Shyam Kannan has joined HDR as the Mid-Atlantic transit lead.

Based in Washington, D.C., Kannan will be responsible for planning, directing, and monitoring all aspects of large multidisciplinary transit and transportation planning projects and business activities in the Mid-Atlantic region. This includes regional planning, forecasting/modeling, surface transit (bus rapid transit, light rail, streetcar), subway/commuter rail, zero emissions vehicles, transit equity, funding/financing, transit facilities, and providing strategy for transit agencies.

“Shyam is an expert stakeholder facilitator who has a reputation for guiding multiple parties through complex issues and ensuring that all participants’ views are respected, heard and valued,” said Tom Waldron, global transit director. “He will use his leadership skills and willingness to invest in others to help develop our professionals and expand our technical expertise in transportation planning and sustainable regional mobility.”

Kannan's experience has focused on regional planning, smart growth, transit and sustainable mobility, real estate, and transit-oriented communities.

Kannan joins HDR from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, where he served as the planning director. At WMATA, Kannan was the principal executive responsible for new transit corridors, fare and service strategies, bus system restructuring, ridership and revenue forecasting, transit equity, capital program development, and transit-oriented communities.

Kannan is currently the co-chair of the American Public Transit Association’s Transit-Oriented Communities subcommittee; an active member of the Urban Land Institute, sits on the Steering Committee for ConnectedDMV’s Regional Economic Development, and participates in the Transit Cooperative Research Program.

“Transit clients need implementable solutions that deliver the most amount of mobility while conserving scarce resources so that people can have access to opportunity and jobs,” Kannan said. “Our clients will have the benefit of delivering improved transit mobility to communities that depend on it to live better and more prosperous lives.”