MY AMPO
Election Bios

The 2020-2022 election is now closed.

For the Association of MPOs’ 2020-2022 Class for the Board of Directors—

The elected persons for these seats will serve 3 years on the AMPO Board. There are 5 candidates for the 3 open seats.

Todd Lang is the Director of Transportation Planning at the Baltimore Metropolitan Council in Baltimore, MD. He serves as staff to the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization representing the 2.7 million residents of the Baltimore Region. As Director, Mr. Lang oversees the MPO work program including development of the region’s short and long range transportation plans. Mr. Lang has a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering, a Master’s in Business Administration (Finance) and a Certificate in Environmental Planning. He is a registered Professional Engineer and is a Certified Planner. Mr. Lang also currently serves as co-chair of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Metropolitan Planning Subcommittee.
Ron Chicka is Director of the Duluth-Superior Metropolitan Interstate Council in Duluth, MN. He has served as the Director of the Metropolitan Interstate Council (MIC), the MPO for the Duluth – Superior metropolitan area since 1998. He began with the MIC in 1995 as a Senior Planner. Prior to this he was employed with the City of Janesville (WI) Planning Department as the MPO Coordinator from 1990 to 1995. Ron has a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Kansas (specialty in transportation and land use) and an undergraduate degree in Geography from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is a member of the American Planning Association and is certified by American Institute of Certified Planners. Ron has presented the MICs work at a number of regional, state and national conferences/workshops including (at the national level): AMPO, Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the National Association of Development Organizations.Additional Member Committees:

  • Association of Metropolitan Planning Organization – Board of Directors
  • TRB ADA-30 – Transportation for Small and Medium-Sized Communities
  • TRB – National Cooperative Freight Research Program Report 17: Freight Transportation within the Great Lakes – Saint Lawrence Basin – 2012
  • U.S. DOT – Federal Highway Administration: Modeling and Analysis Needs and Resources for Small Metropolitan Area Transportation Planning: Report on a Peer Exchange – September 2012
  • AASHTO-CTPP Oversight Committee

Matt Johns is currently the Executive Director of the Rapides Area Planning Commission and has 14 years of planning experience between the Rapides Area Planning Commission and the Louisiana DOTD. He also serves as a policy committee member of the national Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations and was recently appointed to the Standing Committee on Transportation Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Communities on the Transportation Research Board. Matt has a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Louisiana College and obtained his professional planning certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Mike Franchini has served as the Executive Director of the Capital District Transportation Committee (the MPO for the Albany-Schenectady & Saratoga Springs metropolitan areas of New York State) since 2012. He and the excellent staff at CDTC have implemented numerous initiatives in a manner that serves the unique needs of New York’s Capital District such as: a new merit-based and benefit/cost-based TIP project evaluation system, performance-based planning and programming that exceeds FHWA and FTA requirements; enhancing the national award-winning Linkage Program which provides funding to communities for integrated land use and transportation planning; and convening a wide variety of advisory committees on topics including (but not limited to) Equity, Complete Streets, System Management and Operations, and Freight.
Mike brings a perspective that few MPO directors possess: that of an MPO member agency technical representative. After serving in the Coast Guard for 12 years at various duty stations along the East Coast, Mike returned to his hometown and began his career in local government with the City of Albany. He transitioned to Albany County where he was promoted to positions of increasingly greater responsibility including Deputy Commissioner of Public Works, Commissioner of Public Works, and Director of Operations. Beyond managing more than 20 TIP-funded projects from small bridge replacements to complex intersection redesigns, Mike was the County’s primary representative to CDTC for 15 years where he chaired the Planning Committee for seven of them.
Mike is very active in planning at the national and state levels. He was a member of the AMPO Policy Committee from 2013 through 2018, initially as an alternate and eventually being appointed chairperson. Mike has been a member of the New York State Association of MPOs’ Executive Committee since assuming his responsibilities as CDTC Executive Director. He also represents the New York MPOs on the State Transportation Innovation Council, which is key to the success of FHWA-sponsored deployment programs such as Every Day Counts.
Mike received his Bachelor of Science from the United States Coast Guard Academy and his Master in Public Administration from Harvard University. Mike understands the challenges faced by MPOs and the value that a national association can provide with the proper input, direction, and leadership from its members.
If elected to the Board of Directors, he is committed to ensuring that the policy and technical needs of MPOs of all sizes in all areas of the country are fully considered in the AMPO decision making processes.
Corey Hull  is the Transportation and Environmental Director at the Southern Georgia Regional Commission. Since 2008, Mr. Hull has been employed by the Southern Georgia Regional Commission. Mr. Hull and his staff operate an 18-county regional Coordinated Transportation System. He is also involved with the daily activities of the Valdosta-Lowndes MPO including MTP and TIP development, implementation of a $500 million regional transportation sales tax, freight, transit and other environmental, multimodal, and land use planning activities for the 18-county region. Mr. Hull received his Bachelor’s in Urban Planning and Development from Ball State University in 2002 and his Master of Arts in Community Development in 2004 from North Park University.

For office of President of the Association of MPOs—

The AMPO President’s term is one year. This person may run for one more year following. In both cases, the term is one year.  There is one person for one seat.

Todd Ashby is the Executive Director of the Des Moines Area MPO in Des Moines, IA. He brings two decades of transportation planning, design, and programming experience to our region. He understands project management and the importance of bringing diverse interests to the table. Under his guidance, the MPO has strengthened its community partnerships and has worked to provide more support to communities.Todd holds degrees from the University of Missouri and Iowa State University. He once willingly jumped out of an airplane at 12,000 feet. In addition to living on the edge and rooting for the Cyclones, Todd enjoys traveling, cooking, and playing both golf and the guitar badly. He also enjoys the diverse cultural offerings that are available in the region.

For office of Vice President of the Association of MPO—

The AMPO Vice President’s term is one year. This person may run for one more year following. In both cases, the term is one year.  There is one person for one seat.

Ron Chicka, see above