Systems Planning

Administrative Assistant 2
Administration Support
Phone: 515-239-1664
E-mail: peggy.riecken@iowadot.us

Team Leader
Mapping & Geographic Information
Phone: 515-239-1990
E-mail: mark.hansen@iowadot.us

Cartography Planner
Cartographic production and maintenance
Phone: 515-239-1094
E-mail: Nathan.Aronson@iowadot.us

Cartography Planner
Cartographic production and maintenance
Phone: 515-239-1094
E-mail: Theron.Gale@iowadot.us

Cartography Planner
Cartographic production and maintenance
Phone: 515-239-1645
E-mail: lori.judge@iowadot.us

Cartography Planner
City maps
County maps
Specialty maps
Statewide maps
Phone: 515-233-7826
E-mail: anthony.volz@iowadot.us

Cartography Planner

Team Leader
Grant Program Administration
Phone: 515-239-1681
E-mail: debra.arp@iowadot.us

At a glance
Debra leads the Grant Program Administration team in the Systems Planning Bureau of the Iowa DOT. After more than 7 years as a city planner, Debra joined the department in 2009, first as a Transportation Enhancement program manager and later as program manager for the Iowa’s Clean Air Attainment Program. Since 2012, she has managed a team of 10 with responsibility for the administration of various federal and state grant programs including Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA), Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP), Federal Recreational Trails (FRT), Iowa’s Clean Air Attainment Program (ICAAP), Iowa’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TA Set-Aside or TAP), Iowa Byways, National Scenic Byways (NSB), Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE), State Recreational Trails (SRT), Volkswagen Settlement Environmental Mitigation Trust, and National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) programs. Debra oversees general program administration and the award of an average of $30 million per year. Her team works mostly with local governments day-to-day and administers development of over 120 new projects with total costs of over $100 million annually. The Grant Team shepherds these projects cradle-to-grave through processes including appropriate programming of funds in the TIP/STIP, environmental concurrence, plan development, letting, construction, and fund reimbursement while assuring all applicable state and federal regulations are followed. She received a BS in Community and Regional Planning from Iowa State University and an MA in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Iowa. She is also certified by the American Planning Association (APA) American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is a Certified Public Manager (CMP) from Drake University.

Grant Programs Team
Construction Monitoring
Phone: 515-509-8637
Email:michael.bloom@iowadot.us

Program Manager for Federal and State Recreational Trails
Grant Programs Team
Phone: 515-239-1252
E-mail: scott.flagg@iowadot.us
At a glance

Grant Programs Team
Project Plan Review
Grant Program Support
Phone: 515-239-1793
E-mail: kurt.harvey@iowadot.us

Grant Programs Team
Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) Manager
Phone: 515-239-1810
E-mail: susan.hollenkamp@iowadot.us

 

Program Manager
Grant Program Team
Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy (RISE) Program
Phone: 515-239-1738
E-mail: jennifer.kolacia@iowadot.us

At a glance
Kolacia started her career with the Iowa DOT in December of 2009. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management and Art History. Prior to her employment at the Iowa DOT, she worked for the Arizona Department of Transportation in the Traffic and Traffic Safety division.

Financial Management
Grant Programs Team
Phone: 515-239-1665
E-mail: jenny.lawrence@iowadot.us

At a glance
Lawrence started her career with the Iowa DOT in November of 2019 in the Finance Dept and came to Systems Planning as the Financial Manager in Oct 2021. She is a graduate of Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. Prior to her employment at the Iowa DOT, she worked for 13.5 years for the Iowa Auditor of State.

Administrative Assistant
Grant Programs Team
Grant Programs Administration
Phone: 515-239-1669
E-mail: jodi.rhoads@iowadot.us

Grant Programs Team
Federal-aid Project Manager
Phone: 515-239-1861
Email:troy.schroeder@iowadot.us

Program Manager for ICAAP (Iowa Clean Air Attainment Program)
Grant Programs Team
Phone: 515-239-1713
E-mail: jared.smith@iowadot.us
At a glance

Grant Programs Team
Scenic Byways Program Manager
Phone: 515-239-1629
E-mail: emily.whaley@iowadot.us


At a glance
Emily started her career at the Iowa DOT in January of 2008. She began her career in the Contracts and Specifications Bureau and later worked in the Construction and Materials Bureau. She received a B.S. in Education from Iowa State University and has also completed the Iowa Certified Public Manager® (CPM) Program, along with a Master of Public Administration degree from Drake University.

Team Leader
Forecasting, Modeling, and Telemetrics Team
Phone: 515-239-1554
E-mail: Jeff.VonBrown@iowadot.us

At a glance
Jeff started with the Office of Systems Planning in May of 2012 as the Rural Forecasting Coordinator. Jeff is a graduate of Iowa State University with a Bachelor’s in Transportation and Logistics in 2004 and a Master’s in Transportation and GIS Certificate in 2011. Jeff also holds a Certified Public Manager Certification from Drake University since 2018. Jeff is currently the Team Leader for the Forecasting and Modeling and Telemetrics Team.

Some of the responsibilities include:

• Urban travel demand modeling.
• Geographic information systems.
• Traffic simulation modeling.
• Traffic estimation and forecasting.
• Interchange justification studies.
• Airport pavement condition analyses.
• Research project manager.
• Federal Functional Classification System.
• Farm-to-Market System.

Phone: 515-239-1526
E-mail: brian.carlson@dot.iowa.gov

Modeling, Forecasting and Telemetrics Team
Phone: 515-239-1130
E-mail: chris.capaldo@iowadot.us

Forecasting and Modeling Team
Forecasting Coordinator/GIS MPO Support
Phone: 515-239-1337
E-mail: cameron.mason@iowadot.us

At a glance:
Cameron started work at the Iowa DOT in July 2018. He graduated from Iowa State University in the Spring of 2018 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Community and Regional Planning. While at Iowa State, Cameron was most interested in transportation impacts of planning as well as the political side of the planning process. At the Iowa DOT, he supports the DOT and state MPOs through modeling and forecasting responsibilities.

Rural Forecasting
Phone: 515-233-7767
E-mail: justin.meade@iowadot.us

Traffic Recording Technician
Phone: 515-233-7776
E-mail: brian.petty@iowadot.us

Modeling, Forecasting and Telemetrics Team
Modeling/Highway Analysis
Phone: 515-239-1221
E-mail: Stephen.Rashid@iowadot.us

At a glance
Stephen began working with the Iowa DOT in January 2021. He is a graduate of Iowa State University with a Bachelor's in Political Science in 2010 and a Master of Community and Regional Planning and GIS Certificate in 2016. Prior to coming to the DOT, Stephen worked as a transportation planner at Bi-State Regional Commission and SRF Consulting. His experience includes:

• Urban travel demand modeling
• Traffic Safety Planning
• Corridor Studies
• Transit Development Planning
• Geographic Information Systems

Modeling, Forecasting and Telemetrics Team
Telemetrics Analyst
Phone: 515-239-1236
E-mail: andrew.short@iowadot.us

At a glance
Andrew Short came off the farm in the summer of ‘92 as a fresh faced boy with a dream in his heart and callouses on his hands. He was looking to make his fortune, find a wife and start a family. With that in mind he looked to the Iowa Department of Transportation as the answer to all his dreams. After working 2 summers as a temporary employee setting and installing recorders, Dennis O’Brien, Preliminary Survey Supervisor, decided to take a chance with Andrew and hired him as a lowly rodman on a preliminary survey crew in the Office of Design. After 2 years on the survey crew and working his way up the ladder to lowly rodman, Andrew decided it was a time for a change. He set his sights high and decided the Office of Transportation Data is where he would continue on his path to fame and fortune. He was picked out of many fine applicants by Gordon Peterson to be the Videolog van driver. Here he would spend 4 glorious summers driving a DOT van over the highways and byways of Iowa. He would see the sights and sounds of Iowa and partake in far too many adventures to tell here. It was also here that his talents were noticed by Jim Majors. Majors took him aside and said “Andrew, I want you to be the next Weigh-In-Motion Analyst.” Andrew was up for a new adventure and decided to take Jim up on the offer. And it was an offer Andrew was glad he accepted because after he accepted that offer all his dreams started coming true. Andrew found his wife, started his family and has been the Weigh-In-Motion Analyst in the Office of Systems Planning ever since.

Modeling, Forecasting and Telemetrics Team
Phone: 515-239-1073
E-mail: Doug.Westvold@iowadot.us

Traffic Recording Technician

Team Leader
Planning Team
Phone: 515-239-1520
E-mail: samuel.hiscocks@iowadot.us

At a glance
Hiscocks began his career with the Iowa DOT in September of 2012. He is a 2012 graduate of Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Community and Regional Planning and Environmental Studies. Prior to joining the Planning Team in July 2013, Hiscocks served on the Cartography Team in the Systems Planning Bureau.

His current responsibilities include overseeing activities associated with the Planning Team. This section is responsible for the development of the state, modal, and specialized transportation plans for the Department and stewardship of Iowa’s metropolitan and regional transportation planning agencies.

Freight Planning Coordinator
Planning Team
Phone: 515-239-1004
E-mail: Zahrah.alghalibi@iowadot.us

At a glance

Alghalibi began her career with the Iowa DOT in July of 2018. She is a 2018 graduate of Iowa State University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Prior to joining the Planning Team in June 2023, Alghalibi served on the Final 2 section Team in the Bridges and Structure Bureau.

Her current responsibilities include coordinating freight planning activities such as the collection of freight data, development of the state freight plan, and working with the Freight Advisory Council. She is also responsible for coordinating all waterway planning activities.

Metropolitan and Regional Planning Coordinator
Planning Team
E-mail: travis.halm@iowadot.us
Phone: 515-239-1351

At a glance

Halm began his career with the Iowa DOT in December 2023. Halm is a 2012 graduate of Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science in Community and Regional Planning. Prior to joining the Systems Planning team, Halm served as a Transportation Planner at the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) in Omaha, Nebraska, where Travis served as the primary planner for Regional Planning Affiliation (RPA) 18 in Southwest Iowa. Prior to MAPA, Halm worked as a Transportation Planner at the Brazos Valley Council of Governments in Texas, and as a Planner with the City of Lawrence, Kansas.

His current responsibilities focus on coordination of Regional Planning Affiliation (RPA) and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) functions statewide, including Transportation Planning Work Programs, Long Range Transportation Plans and Public Participation Plans.

Bicycle & Pedestrian Planning Coordinator
Planning Team
Phone: 515-233-7733
E-mail: milly.ortiz@iowadot.us

At a glance
Ortiz began her career with the Iowa DOT in February 2003. Ortiz received a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Puerto Rico, a master's degree in marketing from the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico, and a master's degree in community and regional planning with emphasis in transportation planning from Iowa State University.

Her current responsibilities include state long range planning, coordinating the development of the state bicycle and pedestrian plan and the transportation map for bicyclists, and managing the State Planning and Research (SPR) program.

Statewide Planning Support
Planning Team
Phone: 515-239-1643
E-mail: cindy.shearer@iowadot.us

At a glance
Shearer began her career with the Iowa DOT in February 1981. Before coming to the Office of Systems Planning in September 1995 she had been in the Office of Transportation Data and Driver & Identification Services. Shearer is on the RPA/MPO Planning Support team in the Planning area.

Safety & Social Impact Planner
Planning Team
Phone: 515-239-1788
E-mail: samuel.sturtz@iowadot.us

At a glance
Sturtz began his career with the Iowa DOT in June 2015. He is a 2015 graduate of the University of Iowa with a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning having concentrations in transportation and land use. Prior to joining the Iowa DOT, Sturtz was a Planning Intern with the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission in Burlington, Iowa.

His current responsibilities include coordinating safety planning activities and assisting Multidisciplinary Safety Teams (MDST) throughout the state with safety efforts. Sturtz also assists with the state's long range planning efforts.

Passenger Planner
Planning Team
Phone: 515-239-1772
E-mail: spencer.thompson@iowadot.us

At a glance

Thompson began his career with the Iowa DOT in June 2023. He is a 2022 graduate of Iowa State University with a Bachelor's in Community and Regional Planning with an emphasis in GIS.

His current responsibilities include assisting with passenger planning activities such as the implementation of the state park and ride system plan and coordinating with Iowa’s Metropolitan Planning Organizations and Regional Planning Affiliations on their passenger planning activities. Thompson also assists with the state’s long-range planning efforts.

Statewide Planning Coordinator
Planning Team
Phone: 515-239-1210
E-mail: andrea.white@iowadot.us

At a glance

White began her career with the Iowa DOT in April 2014. She is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa with a bachelor’s degree in Geography with a GIS emphasis. Prior to joining the Iowa DOT, White was employed as the Director of Transportation at the Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments in Waterloo.

Her current responsibilities include leading the state long-range transportation plan update as well as activities related to performance management, asset management, and other state planning efforts.

Freight Planner
Planning Team
Phone: 515-239-7767
E-mail: caleb.whitehouse@iowadot.us

At a glance

Whitehouse began his career with the Iowa DOT in December of 2021. He is a 2021 graduate of Kansas State University with a Master’s in Regional & Community Planning. Prior to joining the Iowa DOT, Whitehouse worked at the Southern Iowa Council of Governments in Creston and the Kansas Department of Transportation in the Transportation Planning Bureau.

His current responsibilities include various freight planning activities such as assisting with the development of the state freight plan, Infrastructure Condition Evaluation (ICE), and other analytical efforts.

Team Leader
Traffic Collection & Analysis
Phone: 515-239-1323
E-mail: Jorge.Zamora@iowadot.us

Traffic Analyst
Traffic sample processing
Phone: 515-239-1246
E-mail: vesper.brace@iowadot.us

Traffic Analyst
Traffic collection
Traffic data collection
Phone: 515-239-1045
E-mail: noah.fegter@iowadot.us

Traffic Analyst
Phone: 515-239-1504
E-mail: jeff.huston@iowadot.us

Traffic Analyst
Traffic sample processing
Phone: 515-239-1122
E-mail: aaron.koethe@iowadot.us

Traffic Scheduling Analyst
Phone: 515-239-1130
E-mail: joshua.lotz@iowadot.us

Traffic Analyst
Phone: 515-233-7909
E-mail: kelly.sprecher@iowadot.us

Traffic Processing Analyst
Traffic sample processing
Phone: 515-239-1356
E-mail: tawnya.sullivan@iowadot.us

At a glance
Tawnya began her career with the Iowa Department of Transportation in May of 1999. She is the Unit Leader of the Traffic Processing Analyst section in the Cartography and Traffic Section of System Planning.

Traffic Analyst
Traffic data collection
Phone: 515-239-1717
E-mail: Zachary.Thompson@iowadot.us

Traffic Analyst
Traffic data collection
Phone: 515-239-1046
E-mail: peter.wilkinson@iowadot.us