College of Engineering News Room

Ysela Llort is 2019 Florida Transportation Hall of Fame Inductee

TAMPA, Fla. (July 10, 2019) – Ysela Llort, who during more than three decades of transportation
leadership has guided modern transit solutions in complex metropolitan areas, will be inducted
into the Florida Transportation Hall of Fame for 2019 and will be the first woman to receive the
honor, Florida Transportation Commissioner Teresa Sarnoff announced today.

Llort, who leads the Miami multimodal transportation firm Renaissance Planning, will be honored at the annual Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) Transportation
Achievement Awards event on Thursday, November 7, 2019, at the University of South Florida
Marshall Student Center, Tampa Campus. Llort serves as the chair of the CUTR Advisory Board.

Ysela Llort

"Have a desire to change the world? Ysela Llort has not only the desire, but the drive as well,” Commissioner Sarnoff said. “Ysela is being honored as Florida Transportation Hall of Fame inductee for her impact on transportation in Florida. She will be the first woman to be inducted into the Florida Transportation Hall of Fame and it’s about time!"

“Ysela is not only knowledgeable of transportation issues, but she is also genuinely concerned
about the communities she affects in her decision-making,” said Dr. Robert L. Bertini, director of
CUTR and the National Institute for Congestion Research. “Ysela is an asset to the state of
Florida, and we are thrilled to honor her with this distinction.”

Renaissance Planning is well known nationally for its innovative approaches to problem solving.
She leads the Miami office where she directs business development activities and serves as
Principal in Charge on several Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and local
government contracts. Her work has focused on providing technical assistance in compliance,
grant management and implementation support to agencies receiving Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) funding.

Prior to joining Renaissance, Llort was responsible for the Miami Metrorail extension to Miami
International Airport from 2011-2015 as the Miami-Dade Transit Director. The metro’s Orange
Line connected to Miami International Airport and restored the community’s relationship with
transit. In 2015, Llort was honored with the “Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation” award
from the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO). Llort was also recognized by
Cien Latinos/Hispano’s de Miami-Dade for her tireless efforts in the state of Florida.

Llort also acted as the Florida Department of Transportation’s Assistant Secretary for Intermodal Systems Development. Llort established direction for planning and program development, and collaborated with community members and elected officials to find equitable and innovative solutions for transportation and planning issues.

Prior to her work in Miami, Llort was responsible for the transportation system in the Virginia
area of Washington, D.C. She was instrumental in the development of the first sub-area
transportation plan for the four-county region. Llort directed all planning and operation
programs including traffic engineering, traffic management systems (ITS), a land development review, access management permitting, and transportation planning.

“It is a great honor to become the first woman inducted into the Transportation Hall of Fame,” said Llort. “It has been a greater honor to serve the wonderful communities in Florida, especially the Miami-Dade region.”

Llort said she is most proud of her work in developing the state’s Strategic Intermodal System (SIS), Efficient Transportation Decision Making (ETDM) process, the Port of Miami tunnel, the north terminal at Miami International Airport, the Orange Line extension of the Metrorail, developing effective working groups within organizations, and engaging communities towards finding and implementing sound solutions.

“Nothing achieved in my long and interesting career has been done by me — it has all been a product of the hard work and dedication of wonderful and committed teams of professionals. I have been privileged to work with these great folks,” Llort said.

Llort served on the executive committee of the Transportation Research Board; she is a member of the executive committee at the Transportation Research Board, and a member of the National Academy of Science, Medicine, and Engineering.

The Florida Transportation Hall of Fame™ distinction is awarded annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to transportation. Recent inductees to the Florida Transportation Hall of Fame™ include Commissioner for The City of Miami Maurice Ferré, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, and Jim Sebesta, who has served as the Florida Secretary of Commerce, Florida Transportation Commissioner and as a Florida Senator.

About the USF Center for Urban Transportation Research
CUTR was established in 1988 in the College of Engineering at the University of South Florida, in Tampa, Florida. CUTR’s mission is to proactively support implementation of innovative multimodal transportation solutions and develop leaders through research, education, and action. Our work supports transportation agencies, the transportation profession and community, policymakers, and the public. CUTR provides high quality, objective expertise in the form of insightful research, comprehensive training and education, effective technical assistance and in-depth policy analysis, that translates directly into benefits for CUTR’s project sponsors. CUTR’s 45 research faculty, 60 students, and post-docs combine academic knowledge and extensive “real world” experience in developing innovative, implementable solutions for all modes of transportation. The multidisciplinary research faculty includes experts in engineering, planning, computer science, economics, public policy, public health, and geography. CUTR logs nearly $20 million per year in expenditures through contracts and grants to support its research, education, training and technical assistance missions.