MMI Senior Fellows

Dan Berkovits is Senior Vice President for Strategy at Via, where he oversees the company’s global consulting and service optimization teams. In this role, Dan partners with cities and public agencies across North America, Europe, and around the world to deploy technology solutions and new service approaches that increase the quality, efficiency, and reach of public mobility networks. He's interested in how emerging technologies and innovative mobility models can serve as a catalyst to improve access to economic and social opportunity. Before joining Via, Dan managed a variety of interdisciplinary infrastructure consulting engagements for public and private-sector clients at AECOM. Previously, he worked as a land-use lawyer in private practice and led the NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program in the New York State Governor's Office of Storm Recovery, an award-winning, participatory long-term recovery and resiliency initiative to address the impacts of Hurricane Sandy and other natural disasters. Dan holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an urban planning degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a B.A. from the University of Chicago. When he isn't thinking about mobility and transit, Dan serves on his local planning board and enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and two children.

Laura speaks on mobility, city, and climate topics globally, and is on ‘Transportation Power 100’ and ‘Top Women in Mobility’ lists. She is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Streetlife Ventures, a seed-stage venture fund investing in urban climate solutions to transform sectors including mobility, buildings, energy, waste, and water.​ Previously, Laura was the General Manager of Citi Bike at Lyft and built it into a $100M ARR business and one of the country’s largest transportation systems, led diligence on urban climate tech companies at Sidewalk Labs, launched new mobility products with Boston Consulting Group’s digital ventures team, and advised Bloomberg Philanthropies on their urban investment strategy. Laura also teaches MBA strategy courses at NYU Stern, and is on the board of Governors Island, which will be the test bed for climate innovation in NYC. She is a Senior Fellow with MIT’s Mobility Initiative, and on the urban-focused Expert Taskforce for the World Economic Forum (WEF). ​ Fun fact: Laura’s friends call her ‘20 Questions’ since she loves getting to the heart of a good idea - and she’s given a TED Talk on the topic.

Adam brings a long history of successful involvement in seminal Silicon Valley companies. Adam is currently the Chairman & Managing Partner of UP Partners. Previously, Adam was a Managing Director at Silver Lake Partners for 11 years. At Silver Lake he oversaw successful investments in Tesla (TSLA), Solar City (SCTY), Hyla Mobile (Assurant), Quorum (Thoma Bravo), and Aras (GI Partners). Until recently, he served on the boards of Aeva (AEVA), Calix (CALX), EnerNoc (ENOC), Conviva, Control4 (CTRL), Sentient Energy (Koch), SiBEAM (SIMG), Silver Spring Networks (SSNI), and Transmedics (TMDX). In addition, he has previously served on the boards of Arroyo (CSCO), Alteon (NT), Peakstream (GOOG), Peribit Networks (JNPR) and Traverse Networks (AV). Before SilverLake Kraftwerk, Adam was a General Partner at Foundation Capital for 10 years and was named to Forbes Midas List 4 times. Prior to joining Foundation Capital, Adam was President of Excite@Home, which encompassed thousands of people across multiple divisions. Before @Home, Adam was the co-founder, President and CEO of Catapult Entertainment from inception through IPO. Before his startup life, Adam held leadership positions with technology innovators Apple Computer, Lucasfilm, and Sony - in engineering and management. Adam builds boats and planes, bikes avidly if slowly, and kitesurfs at every opportunity. Adam holds BA, MS and MBA degrees from Stanford University. He is a Senior Fellow at the American Leadership Forum, and was recently awarded an Edmund Hillary Fellowship from the government of New Zealand. Adam is married, with two (amazing) daughters, and two poorly behaved Labradoodles.

Dr. Kara M. Kockelman is the Dewitt Greer Professor of Transportation Engineering in the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. She earned her B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1991, her M.S. in Civil Engineering and M.C.P. in City and Regional Planning in 1996, and her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering in 1998, all from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Kockelman's research encompasses a wide array of topics, including travel demand modeling, the impacts of self-driving vehicles, energy and greenhouse gas emissions, and traffic safety analysis. She has published extensively in these areas, contributing significantly to the field of transportation engineering. You can find pre-prints of her 230 publications at https://www.caee.utexas.edu/prof/kockelman/home.htm Throughout her career, Dr. Kockelman has received numerous accolades, including UC Berkeley's Medal, MIT Tech Review's Top 100 (young) Innovators Award, a Google Research Award, an NSF CAREER Award, 4 national ASCE awards, and CUTC's inaugural New Faculty Award. She has served as the president of the North American Regional Science Council, chaired the TRB Travel Survey Methods Committee and UT Austin Faculty Women's Organization, and has been co-organizing the world's only cost-free carbon-free transportation research conference for 7 years (bridgingtransport.org). Beyond her research and leadership roles, Dr. Kockelman is dedicated to education, teaching courses in travel demand forecasting, transport economics, transportation system design, and data analysis, at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She will be at MIT in the Fall of 2025 for a working sabbatical.

Alex Mitchell is a seasoned investor at the intersection of cleantech and mobility. He currently serves as a Senior Advisor at Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator and authors the Su$tainable Mobility newsletter. While Alex was SVP at Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) he oversaw startup recruiting, incubation programs and was responsible for venture capital investments. Alex raised and deployed the LACI Cleantech Debt Fund, a first-of-its kind lending solution for cleantech startups that was the subject of a Stanford GSB case study. Previously, Alex worked at Peugeot (now Stellantis) as the VP of Corporate Strategy, where he focused on vehicle autonomy and electrification. His previous work experience includes McKinsey, Toyota, and the World Economic Forum (WEF). Alex holds a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from The Wharton School. A lifelong car enthusiast, Alex is one of the rare but growing number of Los Angeles residents who are car free by choice

During her career in the public, private, academic and non-profit sectors, Stephanie Pollack has applied a people-focused, data-driven and pragmatic approach to tackling transportation and other public policy challenges. She has spent the last decade in senior leadership positions in State and Federal transportation agencies. Most recently, Pollack served at the US Department of Transportation as a senior advisor to Secretary Pete Buttigieg on implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and improving project delivery. Prior to that, she served as Deputy (and Acting) Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, focusing on safety and helping to shape and then implement FHWA’s $350 billion share of BIL programs and funding. As Secretary and CEO of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation for six years, she led a multi-modal state transportation agency (including serving on the board of the Massachusetts Port Authority and overseeing the work of a specially-created Fiscal Management and Control Board for the MBTA transit agency). Before her government service, Pollack held increasingly senior advocacy, policy and leadership positions at the Conservation Law Foundation, provided strategic consulting on transportation and sustainable development and conducted research at and helped to design and teach in a newly-created School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University. At Northeastern University, Pollack taught core courses on public policy as well as classes on transportation, housing and land use policy. In 2025 Stephanie began working as an advisor and advocate on transportation policy and on improving transportation infrastructure and its delivery, as well as serving as a 2025 MIT MMI Senior Fellow.

During her career in the public, private, academic and non-profit sectors, Stephanie Pollack has applied a people-focused, data-driven and pragmatic approach to tackling transportation and other public policy challenges. She has spent the last decade in senior leadership positions in State and Federal transportation agencies. Most recently, Pollack served at the US Department of Transportation as a senior advisor to Secretary Pete Buttigieg on implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and improving project delivery. Prior to that, she served as Deputy (and Acting) Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, focusing on safety and helping to shape and then implement FHWA’s $350 billion share of BIL programs and funding. As Secretary and CEO of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation for six years, she led a multi-modal state transportation agency (including serving on the board of the Massachusetts Port Authority and overseeing the work of a specially-created Fiscal Management and Control Board for the MBTA transit agency). Before her government service, Pollack held increasingly senior advocacy, policy and leadership positions at the Conservation Law Foundation, provided strategic consulting on transportation and sustainable development and conducted research at and helped to design and teach in a newly-created School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern University. At Northeastern University, Pollack taught core courses on public policy as well as classes on transportation, housing and land use policy. Through her career, she has engaged in advocacy, policymaking, consulting and research a range of related policy issues beyond transportation and infrastructure including economic development, sustainability, public health, housing and land use.

Jamey Tesler is currently the executive director of the Mass Mobility Hub, a public benefit corporation with a mission to support mobility and transportation companies in their growth and accelerate change in this sector. Previously, Jamey served as Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, where he was responsible for a fully multimodal state transportation department, oversaw the leadership of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and served on the board of the Massachusetts Port Authority. Jamey had also served as Registrar of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) in June of 2020, after serving in the role on an interim basis since June of 2019. Jamey has previously worked for more than 20 years in senior management roles in the public sector with experience in infrastructure, transit, sustainability, mobility, public finance, and public policy. Jamey has been a Visiting Fellow at the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2023 and 2024.

Kristin White is a visionary change agent with two decades at the intersection of technology, policy, and public service, where she combines her federal, state, local government and nonprofit experience to challenge the private sector to advance public sector innovation. As the Transportation Industry Executive for Google Public Sector, Kristin bridges the gap between Silicon Valley innovation and the public good. She is the architect of "Google for Transportation," a pioneering initiative that harmonizes Google’s Search, Maps, Cloud, and AI capabilities to tackle the world’s most pressing mobility challenges—from road safety to resilient operations. Kristin’s influence is rooted in unparalleled experience at all levels of government. She previously served as the youngest-ever acting Federal Highway Administrator, overseeing the nation’s largest transportation agency and managing a historic $300 billion investment portfolio. Previously, she served as: COO of ITS America; Executive Director of Minnesota’s Connected and Automated Vehicle Office; helped launch one of the nation’s first state-run tech startups and incubators at the Minnesota Department of Transportation; and worked at the City of Minneapolis. A lawyer and former US Department of State Fulbright Fellow, Kristin pairs rigorous policy expertise with a leadership philosophy rooted in servant leadership, human-centered design, and authenticity. She is a fierce champion for women and diversity in transportation, mentoring the next generation of leaders and founding of a nonprofit dedicated to advancing women in mobility innovation. She also serves as a board member of Forth Mobility, The Transportation Channel, and a Senior Fellow at Berkeley.

Michael Woods is an architect and filmmaker focused on repurposing buildings and public spaces to meet changing circumstances. He creates short films to communicate design ideas to a wider audience. After a decade at Perkins & Will Architects in New York City, he founded Circumstance & Design studio in 2025. Previously, Michael worked with RTKL Associates, Ennead Architects, and Rafael Viñoly Architects. He currently teaches a third year architecture design studio on adaptive reuse at the New York City College of Technology (City Tech) in Brooklyn. Michael also teaches sustainable interior design at the New York School of Interior Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology. In 2022, Michael received a grant from the Architectural League of New York and the New York State Council on the Arts to support his Future Station Project. This reimagined gas stations in the transition to alternative forms of transportation and was featured in Metropolis Magazine in 2024. During the pandemic, Michael’s film about Perkins & Will’s Pop-Up Care Unit was selected as a finalist in the AIA Film Challenge of 2020. In 2018, he created Eat Drink See Architecture, a travel web series that pairs architectural sites with places to eat and drink nearby, now with more than 100 episodes encouraging people to seek architecture as a destination. Michael earned his master’s degree in architecture studies from MIT and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. He grew up in Southern California and had an early interest in designing cars before he found architecture.

Jiang Xu works at the intersection of mobility systems, emerging vehicle technologies, and commercialization strategy. His professional and research interests focus on how electric, autonomous, and software-defined vehicles can be deployed at scale to deliver measurable economic, environmental, and societal impact. Over the past two decades, he has held senior leadership roles across Asia, the United States, and Europe, advancing next-generation mobility solutions in complex, multi-stakeholder environments. He led Nissan North America’s electric vehicle strategy during a pivotal period of market expansion, built Amazon’s first electric delivery fleet in Europe, and currently develops innovation and technology partnerships at Volvo Group to accelerate the integration of advanced vehicle technologies into commercial operations. His work has consistently centered on translating technological capability into operational and commercially viable systems. Following the MIT Sloan Fellows Program, he co-founded a mobility startup, further deepening his engagement with entrepreneurship and early-stage technology deployment. His current research examines the commercialization of autonomous vehicle fleets, with a comparative focus on Europe, China, and the United States. He is particularly interested in how regulatory design, business models, and institutional structures shape the scalable deployment of autonomous mobility systems.

David Zipper examines the interplay between transportation policy, technology, and society. A Contributing Writer at Vox & Bloomberg CityLab, David’s writing has been published in outlets including The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Slate, and Vox. His articles focus on topics including road safety, climate change, the uses of transportation data, and the future of American public transit. ​ David was previously the Managing Director for Smart Cities and Mobility at 1776, a global entrepreneurial hub with over 1,300 member startups. Earlier in his career he served as the Director of Business Development and Strategy under two mayors in Washington DC, where he led support for the region’s first startup incubators and guided the city’s response to the emergence of ride hail. Before moving to Washington, David served as Executive Director of NYC Business Solutions in New York City under Mayor Bloomberg. David holds an MBA with Highest Honors from Harvard Business School, an M.Phil in Land Economy (Urban Planning) from Cambridge University, and a BA with High Honors from Swarthmore College. He has been selected as a Truman Scholar, a Gates Scholar, and a Baker Scholar.

David Zipper examines the interplay between transportation policy, technology, and society. A Contributing Writer at Vox & Bloomberg CityLab, David’s writing has been published in outlets including The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Slate, and Vox. His articles focus on topics including road safety, climate change, the uses of transportation data, and the future of American public transit. ​ David was previously the Managing Director for Smart Cities and Mobility at 1776, a global entrepreneurial hub with over 1,300 member startups. Earlier in his career he served as the Director of Business Development and Strategy under two mayors in Washington DC, where he led support for the region’s first startup incubators and guided the city’s response to the emergence of ride hail. Before moving to Washington, David served as Executive Director of NYC Business Solutions in New York City under Mayor Bloomberg. David holds an MBA with Highest Honors from Harvard Business School, an M.Phil in Land Economy (Urban Planning) from Cambridge University, and a BA with High Honors from Swarthmore College. He has been selected as a Truman Scholar, a Gates Scholar, and a Baker Scholar. He was a MMI Senior Fellow for 2024.

Dr. Anjali Mahendra is Director of Global Research at the World Resources Institute’s Ross Center for Sustainable Cities and an internationally recognized expert on sustainable urban mobility and climate action. Her work examines how transportation and land use policies shape equity, accessibility, public health, economic development, and emissions, with a focus on informing policy and practice in cities of the Global South. Dr. Mahendra has published peer-reviewed articles and practitioner-oriented guidance for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Transportation Research Board, and C40 Cities among others. Her research has been widely cited in U.S. and international media. Her professional experience prior to WRI includes roles with the World Bank, ICF, UITP, Delft University of Technology, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has taught graduate transportation policy courses at UNC and Virginia Tech and served for many years on TRB committees on Congestion Pricing and Developing Countries. With a keen interest in learning from innovations in cities worldwide, she serves as an Expert Advisor to the Earthshot Prize and MIT Solve. From 2022–2025, she was appointed to the first U.S. Climate Security Roundtable, convening federal intelligence and science agencies to address climate change as a national security priority. She also serves on the Advisory Board of One Earth journal and SALURBAL, an initiative focused on urban health in Latin American cities. She is co-editing the forthcoming Routledge Handbook on Urban Transport in the Global South (2026). She holds master’s degrees in City Planning and Transportation, and a PhD, all from MIT, and a bachelor’s degree from the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.