MDOT MTA names leadership team for Red Line project and Purple Line
The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA) has named its leadership team for the Red Line project in Baltimore, including new Project Director Allison Scott and Communications Manager Jerome Horne. The Red Line team will oversee project development and delivery of the vital east-west transit service, which was relaunched by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore in June after having been canceled in 2015. The team will engage with the public, stakeholders and local government partners to evaluate how the Red Line can best meet the region’s needs and determine a locally preferred alternative by winter 2024.
“I am excited to add Allison and Jerome to the team that will move the Red Line forward,” said Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnold. “These individuals recognize the important role transit plays in supporting sustainable communities and providing access to employment, education and recreation.”
Scott brings more than 18 years of experience to the position of project director. She has served as a civil engineer, successfully leading transportation and transit projects in urban, multimodal environments from concept studies through preliminary and final design. She has been the civil engineering lead on numerous large transit projects in the metropolitan area as both a design oversight consultant and an engineer of record, including Montgomery County bus rapid transit on U.S. 29 and MD 586, D.C. Department of Transportation Streetcar and K Street NW Transitway and the MTA’s Purple Line light-rail project.
Horne comes to the Red Line from TransitCenter, a foundation working to improve public transit in cities across the United States. His prior experience also includes roles at Foursquare Integrated Transit Planning and at IndyGo, where he focused on proactive community engagement and improving the rider’s transit experience. Horne is a respected transit advocate and was a member of the 2022 American Public Transportation Association Emerging Leader program.
“The addition of key members of the Red Line project advance Gov. Moore’s pledge to bring this critical project to reality,” said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld. “Allison and Jerome join a team that’s committed to delivering a project that will connect neighborhoods, grow our economy and create new opportunities for education, jobs and a higher quality of life.”
In addition to the Red Line team leadership, the agency also named Alexa Heidrich deputy project director for the Purple Line project in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties and will work with Ray Biggs II, Purple Line project director, to deliver the critical infrastructure project.
Heidrich is a seasoned program and project manager with more than a decade’s experience leading multi-disciplinary teams to solve complex planning and development challenges. Career highlights span the Middle East and Australia across public, private and nonprofit sectors. She comes to the MTA following her role as a senior project manager for the Johns Hopkins University Facilities and Real Estate team. Prior to that, she was a senior urban planner and project manager for AECOM in Washington, D.C., and in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Kathryn Lamb has been named communications director for the Purple Line. Her career has spanned two decades of media relations, public relations, internal and crisis communications for government, nonprofit and corporate organizations in Washington, D.C., Seattle, Wash., and most recently, the United Kingdom. She was the senior communications manager for Hightower and served as spokesperson for multiple transportation projects with DCI group.
