January 30, 2017 - TRA Newswire -

Texas is on the cusp of high speed trains to connect major cities. A look at what this can do for the state economy will be the subject of The Dialogues in Planning Speakers Series within the University of Texas San Antonio College of Architecture,  Construction and Planning (CACP) on Monday, February 16.

Dr. David Hagy of Texas Central Partners, the private concern intent on building and operating high speed trains between North Texas and Houston, will talk about  “Accelerating the Texas Economy at High Speed.”  The presentation is free and open to the public and will be held at 5:30pm Monday, February 16 in the Buena Vista Building’s Aula Canaria Auditorium (BV 1.328) on the UTSA Downtown Campus.

The presentation is an update on the status of the privately developed Texas Bullet Train that will run between Houston and North Texas with a stop in the Brazos Valley.   The train will travel between the two regions in less than 90 minutes, create billions of dollars in economic development for the state, help Texas travelers reduce their carbon footprint, and serve as a model for the rest of the nation.

David Hagy has over 20 years of experience managing projects, formulating policy, conducting strategic planning and leading outreach for state and local governments and federal agencies.  Most recently, David was a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton, a leading strategy and technology consulting firm based in McLean, Virginia.  His assignments included work at the U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence focused on creating policy to facilitate information sharing among federal, state and local governments and the private sector.

Prior to Booz Allen, David spent over four years in the U.S. Department of Justice.  He was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate as Director of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ); the office conducts research and develops technology for the criminal justice community.  Previous to NIJ, he was appointed Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), where he was responsible for policy and budget coordination in support of OJP’s mission to improve public safety through federal, state and local partnerships.  From 2003 - 2005, David was Director for Local Coordination at DHS in the Office of the Secretary, serving as liaison to the nation’s cities and counties.

David holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from Tulane University and a B.S. in Economics from Texas A&M University.

Parking: For this event, free parking is available in UTSA parking lot D-3 under I-35, unmarked spaces only. UTSA Downtown Campus Map found here. For more information, contact Nicole Chavez at nicole.chavez@utsa.edu or 210.458.3121.