Sheryl Connelly has served as Ford’s corporate futurist for over fifteen years. As the Chief Futurist, Connelly and her team led discussions on long-term thinking, planning and strategy.   Her responsibilities include identifying global trends, exploring potential implications and cascading the futuring insights to organizations throughout the company, including design, product development and corporate strategy. Forbes Magazine recently recognized her as one of the Most Influential Women in Futuring, Fast Company has identified her as one of the Most Creative People in Business and TechWeek has included her in its Top 100.  At the request of the World Economic Forum, she sat on its Global Advisory Committee on transportation in 2015 and 2016.   Sheryl has been featured speaker around the world included TED2018 and TED Global 2013.  Before working for Ford, she practiced law. In addition to a Juris Doctorate, she holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s in business administration. Connelly lives in Michigan with her husband and their two daughters.

Greg Slater is the Executive Director and CEO of the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) – a dynamic transportation agency that owns, manages, and operates the Selmon Expressway, Meridian Avenue, Brandon Parkway, and the Selmon Greenway. With over 100,000 daily expressway commuters and thousands of pedestrians that utilize the agency’s network of trails for last-mile commutes and urban walkability, Slater oversees an agency focused on adding value to the community and offering transportation options that enhance quality of life.

Slater is a transportation leader with over two decades of public service experience in a variety of transportation modes, most recently serving as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT).

He and THEA are committed to bringing the best technology and most progressive concepts possible to address transportation challenges. The agency processes 58 million toll transactions each year on the Selmon Expressway. It serves almost 2 million annual customers with an investment plan to deliver over $1.2 Billion worth of capital improvements to the Selmon Expressway over the next 10 years.

Jared W. Perdue was named Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) by Governor Ron DeSantis on April 7, 2022. As Secretary, Perdue oversees the lead agency in state government with the statutory responsibility to coordinate the planning and development of a safe, viable, and balanced transportation system serving all regions of the state, and to assure the compatibility of all components, including multimodal facilities.

Secretary Perdue has devoted his career to the FDOT since entering public service through the Professional Engineer Training Program with FDOT District Three. After completing the program, he served in various leadership roles within the Department, including Geotechnical Engineer, Interim District Maintenance Engineer, District Traffic Operations Engineer, District Design Engineer, and Director of Transportation Development for District Three. Before being appointed as Secretary, he served as the District Five Secretary for two years during which he was responsible for projects and operations in the nine-county region, including SunRail, the multibillion-dollar I-4 Ultimate Project, and Wekiva Parkway.

Under Secretary Perdue’s leadership, the FDOT will continue to prioritize safety and embrace innovation to create and deliver a robust multimodal transportation system to support Florida.

Secretary Perdue received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. He is married to his beautiful wife Brandis and has five daughters.

Brian Cronin is the Director of the Office of Safety and Operations Research and Development, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). In this capacity, he provides executive leadership and guidance for improving and advancing transportation safety and operations-related technologies and innovations through research, development, and testing.

Prior to his appointment to the SES, Brian served for 8 years as the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Research Team Leader in the ITS Joint Program Office (JPO). In this position, he provided strategic leadership and direction in the development of ITS solutions to improve transportation mobility, safety, and the environment. Brian provided technical leadership for the development of the connected vehicle research program and, most recently, the Secretary’s Smart City Challenge.

Prior to joining FHWA in 2003, Brian served as the Advanced Public Transportation Systems Team Leader with the Federal Transit Administration, where he oversaw the research and deployment of transit-related ITS technologies to improve transit operations.

Brian holds a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech. Brian is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Maryland.

Dan Kan, a native of Seattle, co-founded Cruise with Kyle Vogt in 2013. Dan currently serves as Cruise’s Chief Product Officer. A successful entrepreneur, Dan started his career at a technology startup called UserVoice. He then founded Exec, an on-demand hospitality service company, and successfully sold Exec to Handy, which in turn was acquired by ANGI Homeservices in 2014.

Dan was listed as number 7 on Fortune’s 2016 40 under 40 list of the most influential people in business. He studied economics and psychology at Claremont McKenna College.

Sue Bai is a chief engineer at the Honda Research Institute USA, Inc. Bai’s areas of research include wireless communication for in-vehicle navigation systems, telematics system design and development, and connected and automated vehicle system research. She currently leads a team that supports Honda’s transportation safety and mobility goals through connected vehicle and V2X communication systems.

Bai has held leading roles on SAE V2X technical standards committees for many years, working to improve safety and mobility for everyone sharing the road, including drivers and passengers in automobiles and on motorcycles, cyclists, pedestrians and road workers. She is also the Honda technical leader for various industry-government collaborative projects including the Ohio Smart Mobility Corridor, which is the longest stretch of continuously connected highway in the world.

Bai is a Ph.D. candidate focusing on automated vehicle human factors at University of Michigan. She also holds Master of Science degrees in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Industrial and Systems Engineering.

Brad Templeton founded ClariNet Communications Corp., the first internet-based content company. (Sold to Individual Inc/Newsedge Corp.) ClariNet published an online electronic newspaper delivered for live reading on subscribers machines. He has been active in the internet community since 1979, participated in the building and growth of USENET from its earliest days and in 1987 he founded and edited rec.humor.funny, the world’s most widely read computerized conference on that network, and today the world’s longest running blog, and declared by the BBC as the first subject of an internet cancel campaign. He has founded 2 software companies and is the author of a dozen software packages.

He is Chairman Emeritus of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading civil rights advocacy group for cyberspace. He is the founding computing faculty at Singularity University, a new school of rapidly changing technology, and was chair for computing starting in 2010. He writes and researches the future of automated transportation at Robocars.com and Forbes.com and worked for two years on Google’s team building these cars, now Waymo. He is a fellow and former board member of the Foresight Institute (A nonprofit Nanotech/Futurist think-tank) and technical advisor to Starship Technologies (Delivery Robots), Deepen.AI (AI Tools), Tilt5 (AR) and others. He is also a well known photographer and artist at Burning Man, and a popular speaker at international events on cars, online rights and other topics.

Appointed in August 2019, Nicola Liquori serves as the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise. She has over 20 years of experience in the transportation industry. The Enterprise is part of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and encompasses 511 centerline miles of Turnpike System facilities located in six of the seven FDOT districts. The Enterprise is also responsible for tolling operations statewide, primarily through the SunPass system. On a daily basis, the Enterprise processes three million toll transactions and is home to the largest single back office in the country. The Enterprise is also home to SunTrax, a facility that embodies the future of transportation technology in a multi-modal environment. The SunTrax mission is to advance technology solutions which improve the safety and efficiency of transportation.

Ms. Liquori serves on the boards of the International Bridge Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), the Alliance for Toll Innovation (ATI) and the Transportation and Expressway Authority Membership of Florida (TEAMFL). She also serves on tolling peer review panels for Washington DOT and Oregon DOT.

Nicola believes transportation has an exciting future and there has never been a better time to be a part of this ever-changing and complex industry. She looks forward to the next several years as technology becomes more embedded in delivery critical infrastructure.

Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr. is the Chief Executive Officer of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA), in Jacksonville, Florida. His distinguished career in the public transportation industry spans nearly four decades and includes tenures leading the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA).

Ford is a champion for innovative multimodal transportation solutions, complete streets, walkable neighborhoods, public-private partnerships and transit-oriented development. He is known for being a thought leader and is often tapped by national and international groups to share his industry-leading insight on transportation matters through trade and study missions around the world.

During his nine years in Jacksonville, Ford and the JTA have received numerous awards for his transformational and community-focused initiatives in the Northeast Florida community. He was named APTA Outstanding Public Transportation Manager in 2020, the same year the JTA won the APTA Innovation Award for its innovative response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Eno Center for Transportation named Ford its Thought Leader for 2019. President Barack Obama named Ford a White House Champion of Change in 2015. Ford was named an “Ultimate CEO” by the Jacksonville Business Journal, and is an inductee in the First Coast Business Hall of Fame. He is also the 2016 recipient of the Jacksonville Urban League’s Clanzel T. Brown, Sr. Award. Under his leadership, the JTA received the APTA Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award in 2016.

Chris Tomlinson is a Managing Director at Deloitte Consulting and one of the national leaders in Deloitte’s Transportation practice where he applies his expertise in tolling, transit, transportation financing, policy and governance issues to assist Deloitte’s clients to achieve their objectives. Prior to joining Deloitte, Mr. Tomlinson served as the Executive Director for the State Road and Tollway Authority, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and the Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority. He is a former Board member of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA); a Past President of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA); and former General Counsel to several state agencies, including the Georgia DOT, the Georgia Technology Authority and the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission, where he also served as Deputy Director for the Construction Division.

Alex Roy is co-founder of Johnson & Roy advisors, the Autonocast podcast, The Drive, and the Human Driving Association. Roy is Chairman Emeritus of The Moth, has set 7x Cannonball Run endurance driving records, and spent 4 years at Argo AI. He is also the author of The Driver, producer of APEX: The Secret Race Across America, and often cited as the godfather of Universal Basic Mobility.

Maynard Factor is the Vice President of Business Development for the Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Unmanned Systems Division. He is responsible for the generation of new business opportunities, worldwide sales and marketing, and provides technical direction for long-range strategic planning including the development of new products, capabilities, and internal research and development endeavors. Mr. Factor offers an extensive background in driverless vehicle, ground robotics, and unmanned systems technology which has been integral in leading the company’s efforts towards expanding its Autonomous Vehicle (AV) presence in the military and commercial markets. Mr. Factor holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida and a Master of Business Administration from the University of West Florida.

Celia Kosinski is a Policy Manager for the Electrification Coalition Policy Program. Her focus is on policy research and analysis to help policy makers create ambitious policy opportunities and strengthen the case for transportation electrification.

As a Connecticut native, Celia has previously worked in the energy sector through local advocacy measures at the city and town level, along with leading educational environmental programs. Before joining the EC, Celia worked as a Program Intern at People’s Action for Clean Energy CT, providing technical analysis on electric vehicle adoption by county, and educating residents on the benefits of building electrification.

Celia holds a Master’s in Energy and Environmental Management and Geographic Information Systems from the University of Connecticut, and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont.

Trey provides statewide technology leadership for the Florida Department of Transportation, including information technology, operational technology and emerging technology initiatives. Trey is responsible for FDOT’s Office of Information Technology and Civil Integrated Management Office, including groups providing statewide leadership in transportation data analytics, geographic information systems, and surveying and mapping. He also provides strategic leadership in the areas of automated vehicles and electric vehicle infrastructure.

Previously, Trey served as FDOT’s Director of Traffic Engineering and Operations and State Traffic Operations Engineer for over six years. Trey has expertise in the areas of traffic engineering, traffic safety, transportation systems management and operations, connected vehicles, managed lanes, commercial vehicle operations, and incident management. Over his career, he has managed the planning, design, deployment, integration, operations, and/or maintenance of dozens of intelligent transportation systems and traffic signal projects in Florida. During emergencies, Trey is part of the transportation and engineering support team for Florida’s State Emergency Operations Center and has worked many hurricane events.

Trey’s transportation career spans over 29 years in the public and private sectors. Trey received his Civil Engineering degree from Georgia Tech and is a registered Professional Engineer in Florida and Georgia. He is a member of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Committee on Transportation Systems Operation, the Transportation Research Board Vehicle-Highway Automation Committee, and the Institute of Transportation Engineers, as well as having served on many National Cooperative Highway Research Program project panels.

Kevin George Miller is Senior Director of Global Fleet and Urban Policy for ChargePoint, the world’s leading provider of electric vehicle charging solutions. Kevin works with policymakers and regulators to reduce barriers for fleet operators to electrify vehicle fleets and to increase widespread access to electric transportation in dense urban environments. Before coming to ChargePoint, he served as Chief Financial Officer for the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs in Massachusetts. Kevin serves on the Maryland Zero Emission Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council, the Board for the Zero Emission Transportation Association Education Fund, and the Strategic Advisory Council for the Society of Automotive Engineers International Office of Sustainable Energy.

Michelle Maikisch is Chief of Staff and the Public Affairs Officer for the Central Florida Expressway Authority, a 125-mile expressway system serving the nearly 80 million residents and visitors traveling throughout its five-county region each year.

As a seasoned communication and public affairs professional with over 21 years of experience, Michelle is the linchpin of the Agency’s chain of command by guiding strategic direction and service excellence across every facet of the Agency. She is considered a strategic partner to the Executive Director in the day-to-day operations, in addition to providing counsel to the Governing Board and overseeing the branding, marketing, public involvement, public records and policy initiatives, including shepherding the state legislation to combine county expressway authorities in Central Florida into a single, regional transportation agency in 2014.

Michelle joined the Agency in 2008 and continues to be a driving force behind some of the toll industry’s award-winning projects, such as overseeing public engagement for the Wekiva Parkway, leading development of the Agency’s first performance-driven Strategic Business Plan, and most recently directing the initiative for E-PASS product distribution on Amazon.

Ari Jolly is a Senior Assistant General Counsel at Florida Blue and provides corporate development, as well as, board governance support related to the various Florida Blue subsidiary and joint venture companies. Prior to joining Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida in 1993, Jolly was an officer in the United States Navy from 1983 – 1990 and the recipient of a Navy Achievement Medal (1987).

Jolly is a member of the Florida Bar and the Jacksonville Bar Association, served as the Chairman of the Board of the Greater Jacksonville Area USO, serves on the Fleet Landing Board and previously served as the Chairman of the Veterans Network at Florida Blue, where she spoke on the topics of women veterans and the multicultural US Armed Forces. Jolly graduated from Jacksonville University and the Florida State University College of Law. She is also an honors graduate from the Naval Legal Justice School, Newport, Rhode Island.

Jolly was appointed to the JTA Board in 2015 by Governor Rick Scott and reappointed in 2019 by Governor Ron DeSantis.

Starting his path at ZF more than 25 years ago, Werner Engl gained extensive experience in the field of Sales. Beginning his career in the ZF Group as Manager Marketing & Sales Promotion of ZF Italia, further positions in Sales followed. First, he worked as Vice-President Sales & Application with focus on Transmissions for Commercial Vehicles, then he was appointed responsible for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as Key Account Executive Sales & Customer Development until 2019.

In his position as Head of Sales AD Systems, he has now been passionately driving the topic of autonomous driving for two years.

Josh Cohen is the Director of Policy at Shell Recharge Solutions (Americas). Josh serves as Shell Recharge Solutions’ focal point for policy and regulatory engagement federally and in a number of states in the Eastern United States. His priorities include growing the market for transportation electrification; enhancing the value proposition of electrification through software-based managed charging, interoperability, and open protocols; and promoting equitable access to EV charging.

Before joining Shell Recharge Solutions (formerly Greenlots), Josh served in policy and communications roles at SemaConnect and the Business Network for Offshore Wind. In addition, he hosted the clean-energy podcasts “More Power to You” and “Offshore Wind Insider.” He served in public-sector leadership positions, including as mayor of Annapolis, MD, and as deputy administrator of the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) during the Obama administration.

Beth Kigel is a global thought leader in new mobility and smart city ecosystems and is responsible for assisting transportation agencies, cities and regions in developing smart and connected infrastructure solutions. 

Previously, Beth served as Florida Transportation Commissioner from 2012-2019. Prior to this role, she served as a Chamber Executive and in various private-sector leadership positions, within engineering and other firms, in areas such as finance, business development, and quality assurance, to government relations.

Beth is active on numerous appointed boards and industry associations, including ITS World Congress Board of Directors; Chair, ITS America Emerging Technologies Committee; Vice Chair of Florida Polytechnic University Board of Trustees; University of Florida Transportation Institute External Board of Advisors; Freight Mobility Research Institute Advisory Board for Florida Atlantic University; Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; chair of the Autonomous Florida Program; Leadership Florida where she served as Chair, Board of Directors 2017-2018; and more.

Beth received the 2018 Leadership and Innovation Award, presented at the Florida Automated Vehicle Summit, and is recognized as one of the Florida 500, Florida Trend’s recognition of Florida’s 500 most influential executives.

Torin Spencer is an Electric Vehicle Specialist for the Electrification Coalition. His work is focused on supporting the American Cities Climate Challenge in Orlando as well as working directly with Orlando Utilities Commission on customer electric vehicle adoption.

Torin has been in the automotive sector for the last few years. He has been a sales representative at two Orlando area auto dealerships and worked directly with the public. In years prior, he assisted with conservation projects as a zoologist with the Walt Disney Company. Torin is a native Floridian originally from Tampa. He graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2012 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science.

Justin Hopson is the Director of Solution Engineering at Hitachi America’s Environment Business Division (EBD). Mr. Hopson provides strategic guidance & solution support for new business models. Current focus is complex sustainability challenges. He has experience with DER / BESS, vehicle fleets, electrification, ICE to EV transition, alternative fuels and sustainability solutions. Industry experience includes Energy, A&E / EPC, Financial Services, F&B, GES, High-tech, Health & Life Sciences, Real Estate, Telecommunications, Transportation, and Utilities.

Cleveland Ferguson III, J.D., D.H.L., is the Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) at Jacksonville Transit Authority (JTA).

Cleveland is leading some of the most innovative approaches to how the JTA deals with technology disruption of the industry. Some of those innovations include the creation of JTA University, the JTA Enterprise Metrics Management System or JEMMS, which includes the agency’s business intelligence dashboard, departmental scorecards and the employee performance system for administrative and union employees, as well as the JTA See and Say app, which provides two-way reporting of emergency management, safety and security alerts for customers and employees. He previously served as the Deputy CAO for the City of Jacksonville. In addition to providing strategic direction to city departments, he led the effort to expand the use of analytics, reform the delivery of citizen-based services and increase transparency into city operations. Prior to joining the City, Cleveland served as a tenured professor of law. A lawyer by training, he represented clients in commercial and regulatory matters. He is a member of Leadership Broward Class XXIII, Leadership Jacksonville (2010), Leadership Florida Class XXXIII, the 2017 ENO Transit Senior Executive Program and the 2017 APTA International Study Mission.

Bernard is responsible for providing strategic and technical leadership to JTA’s Automation Division.

Prior to joining the JTA in January 2019, Schmidt held multiple executive and senior leadership roles including general manager at Amazon; general manager of UTAS Customer Service Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul business at United Technologies Corporation (UTC); operations director at Turkish Engine Center (TEC); and global materials manager of Pratt & Whitney Engine Centers in Connecticut, Georgia, as well as international sites. Schmidt is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and LEAD360 Senior Leadership Organization.

Schmidt earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Rochester and a master’s degree in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is a graduate of the Darden Business School Executive Education program and is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt, ACE Associate and Quality Auditor.

Pete is the Manager of New Products and Services. He launches new strategic programs and initiatives at OUC. OUC is a vertically integrated Municipality that serves Electricity and Water to Orlando, parts of Orange and Osceola counties. Pete is the Program Manager for Smart Cities initiatives and Beneficial Electrification including transportation. Pete serves on boards for several State and Regional committees for Electrification of Transportation including Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA), Drive Electric Florida the EV subcommittee for the Florida Electric Power Coordinating Group.

Thomas F. Jensen is a senior government relations executive located in Washington, DC, for autonomous trucking firm TuSimple. In this capacity, he is TuSimple’s leading federal and state chief advocate as the company progresses towards operational scale and commercialization of Level 4 autonomous vehicle freight transportation. Tom leads all legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts related to autonomous vehicles and TuSimple operations, as well as fleet safety and compliance responsibilities.

Prior to joining TuSimple, Tom spent more than 32 years working at UPS, in a variety of jobs that included operations, sales, Human Resources, Legal and ultimately Government Relations and advocacy. For the last 20 years of his UPS tenure, Tom served as the company’s leading multimodal transportation advocate on Capitol Hill, working on trucking, aviation, rail and maritime transportation policy matters.

Currently, Mr. Jensen serves on the Board of Directors of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association. Previously, Tom had extensive involvement and served in leadership capacities with a variety of business and stakeholder organizations including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Trucking Associations, the International Warehouse and Logistics Association, the National Industrial Transportation League, the Eno Center for Transportation and the American Highway Users Alliance.

Mr. Jensen earned an undergraduate degree in Government from the College of William and Mary (VA), a master’s degree in Public Administration from American University (DC), and a law degree from the University of Bridgeport (CT). He is admitted to the bar in Connecticut.

Jason Eichenholz

Jason Eichenholz is a serial entrepreneur and pioneer in laser and photonics product development and commercialization. Over the past twenty-five years, he led the development of hundreds of millions of dollars of new photonics and photonic-enabled products. At Luminar he is responsible for R&D and Engineering of new products and bringing Luminar’s technology to market. Eichenholz is a fellow of SPIE and OSA and holds more than sixty patents on lasers and photonic devices. Eichenholz has an M.S. and Ph.D from CREOL at the University of Central Florida and a B.S. in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Alain Kornhauser is Professor of Operations Research & Financial Engineering at Princeton University. He studied Aerospace Engineering at Penn State where he obtained a BS and MS and Princeton, earning a PhD. In 1971 he joined the Aerospace Engineering faculty at U of Minnesota where he applied automation, network analysis and optimal control to the design of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) Systems.  He returned to Princeton in 1972 continuing and extending his pivotal work to more conventional forms of transportation. In 1979 he founded ALK Technologies, Inc. to help the private North American Railroad System emerge from bankruptcy by rationalizing its network structure and transitioning to emerging computer technology.  ALK created the standard digital map database and computerized routing systems that continue to be relied upon by essentially all railroad and trucking companies in North America.  He transitioned this technology to the consumer marketplace where he pioneered the development and market acceptance of turn-by-turn navigation systems. After 33.5 years, he sold ALK to Trimble Navigation in December 2012.

At Princeton, Prof. Kornhauser is in his 50th year on the faculty. He serves as Director of the Transportation Program where he continues his basic research in Transportation focused on the real-time operation of large fleets of driverless vehicles and on the development of Deep-Learning Neural Networks that safely drive road vehicles. He was the Faculty Leader of Princeton’s entries the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge and 2007 Urban Challenge. He is particularly focused on the use of aTaxis to deliver Equitable, Affordable, High-quality Mobility to everyone, especially economically challenged households. He is Faculty Chair of Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering (PAVE), Editor of the Smart Driving Cars Newsletter (www.SmartDrivingCar.com), Co-host of the SmartDrivingCar Podcasts, Organizer of the Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCars Summits, Board Chair of the Advanced Transit Association (ATRA), Board Member of the New Jersey Commission on Science, Information and technology, and a member of New Jersey’s legislated Autonomous Vehicle Task Force.  In addition to his teaching and research duties he serves as the ORFE’s Department’s Director of Undergraduate Studies.  Professor Kornhauser completed 14 NYC Marathons.

Carter Stern is a Senior Government affairs manager for Cruise, the all-electric, autonomous vehicle company. Based in Texas, Carter handles Cruise’s governmental affairs and regulatory strategy outside of California. Prior to joining Cruise, Carter worked at various mobility tech companies including Lyft and ofo, as well as running the nonprofit operator of Houston’s station based bike-sharing program. Carter’s career has focused on the intersection of technology, public policy, and the built environment to ensure that new mobility solutions address the unique and diverse challenges facing cities. In his spare time, Carter serves as board chair of BikeHouston, Houston’s bike advocacy organization. He resides in Houston with his wife and two young children.

Ariel Wolf

Ariel Wolf leads Venable’s Autonomous and Connected Mobility group, where he counsels clients facing complex legal and policy issues at the intersection of automation, electrification, connectivity, data privacy, and cybersecurity. Ariel is a recognized thought leader who works closely with vehicle manufacturers, technology companies, advanced equipment suppliers, and software developers to navigate the emerging landscape being transformed by autonomous vehicles (AVs) and mobility technology.

Ariel’s legal work includes serving as general counsel to the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association (AVIA), the nation’s leading coalition of AV developers, to advance federal, state, and international regulatory priorities for the AV industry. He provides sophisticated legal counseling to clients through the application of general transportation law to novel use cases and technologies and is a seasoned advocate who represents clients before agencies that include the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Previously, as a senior official in the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Ariel launched the Department’s Non-traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology (NETT) Council, oversaw the Department’s efforts on spectrum policy, and developed policies governing automated vehicles, drones, hyperloop, and other innovative technologies.

In addition to his legal work, Ariel leverages nearly two decades of government affairs experience to engage with federal and state policymakers and negotiate regulatory frameworks that govern AVs and related emerging mobility technology. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and across the country on autonomous and connected vehicle legislation and is frequently quoted by national media outlets on transportation developments. Ariel is a member of Venable’s Privacy Group and his work has been recognized by Legal 500.

As the Assistant Secretary for Strategic Development, Brad Thoburn leads the statewide transportation planning, modal development, research, and innovation for the Florida Department of Transportation. Brad has experience in both the public and private sectors and has worked in transportation, planning, and policy leadership positions at the local, state, and federal levels. Brad and his team shape the statewide transportation policy framework and guide some of the state’s most impactful transportation investments through the Strategic Intermodal System. His modal group is strengthening the vision for an integrated multimodal transportation system.

Mr. Thoburn previously served as the Southeast Region Practice Lead for Transit and Planning at Michael Baker International, Vice President of Long-Range Planning and System Development at Jacksonville Transportation Authority, Chief Planner at FDOT, and Director of Planning and Development for the City of Jacksonville.

Brad is a long-time resident of Florida with his wife, Dearing, and their two daughters. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University.

Senator Jeff Brandes is a highly respected and accomplished leader who served in the Florida Legislature from 2010 to 2022. He represented District 24, which covered a majority of Pinellas County, and was known for his innovative and independent policy-making. Throughout his tenure, he consistently advocated for solutions to address Florida’s most challenging issues.

Jeff has been an advocate for improving Florida’s corrections system, insurance regulation, affordable housing and transportation.

Brandes is a strong advocate for free market principles and has worked to reduce regulations and taxes to promote business development in Florida. He is a vocal supporter of cutting-edge technologies and has played a vital role in the state’s advancing self-driving vehicles, rideshare, and other emerging technologies. For over a decade, he has hosted the Florida Automated Vehicle Summit, which assembles industry leaders from around the country to address transportation technologies, operations, and policy issues.

Brandes is a veteran, having served as an Army officer in the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq. This experience gave him a unique perspective on leadership and public service. He has also advocated for prison reform, worked to increase public safety through improvements in the criminal justice system, and was a leader in property insurance reform.

In addition to his legislative duties, Brandes is a business owner and serves on the boards of several community organizations. He is dedicated to making Florida a better place to live, work and raise a family. Since leaving office, he has founded the Florida Policy Project, which researches best practices across different policy areas to inform state policy-making. Senator Brandes lives in St. Petersburg with his wife Natalie and their four children.