Certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners, Ms. Mendes has over 35 years of leadership and management experience in transportation consulting. She is an entrepreneurial executive versed in all aspects of professional services firm growth and management. She has been responsible for a wide range of leadership, operational management, and business development functions and has a proven record of leading successful multidisciplinary businesses. Ms. Mendes currently serves as HNTB’s corporate president for infrastructure and mobility equity. Previous positions held at HNTB included Mid-Atlantic Division president and national transit and rail market sector leader.
Ms. Mendes has received numerous awards for her professional contributions. These include the 2019 Conference of Minority Transportation Officials Executive of the Year, the American Transportation and Road Builders Association Ethel S. Birchland Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, the 2018 COMTO Shirley A. DeLibero Women Who Move the Nation Award, and the National Transit Institute 2017 Training Professional of the Year. In 2020, she became an HNTB Fellow, one of the firm’s highest honors recognizing technical excellence and innovation. Ms. Mendes was also the recipient of the 2021 Virginia Business Women in Leadership Award and the 2021 Women’s Transportation Seminar DC Chapter Rosa Parks Diversity Award.
She is active in supporting academic and industry activities to develop the next generation of leaders. Ms. Mendes has lectured at the University of Pennsylvania, taught courses for the American Planning Association and NTI, and is an adjunct professor for Rutgers University. Since 2017 Ms. Mendes has taught NTI’s Advanced Environmental Justice Seminar, and she is currently developing a new course on environmental justice for NTI. She was on the Advisory Board and a contributing author for the “go-to” professional reference book “Planning and Urban Design Standards” published by the American Planning Association and John Wiley and Sons. She has authored articles in Engineering News Record, Passenger Transport and Mass Transit Magazine in addition to delivering papers and presentations at the Transportation Research Board. She is a sought-after speaker nationally for her expertise in environmental justice, transit, project development, and environmental issues.
Ms. Mendes has served on professional association boards and committees at COMTO, APA, the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the American Public Transportation Association, and the non-profit Rail~Volution. She has served as the chair of APTA’s Legislative Committee, chair of the Policy and Planning Committee, on the executive committee and on the Board of Directors. Currently, she has been appointed to the APTA Awards Committee and serves as the chair of the Rail~Volution Board of Directors. She is a member of the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Fine Arts Dean’s Council. She formerly served on the Board of Directors at the National Building Museum in DC.
Ms. Mendes holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Mount Holyoke College, and a Masters of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. She received a Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University in April 2021. She also received a certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business in May 2021.
