Staff Directory
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Jill Hough, Ph.D., Director (View Bio)(701)231-8082Dr. Hough is the director of UGPTI's Small Urban & Rural Transit Center (SURTC), which focuses on research, education, and training for the public transportation industry. She has more than 20 years of transportation research experience and has published more than 45reports and journal articles in the areas of public transportation, low-volume roads, logistics, and economic development. Her primary research areas presently relate to workforce development, mobility of the elderly and disadvantaged, as well as transit planning and management. She is the instructor of the graduate level course on public transportation, TL786.
Dr. Hough served two three-year terms on the National Academies of Science Transit Cooperative Research Program Oversight Project Selection (TOPS) committee which identifies and prioritizes transit research needs in the United States. She is currently the vice-chair of the National Transit Institute Advisory Board at Rutgers – New Jersey State University. NTI at identifies and prioritizes transit training needs in the United States. Dr. Hough currently serves as the Chair of the Transportation Research Board’s 19th National Conference on Rural Public and Intercity Bus Transportation. Hough chaired the Higher Education working group for the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Blue Ribbon Panel on Workforce Development and currently serves as the inaugural chair of the Higher Education Subcommittee for APTA.
In 2010 Dr. Hough testified on rural livability for the USDOT’s Transportation Reauthorization Outreach Tour. In 2008, she testified before the U.S. Senate Budget Committee regarding the importance of infrastructure in rural areas, with a focus on the mobility of the elderly population.
During her career, Hough has worked on several projects in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation. In 1998 she was interim director for the Federal Transit Administration's Transit Intelligent Vehicle Initiative in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Hough earned her Ph.D. degree in the transportation technology and policy program at the University of California - Davis. She also has earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in agricultural economics at North Dakota State University.
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Alan Abeson, Ed.D., Affiliated Faculty(817)731-2720Al most recently served as the director of Easter Seals Project ACTION and as the Principle Investigator for the National Center on Senior Transportation also based at Easter Seals. During his career he has worked extensively with many national transportation groups, disability organizations and human service organizations. Before joining Project ACTION in 2002, he was the Executive Director of The Arc (formerly known as The Association for Retarded Citizens) of the United States for 15 years. Before coming to the Arc, he worked with the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). A constant during his career has been his work with government at all levels to advance transportation, education and other opportunities for children and adults with disabilities through improved public policy. Al also served for a number of years as a member and Chairman of the City Council appointed Special Transit Advisory Board in Arlington, Texas providing oversight of the system and policy guidance to the Council. Among his current activities, Al is serving as a member of the Texas Transportation Commission's Public Texas Transportation Advisory Committee and the Paratransit and Accessibility Advisory Group of Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Al earned Masters and Doctoral degrees in Special Education Administration at Columbia University. His BS is from The Ohio State University.
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Keven Anderson, Coordinator of Training and Outreach(701)231-6436Keven most recently served as the Transit Project Manager for the Minnesota Department of Transit for 12 years, where his responsibilities included providing oversight and technical expertise for transit providers in a 12 county area and Greater Minnesota. Prior to that he managed a multi-county public transit system in Eastern Iowa which provided Dial a ride, Elderly/Disabled, Commuter and Para-Transit services. He brings almost 20 years of diverse transportation experience to the Small Urban & Rural Transit Center.
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(701)231-5496
Jeremy began working with UGPTI's Small Urban & Rural Transit Center in 2007. He has conducted research on alternative fuels, energy prices, transit ridership, rural intercity transportation demand, and transportation issues related to aging, disabilities, and access to health care. He holds a B.A. degree in economics and business management and a M.S. degree in agricultural economics and is currently in the Transportation & Logistics Ph.D. program at North Dakota State University.
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(701)328-9865
Jon Mielke conducts research on personal mobility issues related to small urban, rural, and tribal transportation. He was employed by the North Dakota Public Service Commission from 1980 until 2004 and served as the agency's chief of staff from 1994 to 2004. He was also director of the agency's licensing division, overseeing the licensing and regulation of grain elevators, grain buyers, auctioneers and auction clerks and the lead staff person on matters involving North Dakota's rail shipping interests in federal proceedings. A native of Grafton, North Dakota, Jon holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in public administration, both from the University of North Dakota. He was the 2007 recipient of the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute's Agrey Award. This life-time achievement award is recognizes and honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the State of North Dakota, its citizens, and its business community through involvement in transportation.
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(814)692-8405
Jim Miller has more than 30 years experience in public transportation research, planning, and management. He was a faculty member in Penn State University's Smeal College of Business Administration from 1976 until his retirement in 2003. He directed the Mid-Atlantic Universities Transportation Center from its founding in 1988 until 2002. In addition, he was a program director at the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute and directed a number of research and technology transfer programs at both the state and national levels. He is active in the Council of University Transportation Centers and served as its president in 2000. He has had a special interest in rural and specialized transit services and helped form policy for Pennsylvania's very extensive shared-ride program. He also helped more than 25 counties design and manage their systems. He was one of the founders and served as chairman of the Centre Area Transportation Authority, the public transit operator for the Penn State/State College, Pennsylvania community. Recently he completed a synthesis of campus transit operations for the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP). In his role as Faculty Affiliate, he is assisting SURTC with its various research projects, and is the instructor for a graduate and upper level undergraduate course on public transportation.
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Del Peterson, Associate Research Fellow (View Bio)(701)231-5908Del began working with UGPTI's Small Urban & Rural Transit Center in February 2003. He has conducted research pertaining to the small transit vehicle industry, small urban sprawl, intelligent transportation systems (ITS) deployment, and passenger mobility enhancements utilizing geographic information systems (GIS) and similar technologies. He holds a B.A. in business management and economics and an M.S. in agribusiness and applied economics with an emphasis in transportation economics. Del's thesis work involved determining optimal procurement strategies for hard red spring wheat buyers based on quality characteristics and geographic locations. Growing up in a rural community, Del knows the importance of a sound transportation system and how it applies to the betterment of small town living.
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Carol Wright, Associate Director of Outreach and Training (View Bio)(701)231-8231Carol Wright joined the staff of the Small Urban & Rural Transit Center (SURTC) in 2006 as Associate Director of Training and Outreach. She is responsible for the oversight of SURTC's training and outreach efforts. She has more than 12 years of experience as Executive Director of public transportation for a multi-county project in central North Dakota, where she managed all aspects of public transit, including rural transit, specialized transit, Dial-a-Ride and contracted services.
Ms. Wright has also served as an independent consultant for marketing and development with planners, developers, architects and contractors. She has served as a trainer and keynote speaker for national, state and local conferences for over 20 years.
Support Staff
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Patrick Nichols, Web Communications Manager(701)231-7718After graduation, Patrick started his career with UGPTI in 2002 as a Web Communications Manager. Patrick focuses on improving the day-to-day operation of UGPTI's websites along with developing new ways to communicate with our web users.
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Dustin Ulmer, Web Technician(701)231-6191Dustin who comes from rural North Dakota joined SURTC on an internship in the summer of 2003. He received his Bachelors degree in management information systems with a minor in computer science from North Dakota State University in the spring of 2004. Dustin is involved with website development, maintenance, and functionality.
Graduate Research Assistants
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Mridula Sarker(701)231-1064Mridula Sarker received her bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science with high honors from the Institute of Science and Technology in Bangladesh, her home country. She is currently pursuing her PhD in transportation and logistics at North Dakota State University. She is also finishing her master's degree in software engineering at NDSU. Mridula's research has been focused on the development of a novel strategic planning and management system to expedite transit safety and security. She is also involved in a campus transit study at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks and is also studying the impact of accessibility and livability in rural and suburban areas on public transit systems.
