Patterson a Panelist at National Rail~Volution Conference in Miami, MO-APA Conference in St. Louis

I’m very pleased to announce that I will serve on a panel discussion at the upcoming Rail~Volution conference in Miami FL. The panel on media tools will be on November 1st. I attended the annual conference for the first time last year and I was amazed at the quality & quantity of information.

Keynote speakers for the upcoming conference are, from the website:

Henry Cisneros, Chairman, American City Vista and City View
Henry Cisneros has an illustrious career that combines executive management in a variety of businesses, local and national government leadership positions, and numerous prestigious civic positions. He is the former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and a four-term mayor of San Antonio. In these positions Cisneros has unprecedented success in revitalizing urban areas and providing housing for urban families in all income ranges. His current ventures, American City Vista and City View, focus on building significant numbers of reasonably priced homes in the central neighborhoods of major metropolitan areas. Cisneros has been awarded more than 20 honorary doctorates from leading universities across the nation.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer, 3rd District, Oregon
Congressman Earl Blumenauer, founder of Rail~Volution, has focused most of his 34 years in public service on transportation and livable communities. He served as a state-, county-, and city-elected official in Oregon before being elected to Congress in 1996. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Blumenauer promotes livable communities, the environment, sustainable development and economic opportunity at the federal level. He currently serves on the Ways and Means Committee, the Budget Committee and the Select Committee on Global Warming and the Environment.

James S. Simpson, Administrator, Federal Transit Adminstration, Washington, DC
Mr. James S. Simpson was sworn in as the Federal Transit Administrator on August 10, 2006. Jim began his career in transportation over 30 years ago as a tractor-trailer driver for a local moving company while attending St. John’s University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in Managerial Science and Economics. He eventually bought the moving company and developed it into an international transportation business. Jim has been an airplane pilot for almost twenty years and flies both jet and multi-engine prop aircraft. He has a special interest in aviation and transportation safety.

William W. Millar, President, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, D.C.
William W. Millar is president of one of North America’s foremost organizations dedicated to the advancement of public transit. Millar became chief executive officer of APTA after 24 years in transit operations and is credited with re-energizing the national organization. Millar will bring us up to date on transit projects and will share his perspective on the future of public transit.

James F. Murley, Director, Catanese Center for Environmental and Urban Solutions, Florida Atlantic University, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Jim Murley is the leader of an organization whose mission is to: “work with policy makers and the public in their pursuit of options for managing growth while preserving natural systems, promoting a strong economy and planning livable communities.” He served as secretary of the Florida Department of Community Affairs under former governor Lawton Chiles and helped draft and gain passage of Florida’s landmark Growth Management Act. Murley also is a former leader of 1000 Friends of Florida and will provide great insight into the history and vision of our host region.

Rep Blumenauer gave a great presentation last year and I had a chance to talk briefly with him about St. Louis:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gidCOjS82mU [/youtube]

You can also read my post as a summary on the conference here. Additional posts can be found in the archives. Yesterday I had a conference call with the other panelists and the moderator, a very diverse group including transit advocates, industry consultants, a transit agency representative and the federal DOT. I will give you more details prior to the conference.

Although I have visited Florida numerous times as a kid (my older brother lived in Jacksonville while in the Navy) I have never been to Miami. I hope to do some quality blogging from the conference as well as some sight seeing and taking advantage of some of the mobile workshops on the conference schedule. Last year the host group from Miami had an excellent promotional video with the music from Will Smith’s Miami.

Following the short trip to Miami I will be back in St. Louis in time for the Missouri state conference of the American Planning Association, held this year in downtown St. Louis (more details) November 7-9. This panel will be called “Daylighting Planning Decisions” — more details to follow.