Valerie J. Southern, MPA, MCP

Valerie J. Southern is the president of VJS-TC. Valerie has a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Rhode Island. For 30 years she has managed public transportation systems and programs nationwide. Prior to establishing her own firm, Valerie's career spanned several executive levels:

• Deputy Secretary for Transportation Planning and Capital Programming - Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Administered the state’s $1.6 billion capital road and transit program, including implementing the State Transportation Plan. Position required working knowledge of project planning and administration, federal and state transportation program regulations and funding.
   
• Expert Consultant for the Federal Highway Administration. Performed federal oversight and management for the largest civil project in United States history – the $13 billion “Big Dig” project in Boston, Massachusetts. Work featured land use and environmental coordination with transportation services.
   
• Deputy Director of Policy, Governor’s Office, State of Rhode Island. Performed executive-level policy at the highest level of State government, including liaison with the State Legislature and management of a 10-person executive policy office.
   
• Manager of Transportation Planning for the King County (Washington) Department of Transportation. Administered the County’s $1 billion roads and transit planning program.

Resume available upon request.

Gary A. Norris, P.E., P.T.O.E.

Gary A. Norris, P.E., P.T.O.E., Senior Traffic Engineer, holds a Bachelors and Masters in Civil Engineering from the University of Washington. For 35 years he has performed traffic engineering and transportation planning assignments as a consulting engineer and as a City Traffic Engineer. Gary has developed traffic management plans and other traffic engineering designs for large public works projects. As a private consultant, he has conducted in excess of 1,000 traffic impact analyses.

Gary was Renton’s City Traffic Engineer for ten years and was responsible for the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the City’s transportation facilities, including 5,000 luminaries and 100 traffic signals. He managed the City of Renton’s Capital Improvement Program and the transportation department budget.

Gary is a past president for the Washington State Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. He is licensed in Virginia, Maryland, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia. He has performed transportation engineering services for the firm since 2004.

Resume available upon request.