FHWA Works: Employee Spotlight - Vontra Giles

Full Name: Vontra Giles
Title: Community Planner
Division/Department: FHWA Alabama Division
Location (City/State): Montgomery, AL

1. How long have you been in your role and how did you choose this transportation field?

   I have been a Community Planner in the Alabama Division for 3 years.

   I chose to be a Planner because of my background in Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (S.T.E.A.M.). My undergraduate degree is in Interior Design. During my educational pursuit at the University of Alabama, I fell in love with Engineering, Art, Design, and Architecture.

   Around my sophomore year in college, I began volunteering with a civic organization called The Rural Studio. The Rural Studio partnership between Auburn University and The University of Alabama was created to allow architecture students to partner with local rural communities and build environmentally conscious homes, playgrounds, and businesses. This sparked a burning desire to understand more about how people navigate within and beyond their communities to get to a desirable destination. It also inspired me to earn a graduate degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Alabama A&M University.

   I started as an intern with FHWA's Florida Division in 2015 during graduate school. After my internship was complete, I was selected and placed in the Illinois Division for the Professional Development Program.

2. What do you find interesting about your job and what do you do on daily basis?

   I think the most interesting part about my job as a planner is experiencing all the details and moving parts from day to day. In the Division office, it's common for a planner to be working on 5 to 7 different projects on a same day.

   Many of the challenges I encounter every day as a planner are a product of organic elements like time-of-year, population growth, fluctuations in the local economy, new or old traffic generators or travel patterns, and weather. I enjoy using analytical skills to solve everyday issues that are simple, but make life as an individual pedestrian, motorist, or cyclist, easier and better.

3. What has been your biggest accomplishment over the last year?

   Despite the challenges incurred in 2020, I organized, planned, and executed two virtual certification reviews and public meetings. The triennial certification review is one of the biggest responsibilities of a division office planner ensuring each transportation management area (with a population over 200,000) meets an important federal requirement, which requires extreme mental focus and intellectual stamina.

   I observed several reviews in person as an intern, so I had an idea of what my first review would be like. But my first review in April 2020 had to be done virtually, so I had to reassess what I learned.

   I am proud to have quickly adapted to the situation at hand and carved a new path to certify the transportation planning process in Montgomery and Huntsville, AL. I was the first planner in our state to complete this virtual requirement, and I am honored.

4. Prior to working at FHWA, what was the most unusual or interesting job you've ever had?

   The job I took in college to pay my way through school will haunt my dreams forever. It was in sales and marketing. During the summer, my co-workers and I had to advertise for our start-up company by taking shifts standing on the corner at the busiest downtown intersection dressed as a giant hot dog, our company's mascot. The summers were about 100 degrees in Alabama… it was very interesting. I learned to take the first shift–the costume got very sweaty after about 3 people.

5. What are your hobbies in your spare time?

   I make quilts. This skill was passed down to me from my great-grandmother. I enjoy spending time in the world of textiles and design. I can spend hours looking at fabrics and materials, and sketching patterns of what each quilt will look like when it's completed. Quilt-making is an extension of who I am–it incorporates a little math, art, and design. Often, I will travel to gain inspiration in an isolated part of nature or a large noisy city. I use my quilts to communicate stories about my life and experiences. I find it offers a tangible, constructive outlet to process parallels of the human experience.

6. What is one of the biggest lessons you have learned in your career to get you where you are today?

   One of the biggest lessons I've learned in my career is to approach each situation with an open mind.

   Although I signed up for a job with a lot of travel, I didn't realize how sheltered I was before accepting the opportunity to the FHWA's Professional Development Program (PDP). Growing up in Alabama, I collected certain fears about places beyond the south, mainly cultural differences and expectations.

   I was quick to judge my first PDP placement location in Illinois. I didn't think I could be happy living there, even though it was an amazing opportunity. I was afraid and unsure of what to expect: "Can I find places to visit that I was familiar with? Do they have good hot wings? Will my accent sound funny?"

   But before long, I made more good friends than I had in Alabama. I went from wearing a hot dog costume to loving my job. The winter was extreme for me, but I bought a "real coat" as they suggested.

   Now before dismissing an opportunity out of judgement or fear, I welcome those diverse places and people with open arms.

7. Who do you admire in the transportation field and why?

   I have a mentor in the transportation field who I deeply admire and trust. I admire her because she is practical–firm but flexible, and open-minded, yet unwavering for all the right reasons. I witnessed her journey into leadership in the transportation field while remaining optimistic.

   She was one of the first planners I met during my early stages as an intern when I was not as confident about my future in transportation. She taught me the fundamental elements of what it means to be a great transportation planner through a balance of strategic and constructive goal-oriented development conversations. She brings a unique mixture of education, experience, passion, professionalism, and personality to her job, which has allowed her to thrive during her tenure and excel into leadership.

8. Complete this sentence: "People would be surprised if they knew..."

   I was a twin.

   Not really, but sort of. My mother's ultrasound displayed twins, but I came into this world as a single. My parents prepared for a double, but were relieved to have a healthy single child. I was able to extensively enjoy all of the early luxuries that would have been shared with a double. It's a twin-win situation.