Diana Mendes joined HNTB Corp. as senior VP and national transit/rail practice leader. She brings 30 years of comprehensive experience in transportation and public transit. Mendes is based in the firm’s Arlington, Va., office and works with transit clients across the country.

As national transit/rail practice leader at HNTB, Mendes is responsible for strategic planning and implementation, industry representation, business development, service delivery and client satisfaction.

Prior to joining HNTB, Mendes worked as Americas transit/rail director for another engineering firm. She was responsible for leading the largest transit consulting practice in North America which encompassed the full spectrum of client services including planning, design, construction and operations.

Throughout her career Mendes has been appointed to several professional association boards and committee leadership positions including the Institute of Transportation Engineers, APTA, the American Planning Association, the National Building Museum and the non-profit Rail~Volution. She was on the advisory board and served as a contributing author for the “go-to” professional reference book “Planning and Urban Design Standards” published by the APA and John Wiley and Sons. In addition, Mendes has contributed to trade publications including Passenger Transport, Mass Transit Magazine, Metro Magazine and Engineering News Record.

“Diana is a respected transit leader who is active in the national transportation scene and brings a comprehensive understanding of infrastructure needs and challenges,” said Rob Slimp, PE, CEO of HNTB Corp. “Her prior experience, outstanding technical expertise and extensive client relationships further increase HNTB’s ability to provide infrastructure solutions to our clients in the expanding rail and transit sectors.”

For more than a decade while with prior firms she has been a lead instructor for transit professional development courses sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration and the National Transit Institute including ‘Project Management for Transit Projects” and “Managing the Environmental Review for Transit Projects.”

Mendes holds a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Mount Holyoke College.

HNTB is currently involved with many of the nation’s most high-profile transit programs, including the Los Angeles Metro Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor, Charlotte Area Transit System’s LYNX Blue Line in North Carolina, and the Bay Area Rapid Transit Warm Springs Extension in San Francisco.