Conference
Erin Sisson
Deputy Chief Engineer | Vermont Agency of Transportation
Erin Sisson, the Deputy Chief Engineer at the Vermont Agency of Transportation, is a lifelong Vermont resident and an alumna of the University of Vermont, where she earned her civil engineering degree. Erin has dedicated over 14 years to engineering in both private consulting and public service, where her expertise has focused on safety for all users of the transportation system. She’s passionate about protecting vulnerable users of the network, encouraging good driver behavior, and most of all, ensuring appropriate engineering designs for our infrastructure to accommodate every age and every ability of those using it. Her role at the Agency allows her to collaborate with partners across the state who are similarly working to advance safe systems throughout all aspects of a safer transportation network. Beyond her professional commitment to safety, Erin’s personal hobbies of skiing and mountain biking encourage her to have safety at the forefront of everyday life.
Lt. Thomas “TJ” Howard
Vermont State Police
Lieutenant Thomas “TJ” Howard came to Vermont in 2009 to study at the University of Vermont, where he majored in physics and minored in mathematics. In 2013, Lt. Howard graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree of science. From there he worked for several years in Maryland as a defense contractor before returning to Vermont in January 2015.
He graduated from the Vermont Police Academy in May 2015 and was assigned as a Trooper to the Williston Barracks. He joined the Vermont State Police Crash Reconstruction team in 2016 and became accredited as a crash reconstructionist by the Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstructionist in November 2018. In March 2019, Lt. Howard began working full-time as a crash reconstructionist with the Vermont State Police Crash Reconstruction Team and was promoted to Sergeant in his unit in September 2020. In 2024, TJ was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and assigned as the Station Commander at the Berlin Barracks.
Lt. Howard has received an accommodation for his work in traffic safety from the Vermont State Police in 2017 and received a Vermont Highway Safety Award in 2020. He instructed the Basic Collision Investigation course at the Vermont Police Academy for five years and received their instructor’s award in 2021. Highway safety and promoting safe driving has been an integral part of his daily work and a focal point of his career at the Vermont State Police.
Lt. Thomas “TJ” Howard
Vermont State Police
Lieutenant Thomas “TJ” Howard came to Vermont in 2009 to study at the University of Vermont, where he majored in physics and minored in mathematics. In 2013, Lt. Howard graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree of science. From there he worked for several years in Maryland as a defense contractor before returning to Vermont in January 2015.
He graduated from the Vermont Police Academy in May 2015 and was assigned as a Trooper to the Williston Barracks. He joined the Vermont State Police Crash Reconstruction team in 2016 and became accredited as a crash reconstructionist by the Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstructionist in November 2018. In March 2019, Lt. Howard began working full-time as a crash reconstructionist with the Vermont State Police Crash Reconstruction Team and was promoted to Sergeant in his unit in September 2020. In 2024, TJ was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and assigned as the Station Commander at the Berlin Barracks.
Lt. Howard has received an accommodation for his work in traffic safety from the Vermont State Police in 2017 and received a Vermont Highway Safety Award in 2020. He instructed the Basic Collision Investigation course at the Vermont Police Academy for five years and received their instructor’s award in 2021. Highway safety and promoting safe driving has been an integral part of his daily work and a focal point of his career at the Vermont State Police.
Trooper Ben Gardner
Retired | Kansas Highway Patrol
Trooper Ben Gardner is a former Kansas Highway Patrol trooper with 26 years of service dedicated to public safety, traffic safety education, and community connection. Throughout his career, he worked on the roadway and with the public during moments when focus, decision-making, and awareness were critical.
Known simply as Trooper Ben, he became widely recognized for his ability to communicate important safety messages with empathy, clarity, and respect. His work in traffic safety outreach and education has reached thousands through presentations, media engagement, and storytelling that resonates beyond the uniform.
Through his Go and Grow keynote, Trooper Ben reminds audiences that growth is always possible. It’s not where someone starts in life, but how far they are willing to grow. Grow in awareness. Grow in helping others. Grow in making choices that help keep people safer on the roadway and in everyday life. His message leaves audiences motivated to learn, reflect, and apply what they gain to help strengthen their communities.
Jay Otto
Managing Partner | Banyan Collaborative
As a managing partner at Banyan Collaborative, Jay Otto brings a unique blend of engineering discipline and behavioral science expertise to navigate complex challenges. He specializes in helping communities and organizations create lasting, positive change by understanding how mindsets and systems shape our actions. His approach is rooted in decades of research, providing a structured, evidence-based roadmap for clients facing adaptive challenges. Jay’s work is driven by a passion for fostering healthier, safer communities. When he’s not immersed in collaboration, you can find Jay in the rural countryside of Vermont, slowly honing his woodworking skills.
Jay Otto
Managing Partner | Banyan Collaborative
As a managing partner at Banyan Collaborative, Jay Otto brings a unique blend of engineering discipline and behavioral science expertise to navigate complex challenges. He specializes in helping communities and organizations create lasting, positive change by understanding how mindsets and systems shape our actions. His approach is rooted in decades of research, providing a structured, evidence-based roadmap for clients facing adaptive challenges. Jay’s work is driven by a passion for fostering healthier, safer communities. When he’s not immersed in collaboration, you can find Jay in the rural countryside of Vermont, slowly honing his woodworking skills.
Steve Emt
Steve Emt knows what it takes to overcome adversity. He had it all; the popular kid in school, the star athlete…he was invincible. Or so he thought. At the age of 25, his life took a dramatic turn when a drunk driving crash changed him forever. After hours of surgery and days in a coma, he woke up to learn that he was paralyzed from the waist down and would never walk again. Confined to a wheelchair, Steve was faced with the challenge of learning how to live again.
He was also faced with a decision. Lose the battle to his disability. Or accept what had happened and realize that he needed to lead a life of educating and impacting others. He chose the latter…nothing was going to hold him back.
After 17 years of experimenting with many different adaptive sports, Steve was introduced to the sport of curling. He not only fell in love with the sport but also realized that his dream of being an Olympian may still be attainable. Through hard work, commitment, and dedication, Steve earned a position on Team USA in the Winter of 2014 and has remained with the team ever since. To date, Steve is a 10-time U.S. National Champion, has competed in 7 World Championships and two Paralympic Games.
Steve has overcome many obstacles in his life, including his accident, the death of both of his parents, and other setbacks, by finishing college, earning his teaching and coaching degrees, and representing his country as a Paralympian.
He has spent the last 29 years educating, coaching, mentoring, and delivering his presentation to groups of all ages, empowering people to believe in themselves and become the hero of their own lives. He is now an accomplished public speaker, sharing his formula for success and empowering people to believe in themselves and become the hero of their own lives.
Mandy Shatney
Data & Analysis Section Manager | Vermont Agency of Transportation
Mandy Shatney is the manager of the Data & Analysis Section within the Operations & Safety Bureau at the Vermont Agency of Transportation. The Data & Analysis Section stewards two foundational safety datasets, crash data and traffic data. In addition to these, her section also reports fatality data to the FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System) program. Mandy has been with the crash program since 1999, adding the FARS program in 2010 and then the traffic program in 2019. She has worked closely with law enforcement over the years to ultimately achieve 100% electronic reporting, improving the accuracy, timeliness and uniformity of the crash data. Mandy has built a team of talented data analysts that have worked to improve and modernize the three programs over the past five years. Mandy has served as the Chair of the Traffic Records Coordinating Committee for the last 10 years, ensuring traffic records are always being improved and more recently looking to integrate systems for better analysis. During her 26 years in the safety field, Mandy has developed many connections, strengthening relationships with other agencies and stakeholders along the way. She values her work in this field and feels blessed to be a part of these efforts. Mandy, with the help of her team, continues to present valuable information that ultimately will make Vermont’s roads safer.
Mandy Shatney
Data & Analysis Section Manager | Vermont Agency of Transportation
Mandy Shatney is the manager of the Data & Analysis Section within the Operations & Safety Bureau at the Vermont Agency of Transportation. The Data & Analysis Section stewards two foundational safety datasets, crash data and traffic data. In addition to these, her section also reports fatality data to the FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System) program. Mandy has been with the crash program since 1999, adding the FARS program in 2010 and then the traffic program in 2019. She has worked closely with law enforcement over the years to ultimately achieve 100% electronic reporting, improving the accuracy, timeliness and uniformity of the crash data. Mandy has built a team of talented data analysts that have worked to improve and modernize the three programs over the past five years. Mandy has served as the Chair of the Traffic Records Coordinating Committee for the last 10 years, ensuring traffic records are always being improved and more recently looking to integrate systems for better analysis. During her 26 years in the safety field, Mandy has developed many connections, strengthening relationships with other agencies and stakeholders along the way. She values her work in this field and feels blessed to be a part of these efforts. Mandy, with the help of her team, continues to present valuable information that ultimately will make Vermont’s roads safer.
Taylor Sisson, PE
Project Manager | Vermont Agency of Transportation
Taylor Sisson is a Project Manager in the Traffic Design Unit at the Vermont Agency of Transportation. Taylor grew up in Underhill, Vermont and earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of Vermont, building a solid foundation for a career dedicated to public service. For the past 14 years, Taylor has worked for the Agency, including five years as an engineer improving intersections and one year in traffic signal operations helping to manage Agency-owned traffic signals. Over the past eight years, Taylor has served as a project manager leading intersection improvement projects focused on enhancing safety and accessibility for all users. Taylor’s work centers on delivering thoughtful, practical transportation solutions that strengthen communities across the state. In his free time, Taylor enjoys being active and outside, using Vermont’s transportation network to go biking, running, or skiing.
Jesse Devlin, PE
Safe System Manager | Vermont Agency of Transportation
Jesse Devlin currently serves as the Safe System Manager within the Operations and Safety Bureau at the Vermont Agency of Transportation. Jesse graduated with a degree in civil engineering from the University of Vermont and began working for the Vermont Agency of Transportation in 2003. Jesse has spent the majority of his 23-year career as an engineer, project manager, and program manager on highway improvement projects designed to improve safety and mobility and to improve or maintain roadway assets. Over the past two years, Jesse has served as the manager of the Safe System team, a group of professionals working to improve the safety of all users of our transportation network by implementing infrastructure improvement projects as well as projects to influence and change behavior.
Jesse Devlin, PE
Safe System Manager | Vermont Agency of Transportation
Jesse Devlin currently serves as the Safe System Manager within the Operations and Safety Bureau at the Vermont Agency of Transportation. Jesse graduated with a degree in civil engineering from the University of Vermont and began working for the Vermont Agency of Transportation in 2003. Jesse has spent the majority of his 23-year career as an engineer, project manager, and program manager on highway improvement projects designed to improve safety and mobility and to improve or maintain roadway assets. Over the past two years, Jesse has served as the manager of the Safe System team, a group of professionals working to improve the safety of all users of our transportation network by implementing infrastructure improvement projects as well as projects to influence and change behavior.
Rick Birt
Vice President, Government Operations & Safety | Bus Patrol
Rick Birt is the Vice President of Government Operations & Safety for BusPatrol. In this role, he partners with school districts, law enforcement, community organizations, and government agencies to design and deliver evidence-based safety programs that protect students on their journey to and from school. Through disciplined program management and intentional community engagement, Rick and his team build and sustain public trust in automated stop-arm enforcement — a proven countermeasure that changes driver behavior and reduces illegal passes of stopped school buses.
Before joining BusPatrol, Rick served as Director of the Washington, DC Highway Safety Office (HSO), where as the Mayor’s appointee he was responsible for mobility safety citywide. He led the development and implementation of data-driven, evidence-informed countermeasures to protect all roadway users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists, and helped align enforcement, engineering, and education strategies to advance the District’s safety goals.
A lifelong advocate for traffic safety, Rick previously was President & CEO of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), a national youth prevention and activism organization focused on mobility safety, substance use, personal health and safety, and leadership development. During his tenure, he authored multiple publications for teen drivers and caring adults on roadway safety and continues to be a sought-after media commentator on emerging issues in traffic safety and youth risk behavior.
Rick also brings a deep understanding of K–12 education and governance. He remains the youngest person elected to a School District Board of Education, serving seven years on the Northwestern Local School Board in Ohio, including as Board President and Vice President. In these roles, he helped oversee a district-wide school construction program, led collective-bargaining negotiations, and co-led the search for a new Superintendent and Chief Executive Officer. He retains his membership in the National School Boards Association and holds the distinction of Master Board Member from the Ohio School Boards Association.
Rick holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Urban Studies from Wittenberg University and a master’s degree in Public Administration from The Ohio State University. Outside of work, he volunteers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and enjoys exploring the city with his family pup, Phoenix. He and his wife are proud and active residents of Washington, DC.