July/August 2023 - 21

Julian Bautista Rojas is a principal at Nelson\
Nygaard Consulting Associates and is responsible
for the financial and operational performance of
the Austin office, as well as overall morale, staff
development and hiring of the group. This includes
mentoring and training staff and growing Nelson\
Nygaard's presence in Texas and throughout the
midwest and south.
Supporting his predecessor from the time of
his hiring, he became an essential part in the
mission to grow the four-person office. Bautista
Rojas now leads a 16-person office of transportation
planning professionals.
Before becoming a consultant in Austin, Bautista
Rojas worked in the public sector in New York City.
After immigrating and finishing grad school in the
U.S., Bautista Rojas invested more than 10 years
in the operations planning department at MTA
Bus and New York City Transit. In this position,
he managed major initiatives like the Queens Bus
Network Redesign and the planning and implementation
of the first two MTA Bus Company's
bus tapid transit lines.
Outside of the office, Bautista Rojas serves on
the board of the Austin Chapter of Young Professionals
in Transportation, where he is committed
to fostering a space for transportation professionals
In my current role at Nelson\
Nygaard, I am proud of the
team my predecessor and I
built. It was no easy feat to grow
into a full-service, 16 peoplestrong
office (I was hire No. 6). "
in Austin to collaborate and network while having
fun. He also sits on the Leadership Academy and
the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committees of
Latinos in Transit (LIT), where he supports LIT's
mission of advocating equity, diversity and inclusion
to enable the development and advancement of
its members to executive positions, as well as other
positions of influence in the mobility industry.
He currently works with public agencies all over
the U.S., supporting efforts ranging from Project
Connect work for CapMetro in Austin, to managing
the Tren Urbano Extension Alternatives Analysis
study for the Puerto Rico Integrated Transit
Authority in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Fast Fact: Bautista Rojas is a licensed civil
engineer in Colombia.
MassTransitmag.com/53068648
Julian Bautista
Rojas
Principle
Nelson\Nygaard
Consulting
Associates
Peter Calcaterra has worked during the 15-plus
years of his career to establish himself as a strategic
leader in multi-modal transportation planning,
demonstrating expertise in various areas such as
transportation technologies, policy development,
public outreach and funding strategies.
As a transportation supervising planner for the
Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT),
Calcaterra is responsible for developing,
implementing and overseeing innovative transit
system projects and programs. These initiatives
encompass planning for and executing a wide
range of cutting-edge technologies in the areas
of automated buses, battery electric buses, transit
facility enhancements, transit-connected vehicle
systems, bus rapid transit (BRT) systems and intelligent
transportation systems.
Calcaterra played a pivotal role in helping to
shape a 30-year, $100-billion multi-modal strategic
transportation vision plan for Connecticut that successfully
led to a 40 percent increase in new capital
program funding for transportation in the state
over five years. He also managed the development
and launch of an interactive online dashboard to
track new project progress and spending, enhancing
government transparency and accountability.
In the realm of innovation, Calcaterra is recognized
as a national leader in automated bus
technologies and connected vehicle systems. He
What I enjoy the most about my
job is the fast-paced nature of
the job and working with a variety
of people and stakeholders
to develop and complete
projects and programs... "
is currently the technical lead managing the development
of two groundbreaking FTA grant-funded
research pilot projects involving automated, connected
and electric bus technologies for operations
on a BRT fixed guideway and on city streets. Both
projects are North American firsts. Additionally,
Calcaterra is playing an active role towards the early
planning, development, systems engineering and
design of Connecticut's first on-street BRT system.
Calcaterra's involvement extends beyond his agency,
as he actively engages with various organizations
to shape transportation policies on a broader scale.
He participates in legislative task forces, chairs multistate
technical advisory committees and contributes
to national panels and pooled fund studies focused on
emerging transportation technologies and solutions.
Fast Fact: Calcaterra is an avid New Orleans
Saints fan.
MassTransitmag.com/53068468
JULY/AUGUST 2023 | MassTransitmag.com 21
Peter
Calcaterra
Transportation
Supervising
Planner
Connecticut
Department of
Transportation
http://www.MassTransitmag.com/53068648 http://www.MassTransitmag.com/53068468 http://www.MassTransitmag.com
July/August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July/August 2023
