Phil Longenecker graduated from Portland State University's Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) program in 2021. He now works as an Associate Planner at Alta Planning + Design specializing in bicycle and pedestrian network planning and facility design, cartography, data analysis and visualization, and new mobility projects.

What do you do in your current role, and what does a typical day look like?

Kirk Paulsen, now a Senior Engineer at Parametrix, previously worked as a Transportation Engineer at Alta Planning + Design where he contributed to a Kellogg boulevard redesign which is shown above. The before image features a boulevard with a parking lane and two driving lanes in each direction separated by a green median. The after image reveals the changes: a bi-directional bike path protected by a nature strip and two lanes of traffic in each direction separated by another green median, with bump outs into the reservation for parking. 

Courtney Furman graduated from Portland State University in 2012 with a Masters of Science in Civil Engineering. She now works as an Assistant City Engineer at the City of Tigard. Previously, she was a Principal Engineer and Senior Project Engineer at the City of Tigard, Traffic Engineer at Clark County, WA, and Transportation Engineering Associate at DKS Associates. 

Tara Goddard graduated from Portland State University in 2017 with a Ph.D. in Urban Studies & Planning. She now works as an assistant professor of civil engineering at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. Previously, she was an assistant, then associate, professor of urban planning at Texas A&M University.

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Milad Souri graduated from Portland State University in 2021 with a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering. While at PSU, he devoted his doctoral research to the Development of a Design Guideline for Pile Foundations Subjected to Liquefaction-Induced Lateral Spreading with advisor Arash Khosravifar. He now works as a Project Engineer at GRI.

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Afroza Hossain Misty graduated from Portland State University in 2024 with a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) degree. She now works as an Associate Planner for the City of Columbia, South Carolina. During her time at PSU,  she was a student employee of PSU's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC), where she contributed to transportation research projects by managing survey packaging, online data entry, and data validation processes. She also served as a Mayor Policy-Innovation Fellow for the City of Beaverton, Oregon in 2024.

Katherine Keeling graduated from Portland State University (PSU) in 2022 with a Master's in civil engineering. She is now a Senior Analyst in Operations & Finance Planning at TriMet.

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Portland State University's Class of 2025 celebrated its commencement ceremonies this past weekend, and we'd like to take a moment to highlight two graduates of the Toulan School of Urban Studies & Planning who devoted their time at PSU to improving the accessibility of transportation services.

Nick Foster graduated from Portland State University (PSU) in 2014 with a Master's of Science in civil engineering. He is now a Principal Planner at Kittelson & Associates in Boise, ID. The photo on the left shows a project Nick worked on in Boise. On the right, Nick and his daughter are watching the PSU’s women’s basketball team play in the Big Sky basketball tournament.

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