- Alma Mater: Undergrad at University of Notre Dame, Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from Harvard University GSD
- Favorite book: "American Odyssey" by Robert E. Conot & "Tai-Pan" by James Clavell
- Favorite TV show: "Veep"
- Favorite movie: "Jaws"
- Favorite hobby(ies): Weightlifting
- Fun fact about yourself: In 2011 he did a 2,181-mile thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail with 3 friends, none of which had ever hiked before, to raise money for Mdabulo General Hospital in Mufindi, Tanzania.
- What is your favorite transit system (outside of the one you work for or have worked for!) and why?: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. He lived in Boston and had a soft-spot for the system and the electric buses. He also favors systems like Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District, Rockwell Metro and Ride Mass Transit District "There are a number of systems in mid-sized cities and rural throughout Illinois that do a really great job."
Mike Healy has a BA in American Studies — Public Service from University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. He also has a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from Harvard School of Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Healy joined the Illinois Department of Transportation, Office of Intermodal Project Implementation in 2013 as a program manager in the Consolidated Vehicle Program (CVP) Section. His goal was to have a career where he could do something that would have a positive impact on the community. The Consolidated Vehicle Procurement Program purchases paratransit vehicles for Non for Profit agencies that provide transportation services for senior citizens and individuals with disabilities, Public Transit Providers and Certified Public Providers. This program is funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) utilizing Sections 5310, 5311, and 5339 grants. When Healy first started, IDOT was four years behind in delivering vehicles to grantees, grant applications, and scoring of applications had to be done manually.
IDOT receives each year approximately 150 CVP applications. In Healy’s first year he automated the application process and scoring process. This made it easier for grantees to fill out the applications. This also made the process more efficient for reviewing and scoring CVP applications. It use to take an hour to review, and score an application. It also use to take 5 people to do this task. With the application and scoring process, it now takes about 15 minutes to review and score an application. Now it only takes two people to accomplish this task.
In addition, scoring of the CVP application is more standardize. There is also less margin for inconsistency. In 2014, Healy was promoted to section chief of the CVP program. In addition to automating the Application progress, Healy accomplished getting vehicle delivery caught up by 2015. This amounted to approximately 1,500 paratransit vehicles. Healy has also mapped out the demographics areas of the state to determine where the demand is for the highest need of service, and what the impact would be. This was very useful to make more efficient use of Section 5310, 5311 and 5339 funds. In addition to leading the CVP Section. Healy is working with the Office of Program and Planning on the State’s Public Transportation Plan. This is the first comprehensive transit plan the state has ever had, and will cover a 20 year period. The plan will include Capital, Operating, Technology and Performance measures. Another project
Healy is also working on is the Illinois Autonomous Vehicle Study. The study will be looking at the technology, efficiency, and safety for both private vehicles, and public transportation vehicles that will be automated and not have drivers. Healy is also on the Transportation Committee for the Illinois Medical District. The District consists of 5 Hospitals, and other entities. In addition this area is also growing. The purpose of the committee is to come up with a transportation plan to bring people to employment centers within the District, and provide transportation within the District. These are a lot of accomplishments in such a short time-frame. In addition, Healy is very devoted to public service, and the public transportation field. In addition he is always looking on how things can be done better in the future.
"I think I would say that there is a challenge to needing to take dollars that are critically important to spend, and get them in the hands of the most effective service provider possible. Being part of that is really rewarding."
"I got out of planning school in 2013 and had an offer to go into private practice, but this roll was explained to me and it was explained that the position had been vacant for a good bit of time which had caused some back up in projects. The chance to come in and help out was a pretty exciting one."
"In general, it doesn't attract a lot of self-centered people, mainly because it's obviously an externally focused and logistically demanding sector or industry. It is a lot of people that are concerned first and foremost with getting the job done."
"I think in general because the buses and trains go out everyday there's a tendency to, and I include myself in this, just get very reliant on processes that are adequate on a day-to-day basis. Which then because you're so focused on service delivery, optimizing and improving over time can kind of fall on the back burner. That's why it's always helpful to have as many broad based and collaborations as you can so that everyone can always provide a fresh set of eyes to one another to move things forward."
"I would say with our statewide paratransit fleet really working together with some other folks throughout Illinois to take what was a really critical capital asset shortage and help solve that particularly at a time that in Illinois a lot of our providers for the most mobility challenged residents were facing headwinds from other state budget situations. It really kind of felt like a right place right time that I was really proud to be a part of."
"Someone once said that never get your clock mixed up with your speedometer, because the faster you go the later you are."
