2018 Michael Kyte Distinguished Lecture

Crissy Fanganello

How to Drive Success When Innovation/Disruption is the Norm
Sept. 27, 2018

The third annual Michael Kyte Distinguished Lecture brings to the U of I Moscow campus Crissy Fanganello, City Builder, Cultural Transformation and Transportation Professional and former Director of Transportation Mobility for the City of Denver.

Crissy Fanganello spent the last twelve plus years working in the public sector for the City & County of Denver’s Department of Public Works. She started as a senior city planner and was promoted to the Director of Policy, Planning & Sustainability in 2008 and again in 2014 to Denver’s first Director of Transportation and Mobility. In her last two roles, she elevated the importance of transportation planning, operations and investments toward a multimodal transportation transformation.

In partnership with Mayor Michael B. Hancock and his administration, transportation became a vehicle to improve mobility but also to improve the overall quality of life for Denver residents including access to education, services, employment and quite simply a better Denver. Overseeing transportation planning, engineering, operations, parking and mobility services citywide, Fanganello oversaw the policy, institutionalization and implementation of the city’s mobility vision including key initiatives such as Denver’s Mobility Action Plan, USDOT Smart City Challenge Grant Pursuit, Denver Moves Bikes, Transit, Pedestrian & Trails Plans, Denver’s Vision Zero Action Plan and the voter approved 2017 General Obligation Bond including $400M+ of transportation related projects.

As a strong believer that transportation professionals can and must raise the bar for how transportation systems function to move people and goods, she stresses that transportation improvements must positively contribute to the human fabric of a city. This belief complements her commitment to bring a multitude of disciplines and stakeholders together to define common goals and ultimately achieve the desired city vision and outcomes.

Fanganello brings her passion for transportation, innovation and leadership to her life and to her work. She always encourages people to feel empowered in their work, whether as a staff person or as a community member, and reminds people of their ability to make a difference every day regardless of where they sit on the org chart or what neighborhood they call home. Fanganello currently sits on the board for Denver Bike Sharing and recently completed time on the boards of the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) and the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO). She also served as President and board member for the Colorado Chapter of Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) International and was honored as the 2014 WTS Colorado Woman of the Year.

About the Michael Kyte Lecture

The event honors University of Idaho Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering Michael Kyte. Upon the retirement of Professor Michael Kyte in December of 2015, the newly hired Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Patricia Colberg, established an annual lecture in Professor Kyte’s honor to acknowledge his professional accomplishments in the field of transportation engineering and his almost three decades of service as a highly respected and popular faculty member.

The annual lecture has been a success. It is well-received by students and faculty and provides insight and visibility into the field of transportation engineering. The Department’s vision is to eventually offer this event each year both on the Moscow campus and at one other location in the Pacific Northwest. The overall goal is to bring visibility and awareness about contemporary transportation issues to the university community, practicing engineers, and the general public. In addition, it is viewed as an opportunity to recruit and attract students to the transportation discipline and engage those interested in learning more about UI’s programs in civil engineering. The Department has established a fund to endow the Michael Kyte Distinguished Lecture with an initial goal of $50,000, which would provide funding to ensure the lecture will be supported in perpetuity.

Kyte's research focuses on traffic signal systems, highway capacity and transportation engineering education. He received his doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Iowa, masters in civil engineering from the University of California – Berkeley, and bachelor's in systems engineering from the University of California – Los Angeles.