QUALIFICATION
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SORIN GARBER
Owner/Principal-Sorin Garber & Associates (SGA)
Sorin Garber brings extensive experience analyzing, developing, and implementing urban passenger and freight transportation system improvements throughout the U.S. Mr. Garber works with state, regional and local transportation agencies as well as transit districts and port authorities as their spokesperson and technical leader in development of corridor and system plans and studies, freight modal assessments, alternatives analyses, feasibility studies, grant applications, and project development. He has completed comparative assessments of new technologies and technical tools with cost/benefit analysis and impact of program changes to support agency management and development of their systems.
Mr. Garber brings special expertise in freight planning and assessment. He has analyzed and forecast freight mobility conditions throughout the Pacific Northwest along its highways, railroads, waterways, airports, and corresponding ports and terminals, where he has developed plans, system improvements, and policy and funding recommendations for the Washington and Oregon Legislatures, Oregon and Washington state DOTs, the Port of Portland, Portland Metro, and the City of Portland.
Mr. Garber also assesses the demands and operational considerations of freight railroads, including identifying their advantages as well as their limitations in moving different kinds of cargo to and from different locations, their ability to successfully operate at new ports, and their ability to accommodate passenger rail services. He has led multiple commuter rail feasibility studies and high-speed intercity rail assessments of proposed passenger services on freight railroad corridors.
Prior to founding SGA, Sorin held Vice President and Principal positions at TY Lin International, HDR, Inc. and Cambridge Systematics, Inc., and was special consultant to Parsons Brinckerhoff. His career began at the NYC DOT.
On a personal level, Mr. Garber is a volunteer with the Portland Refugee Support Group assisting Afghan refugee families with work permits, green card applications, scheduling medical appointments, employment, legal and regulatory matters, and general advocacy for the families’ well-being. In addition, he has been certified as a tutor under Literacy Volunteers of America where he has taught English to newcomers to the US.
Sorin Garber has worked extensively with several industry experts and is proud to call the following individuals Associates of SGA:
William D. Burgel, R.G., Burgel Rail Group:
Rail Capacity / Operations Analysis
Mr. Burgel, Burgel Rail Group, has more than 50 years of experience in engineering and railway operations. He was the Chief Dispatcher for the Union Pacific Railroad’s western operations, and later was manager of railway operations for several consulting firms: serving as project manager/project engineer for railway and transportation engineering projects throughout the nation. Mr. Burgel understands the operations of railroads, including freight/materials movement, and passenger railroad traffic flow issues. He is also knowledgeable in light rail, commuter rail, passenger rail as well as freight rail. He is a recognized expert in solving interface and capacity issues between the different modes. Mr. Burgel understands the importance of the total integration of a rail system in a corridor throughout the planning, design and implementation phases.
Corky Collier, Columbia Corridor Association:
Policy Analysis and Stakeholder Outreach
Corky Collier has been Executive Director of the Columbia Corridor Association since 2004, combining his eclectic business, environmental and political experience. Corky works on a wide variety of issues affecting the economic prosperity of the largest economic corridor in Oregon, including transportation, land use, and natural resources. He helped establish and manages two business education programs: Resource Full Use and the Groundwater Protection Program. In 1998, Corky managed a ballot measure campaign to protect small business interests.
By working with environmental organizations, neighborhoods and businesses, the campaign won 65% of the vote. He went on to work in media and public outreach. He serves on the Portland Freight Committee, Columbia Slough Watershed Council, and Brownfield Redevelopment Coalition. He holds degrees in Biology and Geography from the University of Texas. Corky lives in North Portland within view of the St. Johns Bridge and Forest Park with his wife Sara and son Henry.
Kevin Downing, Skookum Environmental Advisors:
Diesel Emissions Analyses
Kevin Downing worked for the Department of Environmental Quality from 1992 to 2018 where he initially led the efforts of the Department to respond to the challenges of the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act by meeting every one of the requisite deadlines on time. He has also been responsible for the development and implementation of multiple air and water quality programs, often engaging with contentious constituencies. These included nonpoint source pollution reduction projects, expansion of the vehicle emission inspection boundary, abatement of air quality nuisances, open burning, vapor recovery from marine loading of petroleum products and air quality regional maintenance plans. In the last few years working.
He has been a leading force in efforts in the state to reduce the impact of diesel emissions through a variety of tailored and suitable approaches. He has made numerous presentations on the application of clean diesel technology to citizen, business and academic groups in Oregon as well as elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest and nationally. He lives with his wife and two children in a neighborhood of Portland where he had led efforts, as president of the neighborhood association, to successfully reduce the number of travel lanes on a heavily used street to restore balance to other travel modes, i.e., bicyclists and pedestrians, while stimulating the development of a business community along the corridor.
Steve Kountz, AICP:
Industry Land Use & Employment Analysis
Steve’s career has combined city planning and economic development for nearly 40 years, primarily as a senior economic planner in Portland. Recent projects include economic development policy plans, industrial district planning, employment land constraint analysis and forecasting, industrial and business community liaison, and economic and equity data analysis. He received an MA in urban planning from UCLA and BA in economics from St. John’s University.
“I try to be a pluralist, convinced that any one way of looking at things is probably wrong.” Married to Susan Sztaray since grad school together. A proud papa of 4 kids and 11 grandkids. An avid steelhead angler and aspiring portrait painter.