Panelists:

- Jennifer Bixby, Vice President, AECOM

- Steve O'Brien, Group Manager, Project Development, Arizona Department of Transportation

- Arminta Syed, Transportation Policy and Initatives Manager, Maricopa Association of Governments

- Steve Campbell, Senior Vice President, Pulice Construction

Moderator: Melissa Boyles, Chief of Staff, Valley Metro

Presenter Bios:

Jenny Bixby: Jenny serves as Vice President at AECOM, where she leads business development and oversees contracts across Arizona. With 30 years of experience in the transportation industry, she has held key roles including engineer, project manager and operations manager. Jenny is a former board member of WTS Metro Phoenix and currently serves on the Arizona Transit Association board.

Steve O'Brien: Steve O'Brien, P.E. has forty years of transportation engineering experience. After 34 years in the private sector, Mr O'Brien moved to the Arizona Department of Transportation as the Senior Division Administrator for the Project Management Group. His team is responsible for the development of projects included in ADOT's Five Year Capital Improvement Plan through the design process and delivering them to construction. His group, which consists of about 30 project managers deliver on an annual basis roughly 120-140 projects worth a construction value of $1.4 to $1.7B. Mr. O'Brien has both a Masters and Bachelors degree from Purdue University and is a licensed professional civil engineer in Arizona.

Arminta Syed: After moving to Phoenix in 2018, Arminta Syed joined the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), where she has since managed a diverse and impactful portfolio. She currently serves as the Transportation Policy and Initiatives Program Manager, overseeing the implementation and management of transportation programs funded through Maricopa County’s dedicated half-cent sales tax for transportation, including the Freeway Life Cycle Program and more recently, the Transit Life Cycle Program. Arminta also plays a key role in advancing high-priority transportation initiatives and policy efforts under the direction of the Assistant Executive Director. She has successfully led several high-profile projects that contribute to the region’s long-term mobility and infrastructure goals.

Steve Campbell: Steve serves as Senior Vice President and Arizona Regional Manager of Pulice Construction. He has overall management responsibility for the Arizona Region including safety, construction operations, and estimating. He joined Pulice in 1995 and has held positions including Operations Manager (for both Pulice and McNeil Brothers), Project Manager, and Engineer. Under Steve’s leadership, the Arizona Region has completed diverse projects throughout the state in the water, wastewater, and transportation markets.