertherm Associates Commuting Benefits/ Vanpool Program Overview
Jamie GreenSugar Maple Ballroom
In line with Hypertherm’s commitment to sustainability, employee well-being, and talent attraction, we offer commuting benefits that cut carbon emissions and support affordable travel. These include reimbursements for carpooling, public transit, walking, and biking, plus a vanpool from Claremont, NH for 1st and 3rd shifts.
This presentation will share our sustainable commuting journey, its positive business and workforce impacts, and the challenges and solutions we’ve found—offering ideas for organizations pursuing similar efforts.
Urban Geometry and the Case for a Low-Car Future
Chris YuenWilliams Room
Walking, cycling, and transit are key to climate and health goals, yet low-car planning often faces cultural and political pushback. This presentation challenges the idea that cities can grow while staying car-centric, highlighting the space constraints that make cars—autonomous or not—unsustainable at scale.
Focusing on transit-oriented development, including Essex Junction’s Master Plan, it shows how aligning growth with frequent transit can reduce car dependence and make low-car living practical.
3:30 pm – 3:45 pm
Break, Networking & Exhibits
3:45 pm – 4:15 pm
Afternoon Legislative Panel
State of Vermont LegislatorsSilver Maple Ballroom
We close out the day with a group of Vermont legislators. Hear their perspectives on transportation and our Summit.
Moderated by Austin Davis, Director of Government Affairs, Lake Champlain Chamber
Panelists on Main Stage
Kesha Ram Hinsdale, State Senator, Chittenden-Southeast District
Tom Renner, Congressional Staffer, US Representative Becca Balint
Patrick Brennan, State Senator, Grand Isle District
4:15 pm – 4:30 pm
Closing Remarks
Silver Maple Ballroom
Thank you for a great day! Sandy Thibault, CATMA Executive Director closes out day.
Save the Date for 2026 Transportation Summit
UVM Transportation Research Center (TRC) Student-led Research
The poster session, located in the Silver Maple Ballroom all day, will profile student-led research from the UVM Transportation Research Center (TRC). Posters highlight findings from the TRC’s policy-oriented research on building sustainable and equitable transportation systems in the Vermont context.
