YPT SF Bay is governed by a Board of Directors who develop the organization’s mission and activities. Board meetings are generally scheduled the second Wednesday of each month. Please contact us if you would like to attend an upcoming meeting. We look forward to connecting with you!

2016-2017 YPT SF Bay Board of Directors

Lee Reis (Chair)

Lee Reis is a Transportation Planner/Engineer at Fehr & Peers, and recently completed his MS/MCP in Transportation at the University of California Berkeley. His work and research has spanned separated bike lanes, Bus Rapid Transit, parking reform, and bicycle education. He is always looking to expand his collection of transit tickets and passes.

Alex Grant (Deputy Chair) 

Alexander Grant is the Transportation Coordinator for Parkmerced, a 3,221 unit multifamily housing development in San Francisco, CA. Alex coordinates the identification,  procurement and management of transportation improvements to the property, including but not limited to: Resident Shuttle operations, Bike Share, Car Share, Transportation Survey(s), Uber/Clipper subsidies for new residents, and Parking. Alex has a BA in Planning, Public Policy and Management from the University of Oregon and early career experience in traffic demand modeling.

Sierra Laventure-Volz (Admin) 

Sierra Laventure-Volz is an associate consultant with WSP|Parsons Brinckerhoff’s US Advisory Services, where she assists clients financially and strategically plan and implement transportation and other infrastructure projects. Currently, Sierra spends most of her time working on the California High Speed Rail project, focused on strategic initiatives and special projects. With a background in community and economic development, Sierra graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a Masters in Public Policy and Management in the spring of 2016 and is a recent transplant to the Bay Area from Pittsburgh, PA.

Erin McAuliff (Finance) 

Erin McAuliff is a Transportation and Mobility Planner at Marin Transit, managing the agency’s Marin Access programs for seniors and people with disabilities. She has also worked on creating livable transportation policies for people of all ages and abilities in her past roles at SPUR, the Coalition for Smarter Growth, and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Erin received her BA in Sociology from George Washington University and her Master’s in Urban Planning from Hunter College, City University of New York.

Mike Pickford (Membership)

Mike Pickford is a Transportation Planner with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, primarily working on transportation project funding. Previously, as a planner for Caltrans in San Diego, he administered planning grants and looked out for bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit riders during project development. He has also researched affordable housing issues for the Seattle Planning Commission and mapped crimes for the Providence, RI police department. Mike has a Master of Urban Planning and Urban Design Certificate from University of Washington and a bachelor’s in Urban Studies from Brown University.

Sarah Syed (Communications)

Sarah Syed is Principal and Founder of Sage Vista, a planning and engineering firm whose clients include local governments and start ups. Sarah previously served as a Senior Transportation Planner for the City of Palo Alto, advancing low-stress bikeways and safe routes to schools. As Design Manager at Santa Clara VTA, Sarah delivered a $100 million investment in light rail efficiency projects to prepare for BART to Silicon Valley. At BART, Sarah built high-density bike parking facilities and led research to support parking fees to generate over $10 million annually. Sarah completed dual master’s degrees at the University of California Berkeley in City and Regional Planning and Transportation Engineering.

Yosef Yip (Programs)

Yosef Yip currently works under the Communications and Public Involvement Practice at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff. Yosef received his Masters in Urban Design from City College of New York and a Bachelor in Environmental Studies, School of Planning at University of Waterloo. His transportation experience varies in scale – from streetscape planning with NYC DOT to large-scale transportation projects like California High-Speed Rail.

Shayda Haghgoo (Special Programs)

Shayda Haghgoo was born and raised in southern California. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Geography/Environmental Studies from UCLA. Shortly after, Shayda got a job in the Bay Area as a Data Analyst for 511 Transit. She spent the last two years living in Philadelphia and graduated from UPenn in May 2016 with a Master’s in City and Regional Planning and a certificate in Geographical Information Systems and Spatial Analysis. She is now working in Livable Streets at SFMTA.

Arielle Fleisher (Programs)

Arielle Fleisher is a Transportation Policy Associate with SPUR. Previously, she worked at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, where she managed a number of bicycle and pedestrian safety education programs in support of the city’s Vision Zero policy. Her primary interest area is the relationship between health and the built environment, specifically how transportation can improve health outcomes. Arielle earned a master’s degree in urban planning and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Michigan. She has a bachelors degree in history from UC Davis.

Albert Lin (Sponsorship)

Albert Lin is a Performance Analyst in the City Performance Unit at the San Francisco Controller’s Office. In that capacity, he serves as an internal management consultant for the city, focusing on performance benchmarking and process improvement for a variety of city operations. Previously, he worked at the SF Planning Department, coordinating citywide and district-scale sustainability efforts. His experiences in the urban policy world has taken him across sectors and across the country, from working at SPUR to working on open data initiatives for the City of Pittsburgh. Albert has an MS in Public Policy and Management with a focus in Data Analytics from Carnegie Mellon and a BA in Political Economy from the University of California Berkeley.

Past Chair - William Bacon

William (Bill) Bacon is a Policy and Financial Analyst for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. At MTC Bill is responsible for managing a $500+ million program of transit operating funds for the Bay Area. His work at MTC also focuses on financial planning for the region’s future transportation infrastructure needs as a part of the region’s long range plan, Plan Bay Area 2040. Bill has a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and a MS in Urban Economics with a focus on transportation finance from the London School of Economics (LSE) where his master’s thesis focused on local government driven public-private partnerships as a delivery method for transit infrastructure projects.

YPT SF Bay Board of Advisors

YPT SF Bay’s Board of Advisors helps guide our organization’s continued growth and direction. The Board consists of individuals from the local transportation industry who have portrayed exemplary leadership and dedication towards the cultivation of transportation professionals. 

Alicia John-Baptiste | Deputy Director, Spur

Matthew Henry | President and CEO, Fehr & Peers

Alix Bockelman | Deputy Executive Director, Policy, Metropolitan Transportation Commission

For general information or inquiries, please email us.

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