Public Policy Summit and Education Forum

The ACT Public Policy Summit & Education Forum (formerly the ACT Legislative Summit) is an opportunity to learn how to benefit from public policy, shape those policies, and have a voice.

During the ACT Public Policy Summit & Education Forum you will:

• Learn about Federal programs and how to access those programs
• Discuss the policies ACT is working on and how they impact you
• Meet with agency leaders to discuss how those agencies can better serve our industry and your needs
• Educate your members of Congress and their staff on our industry and the issues we support
• For more details on this professional development opportunity, visit actweb.org

ACT will arrange all Congressional and agency meetings. You simply need to register today. 

Questions? Contact ACT Government Affairs Director Jason Pavluchuk (Pavluchuk@actweb.org; 202-285-6414). To view a complete schedule of events, please visit actweb.org. 

Call for Speakers Set to Open

The 2015 ACT International Conference call for speakers will hit your email inbox shortly. Proposals to speak at the conference -- to be held July 26-29 in Baltimore, Maryland -- will be submitted, reviewed, and managed online.

So, if you are an experienced, articulate professional with expertise and real-world experience to share...get ready. The 2015 conference program will be organized around five key topics:

• Innovation
• Sustainability
• Health & Wellness
• Public Policy/Funding
• Other

In addition, the Program Committee is exploring new session formats for 2015 to complement ACT's traditional approaches with techniques that add extra energy and engagement to what is already the biggest and best professional development and industry networking event for transportation demand/mobility management pros and organizations.

Rico Fleshman Chairs International Conference

Rico Fleshman will chair the 2015 ACT International Conference

Winner of the 2012 Emerging Leader in Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Award, Rico Fleshman, Manager of Corporate and Strategic Relationships at Transportation, Logistics & Supply Chain, is gearing up for the 2015 International Conference.

"I am extremely excited for the 2015 ACT International Conference in Baltimore. The International Conference is always a great event for networking and information sharing, and this year promises to be just that with one exception -- this year's conference committee is working hard on the program, awards, and events with an eye toward the future. We are looking to be innovators and that means building upon our past successes to create a program with new formats full of new and challenging content, sessions that engage and excite, awards and events that inspire and incite. We hope you all will join us in Baltimore, as this is shaping up to be the most exciting ACT Conference in recent history!"

ACT Council Spotlight

Sustainable Real Estate Development Council

"Last year was a busy year for what was then called the Sustainable Development Council. We helped develop a new track of sustainable development sessions for the 2014 ACT International Conference, hosted a webinar in partnership with CUTR and TDMI, and worked with ACT chapters that were interested in including subject matter experts in local events. This year, we have even more planned, with a full agenda of projects and initiatives in 2015 that we plan to get the word out about through webinars and sessions at the 2015 ACT National Conference. Here are just a few of our most exciting initiatives:

Our New Name

We are no longer the Sustainable Development Council, but rather the Sustainable Real Estate Development Council. We feel that this better reflects what the Council's mission has been since the beginning -- a focus of sustainable land development practices and a focus on applications of TDM at the site-based level. We are committed to ensuring that TDM is part of the dialogue in communities before they are ever constructed and not an afterthought once there is traffic congestion.

Increasing Awareness of ACT through LEED

We are working to expand awareness of our ACT-member TDM organizations with buildings seeking LEED Certification. Our primary emphasis for achieving that is to increase the number of ACT members registered as a TDM resource for LEED on TDMI's Green Building Resource website. We will also be reviewing and making recommendations for LEED v4 standards on what would make it stronger to ACT Members and TDM.

Creating More TDM Friendly Communities 

As described above, we are committed to ensuring that TDM is part of the dialogue in communities before they are ever constructed and not an afterthought once there is traffic congestion. With that commitment in mind, we have made it a priority to put together an online resource manual of best practices, ordinances, case studies, and model TDM Plans --as they relate to sustainable real estate development practices around the country.  Our hope is to make this resource manual something that is relevant for and available to local municipalities (large and small) and members of the development community who are seeking more sustainable approaches to addressing traffic congestion in new developments.

Join Us

The council meets every 2nd Thursday of the month at 2:30 pm (EST).  Our next meeting is on February 12 at 2:30 pm (EST). We have an awesome group of volunteers, but we are always looking for new folks who would like to join us. If you are interested, please email Co-Chairs Justin Schor or Peggy Schwartz.

Members in the News

City of Cambridge Installs First TransitScreen

The City of Cambridge has installed informational TransitScreen displays at three public buildings with support from a Healthy Aging Grant from the Massachusetts Councils on Aging, as part of the Mass in Motion program. Cambridge Mayor David P. Maher and City Manager Richard C. Rossi will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new TransitScreen displays Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 9 a.m., at the Cambridge Citywide Senior Center, 806 Massachusetts Avenue. Learn more here.

Paul Dean Addresses Commuter Benefits in Mass Transit Magazine

Former ACT Board member Paul Dean wrote about the lack of commuter benefits parity and related issues in the January issue of Mass Transit (The Transit Commuter Benefit's Wild Roller Coaster Ride).

FHWA Offers Climate Resilience Webinars 

In this webinar series, practitioners will share information, results and lessons learned through recent work by FHWA/US DOT plus state and MPO partners to make the transportation system more resilient to climate change and extreme weather events. Click the link below to register:
http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDOTFHWAHEP/bulletins/eea2a1