- One word to describe yourself: Fervent
- Favorite book: "The Story of B" by Daniel Quinn
- Favorite station or stop that you have ever visited or frequent (and why): "There is a very logical reason why Europe has historically lapped the U.S. on all things transit. Where the U.S. typically made decisions based on profit, Europe much more broadly considered transit an extension of its economies. Transit and profit are not mutually exclusive, though. Europe understood this long before we did. Transit is, in fact, the bloodline of profit. It is the way in which economies breathe new life into cities. It is the means by which economic opportunities go from ‘meh’ to ‘gold.’ The day the U.S. started to realize this is the day we started to close the transit gap. We have loads more to go but we are slowly making headway with national investments that have shown the economic opportunity transit can catalyze. So what used to be my favorite transportation hub in Europe, the Berlin Hauptbahnhof, has now been replaced by a U.S. example in Denver Union Station.
Natasha Velickovic is a hands-on project manager with VHB's Transit & Rail Group. She has 20 years of experience and is a licensed professional engineer in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. She is frequently involved in the intersection of transit and other transportation modes. She specializes in evaluating complex transportation networks and transit alternatives, and in development management solutions. With extensive successful experience on infrastructure projects involving multiple services and stakeholders, she possesses a solid understanding of how to plan, initiative, monitor, and guide the path of large-scale transit and rail projects.
Velickovic began her career at VHB as an intern and transferred to the Transit & Rail group with almost no rail or transit experience. Through her drive and passion for her projects, as well as her commitment to her clients, she rose to manage projects within a few short years. She now is a celebrated thought leader instrumental in growing the VHB transit practice.
Velickovic’s passion for the transit and rail industry stems in large part from her belief in providing opportunities for the undeserved communities where she helps build new transit connections. While the transportation industry helps build vital infrastructure, such as bridges, highways, and airports that support vibrant economies, Velickovic has chosen a focus on transportation that provides access to communities where many residents cannot afford to own cars. Many of these communities do not have access to jobs, education, and health care simply because they do not have accessible transit options. Velickovic has dedicated her career to ensuring these communities are given not only new transit opportunities but also a voice. This dedication translates to remarkable success for her projects and her clients, a passion which recently also awarded her Principal distinction at VHB.
Velickovic has managed complex transportation projects for clients, including the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority (NNEPRA), and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT).
On the MassDOT/MBTA South Coast Commuter Rail project, the largest commuter rail service expansion project in the Commonwealth’s history, Velickovic has served diverse roles in the planning and engineering efforts, including: comprehensive coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on the Alternatives Analysis and completion of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS); managing the design of the rapid bus alternative, including extensive coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); managing efforts, including operational plan for rail, rapid bus, and intercity bus alternatives; and managing efforts with the Program Management and Construction Management (PM/CM) contract, including ridership forecasting and an overhaul of the MBTA Station Design Standards — an update that has not been attempted in more than 20 years.
In addition to current efforts, Velickovic also managed construction projects including a track, structural, and highway design team completing a freight railroad bridge improvement project in New Bedford as part of an early-action program of the South Coast Rail project.
Her diverse capabilities span beyond planning and engineer design into alternative delivery methods, as well. Velickovic recently led an effort to package a commuter rail station project for alternative delivery, a project which would have been a traditional design-bid-build for the Pawtucket/Central Falls Commuter Rail project in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. She also developed a winning TIGER grant bid for the project and served as Project Manager for the Preliminary Engineering and Environmental Analysis with a focus on railroad operations alternatives analysis, and efforts that included extensive coordination with key stakeholders such as Amtrak.
Earlier in her career she served as transportation planner for the expansion of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center for the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) and the North Allston Neighborhood Strategic Plan for Harvard University as well as the Transportation Management Planning efforts for the special event projects at Fenway Park with the Boston Red Sox.
As part of the South Coast Rail project, Velickovic is leading an overhaul of the MBTA Commuter Rail Station Design Standards. The standards, still in production, will streamline the project development process and address key industry topics, including sustainability and resiliency issues as it related to climate change. Her innovative approach to present the standards interactively and entirely online will be the first of its kind for the MBTA.
Velickovic is an active participant with the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) where she served as co-chair of ACEC Programs Committee for three years. Velickovic also contributed a chapter in the ACEC sourcebook, “P3: Public-Private Partnerships and Design-Build: Opportunities and Risks for Consulting Engineers.”
In recognition of her professional achievements Velickovic was named one of the Engineering News-Record New England’s Top Young Professionals in 2014. In 2013, she was listed in the Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40.
