Kathleen Rooney
Director of Transportation Policy and Programs
Ulupono Initiative
Katie is Ulupono Initiative’s lead on transportation-related policy and programs in advancement of cleaner, multi-modal transportation in Hawai‘i and reducing our dependency on cars. Her current projects include rightsizing parking policies and helping expand immediate transportation choices and access to those choices.
She brings 15 years of national experience in the transportation and planning, combining both to advance community visions and goals in many diverse communities across the nation. For example, using a combination of analytics and storytelling, she helped two West Virginia towns strategize around health, leading to two trail program implementation grants. She also helped to conceptualize a resiliency center in Washington State, operationalize multimodal accessibility metrics in Florida, and develop a statewide transportation demand management framework for New York State.
Prior to joining the Ulupono team, Katie served as a project manager of Renaissance Planning in Orlando, Florida, and as a senior manager at ICF International in Washington D.C.
Katie holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Tulane University in New Orleans.