Our Team
Renae Reynolds
Executive DirectorRenae comes to Tri-State Transportation Campaign from the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance (NYC-EJA), where she managed the organization’s transportation advocacy efforts aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the harmful impacts of transportation pollution in New York’s most vulnerable communities. At NYC-EJA, Renae led the development of ElectrifyNY, a statewide coalition united in the fight for an equitable, electric transportation future. Under her leadership, the coalition successfully engaged the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to commit to an all-electric bus fleet by 2040. Renae was also a key advocacy partner in the successful passage of the NYC congestion pricing program, the first of its kind in North America.
Before NYC-EJA, Renae worked with the United States Forest Service in the New York City Urban Field Station (USFS), where she conducted participatory research and community engagement on social and ecological resilience on the Rockaway Peninsula in the devastating wake of Superstorm Sandy. She also managed the Science of the Living City program during her time with the USFS. Components of her work are detailed in a co-authored chapter of the technical report, Green Readiness and Response: A Collaborative Synthesis. Renae also worked on community and youth development with the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance. She received her Master’s in the Theories of Urban Practice at Parsons School of Design.
Dona Tarectecan
Office and Administrative Consultant
Jaqi Cohen
Director of Climate & Equity PolicyJaqi joined Tri-State Transportation Campaign as the Director of Climate and Equity Policy in September 2021. She got her start as an organizer in local electoral politics, and has gone on to work on advocacy campaigns both as a community organizer and policy expert. Previously, Jaqi worked at the New York Public Interest Research Group, most recently as Campaign Director of the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign, where she helped bring about wins to transform New York City’s streets, improve bus service within the five boroughs, and make MTA service more accessible. She recently sat on the New York City Mayor’s Surface Transportation Advisory Council to aid and advise the City’s transportation recovery efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Jaqi was listed number 42 in City and State’s Transportation Power 100 and received the NYC Press Club Award in 2016 for Best Radio Commentary for her work on WHCR’s Let Your Voice Be Heard. Jaqi graduated from SUNY Albany with a B.A. in Political Science.
Talia Crawford
Advocacy & Organizing ManagerTalia joined Tri-State Transportation Campaign in July 2021. She graduated from McGill University in Montreal, QC with a BA in Political Science and minors in Geography and Communications. Talia gained a strong interest in local government and community development through her experience working for NY State Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, where she was first exposed to transportation policy at the local level. She has worked on implementing protected bike lanes in needed areas and ensuring that community members’ voices are elevated. Talia has also worked with the NY Working Families Party on the Mobilization team, where she helped organize campaigns and empower volunteers, specifically focusing on the India Walton for Buffalo mayoral race.
Laura Waxman
Communications AssociateLaura has joined Tri-State Transportation Campaign to further grow advocacy on sustainability and justice, especially in the environment where she was born and raised to love. She particularly appreciates the emphasis on equitable planning as it relates to viable transportation, ecology, and meeting regional climate goals. She has devoted her studies and career to these matters and has bore witness to how policy can overlook the importance of systems that benefit all people rather than the most privileged. Throughout her experiences with non-profit organizations, she’s noticed clear gaps in our transit systems and how a lack of mobility makes populations of people more economically and climate vulnerable. She is intrigued to investigate the potential of equitable transportation plans and policies to advance sustainability, preserve neighborhoods, and keep our beloved cities intact. She wholeheartedly believes that more efficient and reliable mass transit would provide better security, safety, more time to live a fulfilling life, and a healthier planet. Before this opportunity, Laura influenced bold climate action to protect public health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and engaged heavily with various environmental justice communities. Because of her genuine devotion to empowering communities that have been long overburdened, her new role here will allow her to connect with key audiences and provide access to information to strengthen engagement at the local and regional level on critical transportation issues. Laura is dedicated to her continued education and living a life that reflects her commitment to the stewardship of the land.
Corey Hannigan
Active Transportation Program ManagerBorn and raised in rural New Jersey, Corey is a compassionate, interdisciplinary communicator with a deep interest in transportation and land-use reform throughout the tri-state region. As a planner at NV5, he worked on NJDOT Road Safety Audits, Complete Streets training webinars, local Vision Zero Action Plans, and NJT’s Transit Friendly Planning initiative, while also providing GIS support for NYC’s East Side Coastal Resiliency project. Prior to that, while working at the NJ Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center within VTC at Rutgers, he proposed revisions to NJ’s statewide Residential Site Improvement Standards and helped plan the first-ever NJ Trails and Greenways Summit. Formerly an ESL educator, Japanese interpreter, and IT project manager, Corey understands the challenge of negotiating tradeoffs between a wide variety of actors, and he is an avid supporter of community-led projects that provide independence and dignity for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. Corey received his Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning at Rutgers University with a concentration in transportation and land use and graduated cum laude from Tulane University. He currently lives car-free in Queens, NY.