Collaborating for Transportation Resilience and Recovery in the Portland-Vancouver Region

Presenter: Kim Ellis
Institution / Organiztion / Agency: Oregon Metro

Bio: Kim Ellis is a Principal Transportation Planner and project manager with Metro, the directly elected regional government and metropolitan planning organization for the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. Since 1996, Kim has worked as part of the team responsible for the region’s long-range transportation planning and other core MPO activities. Kim served as project manager for development of the region’s 2014 Climate Smart Strategy – which focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions through land use and transportation policies and investments to meet state targets. Adopted with broad support in 2014, the effort brought together community and business leaders, transportation officials and elected officials and jurisdictional staff from 24 cities and three counties to develop the strategy and identify local, regional and state actions needed to advance implementation. From 2015 to 2018, Kim oversaw a major update to the transportation plan for the region to further implement the Climate Smart Strategy and establish new regional policy for improving transportation for marginalized communities, freight and transit – and provide safe streets for all residents. In 2019, Kim began working partnership with the Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization (RDPO) to bring together emergency management and transportation planners from the five-county area to address transportation response and recovery from natural hazards and extreme weather events, focusing on regionally designated emergency transportation routes (ETRs). Kim holds a master’s degree in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology with a Minor in Environmental Studies from James Madison University. She is member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and an active member of the Women’s Transportation Seminar.