40 Years of Celebrating Our People: Amy Lopez

For our 40th anniversary, we’re celebrating the people who make Kittelson what it is! While we’re an interconnected nationwide team, each of us brings our own passion and purpose to the work we do. This month, we’re highlighting Amy Lopez, an associate planner in our Oakland office.

When and where did you start your career, and when did you join Kittelson?

I first interned in the Oakland office during the summer of 2012 before finishing grad school that fall. I started full time with Kittelson in January 2013.

How have you seen the transportation profession change since you started your career at Kittelson?

Really 12 years isn’t very much time in an industry! Some common observations I hear about how our profession has changed is about prioritization at all levels of government, including policy and funding, of bicycle, pedestrian, and transit infrastructure, safety for people using all modes of travel, and equity in allocation of funds and prioritization of projects.

We also hear a lot of chatter about how artificial intelligence (AI) will influence our industry and evolve practices. AI is changing the way we do things, and it’s all thanks to the momentum building from other industries. I feel both excited and energized when I work with our teams who are integrating AI-enabled technologies into our work to pave our path into the future of our industry.

At Kittelson’s core, we are industry influencers and industry pushers. For us to continue to serve our industry and our numerous local communities from a place of authenticity, we must challenge ourselves to be innovative in our day-to-day work. We all have the opportunity to embrace innovation and build upon Kittelson’s strong reputation, continually striving for growth and excellence.

How have you seen Kittelson grow in the last 40 years?

Well … I’ve only been here to observe the last 12 years, so that leaves 28 years of meaningful growth and change that I’ve only heard about through stories. In my time with Kittelson, I’ve seen people who have a leadership presence become more adept and more consistent about using language and delivering messages that elevate people of differing backgrounds within our company. I greatly appreciate the (internal) public recognition our leadership team gives to all of our people who make it possible for engineering and planning work to be performed and provided to our clients. Kittelson does not exist solely with engineers and planners, and in the last 10-12 years, we have put necessary energy and attention into elevating and celebrating our business services, administrative, marketing, graphics, and communications colleagues in way they always have deserved. I’m very proud of us for this type of company growth, and I know we have more work to do to further elevate those professional disciplines within our company.

Additionally, I’ve seen our Shareholder group grow in a meaningful and inspiring way over these 12 years. Our ability to be a generational company is fully dependent on the commitment of these people who are talented, humble, willful, and generous. Some of the strongest and most meaningful relationships I have at Kittelson are with fellow Shareholders—and not because we are shareholders, but rather because of how we show up for one another and what we choose to do when important and tough challenges in the firm come to our attention. I’m proud of this group of people, and my optimism for Kittelson’s success in future decades comes in large part from who all comprise this group.

What’s your background and how did you become a transportation professional?

I studied architecture as an undergrad and eventually concluded I didn’t want to become an architect. After graduation, I worked for a few years as a teacher in public education. Eventually, I went to grad school entering a dual master’s program and earned a Master of Engineering focused on transportation and a Master of City and Regional Planning. I had a public sector, land use planning internship one summer and a private sector transportation engineering internship the other summer, which happened to be at Kittelson.

Honestly, I came to Kittelson because of our core values, which are aligned with my life values. Leaving grad school, I was approaching my career with great openness toward the technical substance of my work. I’m in the transportation engineering industry because I chose a company with values that align with values I hold across all areas of my life, and it happened to be a transportation engineering firm. Although, my dearest girlfriend would say that I’ve long had the internal desire to do work that influences people’s lives for the better. So, I suppose it’s appropriate to acknowledge that I wouldn’t have worked in just any industry for a company with values the same as mine. It’s important to me to spend my life in a way that makes the world around me a bit better than I encountered it, and we get to do that in our industry.

What’s an insight you’ve gained from your time at Kittelson?

The most important things are worth the time and effort it takes to do them well. To do them well, I have to be present, to listen with the purpose of understanding, and to be decisive. And… the greatest teams to be on are the ones where everyone else is smarter than you. Nothing beats being surrounded by smart, devoted, hardworking people.

What’s been the most exciting part of your career?

Every time I’m part of a team that achieves an important, valuable accomplishment for our client, I feel great pride—both for my Kittelson colleagues who brought their A-Game and for the consultant team that collaborated to turn the client’s goal intro reality.

What surprises you most about transportation today?

I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the momentum around research, development, and manufacturing of alternative-fuel vehicles, like electricity and hydrogen, and the infrastructure to provide convenient access to the fuel sources for people who drive. Shifting away from petroleum as the fuel source for travel can disrupt many longstanding adverse social, political, and environmental trends in recent human history. The investment of money and time on these matters is worth every hour and dollar spent.

What are the most important transportation issues that need to be addressed?

Our industry and those adjacent to us continue to have our work cut out for us to build our transportation system into a safer system for everyone. This includes changes to planning policies, design standards, analysis methodologies, measures of effectiveness, public engagement requirements, and legal parameters. It includes more partnerships with adjacent industries to complement innovation in our own industry.

A close second is continuing to attract and educate smart, hardworking, creative people to the transportation sector. We need great minds in our industry to keep the strength, performance, and solutions at the highest levels. Our industry is responsible for solving problems that influence people’s day-to-day lives. However inspired or lackluster the work produced by our industry may be, the people in the communities we serve always are the recipients of our industry’s work. Any mediocrity in the mix inherently is handed down to communities, and it’s simply unacceptable to work with a low bar.

What advice do you have for individuals looking to join the transportation industry?

Stay with it for the long run. Working on solutions to issues with how people and goods get from here to there is work that influences the everyday life of the people around you and everywhere you work. Regardless of the specific tasks of the day or the arena of the transportation industry in which you operate most frequently, stick with it. The work of your lifetime will have made a substantive difference in people’s lives.

Be kind to everyone each day.

And show up every day to play the long game.