Advisory Board Members

City Members

Chairman, Jim Buffington

Maintenance Manager, Ada County Highway District

Jim Buffington has spent 20 years in the Treasure Valley as a contractor building subdivisions, shopping centers and putting in underground utilities in new road construction for ITD and ACHD.  Jim went to work for Nampa Highway District No.1 in April 2002 as Director.  Jim accepted the position as Maintenance Manager for ACHD in October 2009.

 

Don Barr

City of Nampa, Street Superintendent

Don Barr is originally from Emmett, Idaho.  His experience includes nine years of active duty in the Air Force as an equipment operator. Don also spent nine years with the State of Idaho Military Division as an equipment operator and three years as Team Leader. Don spent 15 years in the Idaho Air National Guard as Pest Management, Education and Training Manager and Operations Superintendent (retired). Courses he has completed are Pavement Maintenance Specialist, OJT Trainer/Supervisor, Vegetation and Turf Management, Apprentice Pest Management, Education and Training Apprentice, Operations Apprentice, and Integrated Engineering Management System.  Don has spent the past three and a half years as Street Superintendent for the City of Nampa. Don is also a Road Scholar and Road Master.

Don is involved with the Nampa Citywide Transportation Plan – Citizens Advisory Committee, Storm Water Advisory Committee, Idaho Air National Guard – retired, and Boy Scout Leader.  He is working with World Heritage placing as well as hosting foreign exchange students.  In his off time, he spends time with family and enjoys fishing, camping, hunting and travel.

Brian Christiansen

City of Ketchum, Street Superintendent

Brian was raised in the Wood River Valley and worked for a local asphalt contractor for four years. He also worked for Hughes Aircraft as a Parking Coordinator for 3 years and helped with parking lot (structure) maintenance. Brian also worked for Continental Airlines for 6 years as a Tech Planner and he was part of the support team for narrow body aircraft maintenance.

Brian has been with the City of Ketchum for 17 years and has served as Street Superintendent for the last 15 years. Brian has been married for 25 years and has two boys. He is also a Private Pilot and has his A&P License.

County Members

Dan Copeland

Public Works Director, Bannock County Road & Bridge Department

Dan Copeland, the Director of Public Works for Bannock County, joined the county in 2004 as the Road & Bridge Superintendent.  Since that time, through his efforts of consolidation and cross-utilization, the Road &Bridge, Landfill, Mosquito, Weed, and Planning & Zoning departments have combined into a Public Works department under Dan’s direction.

Dan was raised on a ranch in Salmon, Id.  He and his wife, Janice, have 4 children and 3 grandchildren. Prior to joining Bannock County, Dan worked in all aspects of construction. He spent his early days working in the logging industry in Idaho and Montana. Later, he ran his own construction company, specializing in road construction, reclamation, wetland design and creation. During it’s 10 years of operation, the company received several state and federal awards.   After closing his business, Dan worked as Marketing Manager for Peter Kiewit & Sons where he was responsible for bringing in over $260M in biding opportunities. He was also involved in the I-15 reconstruction project through Salt Lake City for the 2002 Olympics.  The $1.3B project was completed in 4 years and included over 120 bridge structures.

Asked about his philosophy, Dan states: “I strongly believe in cross training – train, train, train!! Avoid like the plague ‘We always did it that way.’  Think outside the box, understand your costs, and never forget your first priority as a government agency is serving the public – everything else is secondary!”

Rob Simon

Supervisor, Clearwater County Road & Bridge Department

An Idaho native, Rob has been with the Clearwater County Road and Bridge Department for twenty years, with the past ten years as supervisor. His county duties also include Transfer Station Supervisor and Title VI compliance officer.  Prior to that he was the County Weed Superintendent.  He is equally as comfortable operating a road grader, performing his daily county duties, and pursuing funding opportunities or managing construction projects.

Rob believes that in order to manage a public entity in today’s environment it is necessary to be able to think outside of the box and never think something is unachievable.

Rob and his wife Dianne spend their spare time running their Cavendish farm,  rescuing animals in need and working on their never ending back yard projects.

Highway District Members

John Zamora

Director, Buhl Highway District

John Zamora has worked for the Buhl Highway District for 14 years. He assumed the position of Director in 2008.  John’s experience in maintenance and construction of roadways has been enriched by the knowledge acquired from organizations such as T2, IACERS, IAHD, and ITD. He strongly believes that working closely and sharing ideas with other transportation agencies is invaluable. John is currently serving as member at large for the Idaho Association of County Engineers and Road Supervisors. John, his wife, and two young daughters enjoy spending time in the outdoors.

Kelly Brownsberger

Road Supervisor, Post Falls Highway District

Kelly has been with the Post Falls Highway District for 27 years. He spent the past seven years as the Road Supervisor, 16 years as the Assistant Supervisor and four years on the crew. Kelly recently completed two years as President of the Idaho Association of County Engineers and Road Supervisors and is currently serving as past president. Prior to working with the Highway District, Kelly spent four years working in road construction and four years in the United States Marine Corps. Kelly spends his spare time woodworking, riding bicycles, riding four wheelers, and chasing his grandkids.

LHTAC Council Member

Stuart Davis

Executive Director, Idaho Association of Highway Districts

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Idaho Transportation Department Member

Steve Hyndman

Training Specialist

Steve was born in the Midwest and spent the first half of his life there. A graduate of both the University of Illinois and Michigan State University, he came to Idaho to work for the National Park Service. In 1983, Steve became an engineering technician for the ITD in Lewiston and has remained a department employee, working primarily in contract administration, construction, materials testing, and surveying. In 2001, he became a training specialist. As such, he serves department-wide needs and is assigned to District Two, where he conducts technical training and coordinates its training programs.

Steve has served on the T2 Center Advisory Board for four years and is currently the Project Manager for the ITD.

Federal Highway Administration Member

Lori Porreca, PhD

Community Planner, Federal Highway Administration

Lori is the Community Planner for the Federal Highway Administration Idaho Division.  In her role as Community Planner, Lori has oversight responsibility for the Research and T2 programs, several of the State’s MPOs, the Sustainability/Livability Initiative, and other statewide planning efforts on behalf of FHWA.  She has 10 years of experience working in the public, non-profit and private sectors assisting communities in a variety planning and development efforts including transportation planning, policy analysis for agricultural land management, recreation and master plan development, zoning, land use and food policy analysis.  Most recently, Lori worked in statewide transportation planning in Utah where she completed her graduate education at Utah State University.

Ex-Officio Member

Lance Holmstrom

Administrator, Local Highway Technical Assistance Council

Lance grew up in Midvale Idaho, graduating from high school with a class of 19, Lance earned an undergraduate degree from BSU in Public Administration, and a Masters degree in Urban Planning from the University of Oregon. He has been a practicing planner for more than 20 years in Idaho, Oregon and Washington and has specialized in transportation planning for the last 15 years. Just prior to joining LHTAC in July 2005, as the Deputy Administrator, Lance spent nine years in District 6 as the senior transportation planner for the Idaho Transportation Department. He helped develop ITD’s corridor planning process and worked closely with local officials to solve transportation problems. Lance was named the Local Highway Administrator September 14, 2007.

Associate Member

Ned Parrish

Research Program Manager, Idaho Transportation Department

Ned serves as Research Program Manager for the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). He joined the department in 2007, and is responsible for coordinating ITD research, development, and technology transfer activities. Ned serves as Idaho’s state representative to the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and represents ITD on the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) Research Advisory Committee. He also serves on the advisory board for the National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology (NIATT) at the University of Idaho. Prior to joining ITD, Ned worked as program evaluator for almost 20 years for the state legislatures in Arizona and Idaho. He grew up in New Mexico and received a Master of Public Administration degree from Arizona State University.