Advancing the Vision

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) Advisory Council is comprised of a small group of high-level transportation professionals from across Texas and every sector of the transportation world. The council, which meets annually, offers a tremendous service to the Institute by advising on transportation issues and trends and supporting TTI’s research programs and initiatives. TTI profiles several council members in each issue of Researcher.

James Crites

Executive Vice President,
DFW Airport,
Dallas, Texas

James Crites is executive vice president of the Operations Division at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. In this capacity, he oversees operations, energy and transportation management, asset management, the department of public safety, planning, and environmental affairs. He previously served as director of planning and marketing research for the airport and provided leadership for facilities development and new business opportunities. He has also held several key management positions at American Airlines, Inc.

Crites serves as vice chairman of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Executive Committee and on the TRB Standing Committee on Airfield and Airspace Capacity and Delay. He is chairman of The University of Texas at Arlington College of Engineering Advisory Board and is a member of the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics NextGen Advisory Committee.

Thomas Lambert

CEO, Houston METRO,
Houston, Texas

Thomas Lambert serves as president and CEO of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston METRO). In this role, he oversees the management and operations of transit services for the nation’s fourth largest city. He previously served as executive vice president, as well as senior vice president, chief administrative officer and chief of police, during his 36 years with the agency. He has also served as a senior police officer with the Austin Police Department.

Lambert serves on the American Public Transportation Association board and the Transportation Policy Council of the Houston-Galveston Area Council. He is a former chairman of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America Board of Directors and the Houston TranStar Leadership Team. He also previously served on the U.S. Department of Transportation Intelligent Transportation Systems Advisory Council.

Robert Spillar

Transportation Director,
City of Austin,
Austin, Texas

As transportation director for the City of Austin, Robert Spillar is responsible for the city’s multimodal transportation portfolio, including rail planning, traffic engineering and operations, parking enterprise, right-of-way permitting, and special events management. He has developed numerous regional partnerships to improve transportation system conditions not just in Austin but across Central Texas through projects such as the Ben White/Loop 1 interchange, improvements to the Oak Hill “Y,” and the revamping of parking operations. Other major accomplishments include launch of the city’s Urban Rail Program and deployment of the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan.

Formerly, Spillar served as vice president for Parsons Brinckerhoff and director of traffic management for the City of Seattle. He has served as a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America.