Throughout his 14 years in the transit industry, Brett Wallace's focus has been on anticipating and exceeding client expectations. His qualifications as a certified planner and professional engineer enable him to understand and respond to issues from an interdisciplinary perspective. He works collaboratively with architects, track designers, urban designers, cost estimators and other technical specialists on multi-faceted projects.
Clients know Wallace responds quickly and accurately, even before 7 a.m. If he knows it will take him more than the day to come up with an answer. He is also dedicated to providing quality products that bring value. His painstaking efforts, along with HDR's QA/QC process, ensure that what the client receives has been produced in a quick and less expensive manner.
Currently, Wallace is project manager on a combined alternatives analysis/environmental assessment (AA/EA) for a potential streetcar project in Providence, R.I. The best evidence of exceptional client service is when the client hires the consultant for additional work. Wallace initially worked on the Metropolitan Providence Transit Enhancement Study. Building on this relationship and the success of the study, he helped HDR and the project team win the AA/EA study.
Throughout the project, Wallace has gone above and beyond. During the pursuit, he and another employee proposed a unique way to meet the needs of the client by streamlining the process and quickly preparing RIPTA for possible federal funding opportunities. By quickly defining the project's purpose and need, Wallace oriented the study process around meeting its goals while fulfilling federal guidelines.
Wallace is leading another important project for Winston-Salem, N.C., which has a vision of a strong city center, balanced transportation system and focused and sustainable development patterns. With Wallace as project manager, the city selected HDR to conduct an AA to define an urban circulator for approval by the Federal Transit Administration and move the vision into the project development phase for Small Starts projects.
In 2010, Wallace was nominated by HDR senior leadership for the Leadership APTA program after an intensive qualification process. He was in-turn selected by APTA to participate in the program — one of just 25 future leaders of the transit industry from among the more than 1,200 APTA member organizations.
He has also been a member of the Transportation Research Board's Committee on Transportation Demand Management and served for many years on the Transportation Association of South Carolina's board.
Wallace has a master's in civil engineering from the University of Washington and a bachelor's in civil engineering from the University of South Carolina. HDR's professional associate program recognizes a limited number of employees who have distinguished themselves as technical and creative experts in their fields and as leaders in specific areas of expertise. They provide specialized support on projects, assist in quality control reviews and project reviews, mentor staff, develop best practices, apply leading-edge technology, publish technical papers and presentations and assist in business development and technical staff recruiting and retention.
Creating Livable Communities
"Transit is about so much more than simply moving people from one place to another. Transit helps to sustain our communities and shape their growth by enabling people to engage in all of life's activities, whether it's a daily commute to work, running errands or anything else. It is rewarding to be involved in an industry that has such a great impact.
"Communities need to think creatively about how transit can address their mobility, development and livability goals in a cost-effective manner. Transit practitioners should be challenged to create innovative designs that are able to deliver high-quality service, without being constrained by the typical boxes of 'what has been done somewhere else.'”
