Yes, it’s January. And, yes it’s cold here in Chicago. And, yes I’m going to continue my decade-plus-long tradition of crating a post that is centered on my recent visit to Washington, DC to attend the Transportation Research Board 2026 Annual Meeting.
But, a modest change of focus. Over the past decade-plus, my “TRB/DC visit” post would be concentrated primarily on perceptions and observations made during my three-or-so days in the nation’s capital. Yes, I will share some thoughts and images of Washington collected while there during the first month of 2026, but first I will offer some insight gained while attending TRB meetings, lectern sessions, and panel discussions.
The State of Transportation in 2026
To put in in perspective, TRB 2026 ran from January 11 through 15. During that time, an attendee had to select from literally hundreds of events, from those that are highly technical to those that are more broadly focused. I opted for the latter. Here’s a summary of what resounded with me.
As a member of the Communications and Public Involvement Committee, I attended a discussion, “The Public Involvement Imperative: Why it is Crucial for Building Public Trust in Transportation.” The focus of the talk centered on the “Five I’s” of public communication and involvement; 1) Identify, 2) Invite, 3) Inform, 4) Involve, 5) Improve. My key takeaway from the presentation and subsequent comments centered on what constitutes modern strategic public relations: Define the stakeholders, communicate strategically, and make revisions when needed.
At a panel presentation titled “Unleashing The Golden Age of Transportation,” leaders from the US Department of Transportation and state DOTs noted that the technology tools to elevate the nation’s transportation system are in place; what’s need is for the public and private sectors to collectively get involved. Regional technology clusters need to be established to enhance project development, maintenance, and safety across surface transportation modes: Highway, rail, and maritime.
Individual panelists at presentations delivered memorable thoughts. Here are a few that resounded with me. a) Expect both disruption and advancement in transportation over the next five years. b) The next generation of transportation scientists will be nurtured through research consortia managed by universities. c) During an emergency, more scrutiny is given to the public sector versus the private sector. d) The widely recognized phrase, “You Don’t Mess with Texas,” was initiated by the Texas Department of Transportationas an anti-litter campaign!
The Nation’s Capital Through Images and Captions
Now, as promised, images and thoughts from my time at TRB and walking the streets of Washington.
Take note: Thoughts on The Golden Age of Transportation were “unleashed!” A near SRO crowd attended this panel discussion.The Trade Show held during the TRB conference provided transportation professionals and scholars with an opportunity to gain insight into a wide range of products and services. And, if you knew where to look, complimentary coffee, chocolates, and more. Opened in 1903 as the Carnegie Library, this magnificent structure across from the Washington Convention Center now houses a retail business. I trust you are familiar with the logo emblazoned on either side of the entrance? Carved into the granite wall before the entrance is the wording: A University for All People. A modest crowd of students and other visitors gathered in LaFayette Square across from the White House. Two notable differences from visits in previous years: The construction cranes shown at left and much more fencing along Pennsylvania Avenue. Take this quote to heart. I was not familiar with James Bernard, but his thought here is quite poignant today. This exhibit can be found in the White House Visitor Center, located at 1450 Pennsylvania Ave. Lots of cool exhibits about the occupants of the White House over the years, along with visitors and guests. Admission is free. The Visitor Center also offered this informative exhibit on the layout of the White House grounds, which as you know, has a major component “under construction.” Note the blank screen at the far right. The view from the World War I Memorial provides a somewhat unobstructed view of the construction cranes positioned near the White House. The Memorial features a bronze statue of General John J. Pershing and a moving 58-foot sculpture entitled, “A Soldier’s Journey.” Before I make my way to the Washington Metro for the short trip to Reagan National Airport, I always take several minutes to look at the Washington Monument. What would he say about the state of the nation today?
Dr. Em Hall, waiting for the next L train while on the platform at the CTA 51st Street Green Line station.
By Edward M. Bury, APR, MA (aka The PRDude)
Engaging with fascinating and intelligent people ranks as the most rewarding aspect of my current position managing communications (and more) for a major university transportation research unit. The subject of today’s Q&A profile certainly ranks way, way up there on my roster of interesting and way cool people.
I recall first meeting Dr. Em Hall some eight years ago when she joined our team as a research assistant. Since then, Em earned her doctorate degree, received the Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship, cultivated a side career as a group fitness instructor, and built Em + H Chicago LLC, a successful diversified strategic consultancy that centers on transportation, higher education, communications and product/project management. Oh yes: In 2026, Em will serve as President of the annual Transport Chicago conference. (Full disclosure: I have served on the Transport Chicago Steering Committee for a dozen years. Read this post from last June for some further insight.)
Okay passengers: Next stop, thoughts from Em Hall.
1. Your impressive career has centered on communications. What led you to pursue — and succeed — in this field?
Well, first of all, thank you for the compliment. My career path has been far from linear, and I certainly didn’t grow up to be the paleontologist I dreamed of becoming as a kid. However, I had an early boss who saw real potential in my writing skills and tapped me for a role in the marketing department at a nonprofit where I had started out in fundraising. While at that job, I became an early adopter of social media and blogging, which ultimately transformed the trajectory of my career. A little over a decade ago, I obtained a certificate in Integrated Marketing and Communications from the University of Chicago’s Graham School, which further developed my skills and expanded my network.
Looking back, that initial transition to marketing and comms made sense: I’d always loved writing and fancied myself an effective communicator from a young age. As I’ve continued to build my own business, which has evolved into focusing on communications for the transportation and urban planning sectors, I still draw on many of the fundamentals I learned from that early boss and the certificate program.
2. While maintaining your own consultancy and working in a full-time position, you decided to take on the challenge of earning your doctorate degree. What prompted you to make this personal and professional commitment?
If there’s been one constant in my life, it’s a love of transportation and trains in particular, for which I credit my dad. He was a top repairman for Lionel, so I grew up around model trains in the house, as well as real trains during family vacations. While living in DC after my first round of grad school, I had a short stint as a federal contractor. The most dull job in my life. I had downtime and decided to put it to good use by riding the DC Metro after work and on weekends, then writing up my adventures in blog posts during the day (yes, work was really that slow!). The blog became somewhat of a hit, and when I moved back to Chicago a few years later, the joy of exploring and writing about transit stuck with me. I realized that urban planning would be a great direction to take my career in, as I could utilize my marketing and communications skills in a different sector.
3. What was the greatest challenge you encountered while pursuing your doctoral degree? And, what advice or insight can you share with other scholars?
For those thinking about a Ph.D.: don’t do it! Ha – just kidding. I would say definitely do it, as long as you know your “why.” I applied and accepted, knowing that the academic path was unlikely to be the one I would pursue. My goal was to acquire subject matter expertise in an area that I was passionate about – transportation – that would enable me to pivot my consulting business to focus on that field. Is going through a Ph.D. program the most efficient way to make a career change? Absolutely not! But it worked for me because a) I have an ego and wanted to be called “Dr. Em” on occasion, and b) I was in the fortunate position to work for myself and could therefore control my time and workload in a way that made it possible to layer on another round of grad school.
The greatest challenge, without a doubt, was writing the dissertation. Not the words and sentences, per se, but just being able to sit down and put aside everything else (mostly work stuff) for extended periods of time in order to give the paper the focus it deserved. I ended up getting a co-working space for about six months in order to leave the house, turn off notifications, and give the dissertation work the deep focus it requires.
4. Your expertise centers on urban planning and transportation. Share three key issues facing urban planners in the years ahead.
From what I’m observing in my consulting work, the work of planners is more visible than ever. But that doesn’t mean that what planners do is necessarily well understood, which is where communicators like me come in! One trend I’m noticing, which is a positive one, is that planners and engineers are collaborating more than ever on transportation initiatives. And if they aren’t yet quite as in synch as they’d like to be, these two groups are making concerted efforts in both the public and private sectors to break down silos that, I would argue, have built up over time as those disciplines have diverged at the academic level.
Another issue is finding planners and planning opportunities in unexpected places. This is a good thing as well. For example, as part of a podcast I co-host for the American Planning Association, I had the opportunity to learn about the work of a pastor who is also a planner, focusing on how houses of worship can serve as anchor institutions and neutral meeting grounds for community planning discussions. She also calls those institutions to task for not always being the most generous neighbors in terms of land use and other planning practices. I think we’ll continue to see more of this.
In terms of transportation planning in particular, I’m already glued to my television, so to speak, on the topic of congestion pricing. We will likely see many dissertations on this topic in the next five to ten years, and I want to read them all.
5. Now to an entirely different topic. Sources tell me — okay, you’ve told me and I’ve visited your website — that you are a fan of Felis catus, better known as a domestic or house cat. Why the fondness for feline friends?
I think the real question is, why not? I’ve been a cat owner for two decades now, and through thick and thin, dissertations and deadlines, my cats have been an unwavering source of furry fun. They’re not much for riding public transit, however. That’s the only shortcoming I can think of.
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