Keynote Speakers
38th Annual International Conference
Register now Schedule at a glance Hotel and airline
Charles Brown, Founder & CEO, Equitable Cities
Monday, August 5
Charles T. Brown is the founder and principal of Equitable Cities, a minority- and veteran-owned urban planning, public policy and research firm focused at the intersection of transportation, health and equity. He is also an adjunct professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
Charles is an award-winning expert in planning and policy and has been interviewed by several notable outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, VICE and Bloomberg CityLab. He is highly regarded as a keynote speaker and leads workshops on transportation, health and equity for audiences worldwide.
Charles previously served as a senior researcher with the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University, where he authored several groundbreaking national and local studies that redefined how experts analyze the role of race and racism in transportation and mobility. In 2020, Charles was part of the inaugural class of the Public Voices Fellowship on the Climate Crisis, which is managed by the Yale School of the Environment.
Charles is a military veteran and a recipient of the Mississippi Commendation Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. He has a Master of Public Administration degree and graduate certificate in urban and regional planning from the University of Central Florida, where he received the 2020 Alumni Achievement Award for Public Administration. He also has a Bachelor of Science in Management degree from Belhaven College, where he received the James W. Park Academic Achievement Award. He is a certified instructor with the League of American Bicyclists, received a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Professional Designation (CPD) from the National Institute on Crime Prevention and is also a proud and active member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated.
Keynote sponsored by: 
Amy Ford, Executive Director, Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, City and County of Denver
Tuesday, August 6
Amy Ford serves as the Executive Director of Denver’s Department of Transportation & Infrastructure (DOTI). She runs one of the city’s largest and most dynamic departments focused on modernizing Denver’s transportation system, construction of public facilities, maintaining sanitary and sewer systems and providing solid waste removal, recycling and composting services.
As Executive Director, Amy oversees approximately 1,500 DOTI employees and is responsible for the department’s $340 million annual budget and was appointed to her role in January 2024.
Amy is a national leader helping communities and agencies holistically harness the human, digital and physical infrastructure systems that are the backbone of how we build a vibrant community. This means how we work with the public to safely, sustainably and equitably move people, data and goods, as well as deliver city services.
Prior to joining the city, Amy led global surface transportation and mobility innovation for AECOM and the led the strategic direction and activities of the Mobility of Demand (MOD) Alliance and Intelligent Transportation Society of America’s policy programs focused on transportation technology and mobility. Ms. Ford also served as the Chief of Advanced Mobility for the Colorado Department of Transportation where she was responsible for accelerating innovation programs, policies and projects, including connected and autonomous vehicles, mobility operations, workforce of the future, communications and other transportation technologies. She also chaired Colorado’s Autonomous Mobility Task Force.
Keynote sponsored by:
