Karen Alexander is the new managing director of NJTIP @ Rutgers
The Bloustein School’s Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center (VTC), a national leader in transportation research and education and the nucleus of the school’s transportation-related policy research, training and education, has appointed Karen Alexander as the first Managing Director the New Jersey Travel Independence Program, NJTIP @ Rutgers.
NJTIP @ Rutgers trains individuals with disabilities, older adults and transportation-disadvantaged populations how to use existing public transit services to help achieve independence and self-sufficiency. The program also provides innovative travel instruction programs and services, including individualized training, programs for high school special-education students, group training for senior citizens and workshops for job coaches and vocational counselors. The NJTIP team moved its base of operation to New Brunswick in May, following its integration into VTC earlier this year.
Ms. Alexander’s experience enhances and strengthens VTC’s current portfolio of transportation related initiatives and services. Her prior positions, at the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest and the Wilf Campus for Senior Living, focused on helping older adults live longer in their own communities. Major projects included LIVE: Lifelong Involvement for Vital Elders, an aging-in-place program that reached over 1,800 seniors in three NJ towns; On the Go! senior mobility workshops with transit field trips and pedestrian outings, and a recent study for the Partners for Health Foundation, “How Can We Help Older Residents of Montclair Age in Place?” Prior to moving to New Jersey, her career focused on senior mobility and accessible transportation, with positions at NJ TRANSIT, NYC Transit, Urbitran and Access-A-Ride.
“If you can’t get somewhere, it doesn’t exist for you. NJTIP expands the sphere of mobility for people with disabilities and older adults; learning how to use public transportation makes your world bigger,” said Alexander. “As part of Rutgers, we greatly increase our potential to reach many more New Jerseyans who struggle with mobility issues.”
NJTIP @ Rutgers is a natural complement to the existing strengths of VTC, which focuses many of its research efforts in the areas of transportation equity, bicycle and pedestrian safety, safe routes to school, and complete streets. “I am confident that the NJTIP @ Rutgers team will thrive under Ms. Alexander’s guidance and creative leadership,” said Jon Carnegie, VTC Executive Director.
Core staff members that have joined NJTIP @ Rutgers include Melody Bundy, Program Manager; Douglas Gilbert, Training Coordinator; Louis Hoffman, Program Manager; Larry Lindstrom, Senior Travel Instructor; Shaquillah McMillan, Travel Instructor; and Nieves G. Pimienta, Bilingual Travel Instructor.
For more information on NJTIP @ Rutgers visit http://vtc.rutgers.edu/njtip/