Cathy P. LaFata, AICP CTP

"To achieve meaningful involvement, you must proactively engage with underrepresented communities to thoroughly understand the issues people face and seek to uncover how the project may affect them. Fair and impactful outcomes can only be achieved when we understand what matters to these communities and meaningfully integrate it into the project.”

As a principal consultant, Cathy works across all transportation modes to help our multidisciplinary teams deliver our full breadth of advisory and technical services with a community-centered approach. Cathy is our former community transportation strategy director, having built a practice focused on creating thriving communities. Cathy is a passionate environmental justice and equity subject matter expert and has led our equity and environmental justice (EJ) practice group since 2019. She works collaboratively with strategic communications, planning, environmental, engineering, and other professionals to develop, evaluate and advance transportation solutions to benefit communities most in need of improved transportation. Cathy helps clients navigate the evolving federal regulatory landscape to maintain federal compliance while staying true to their missions and goals. 

Cathy has been a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) practitioner since 1993 and an EJ practitioner in the transportation world since the requirement was introduced in 1994. She has managed and/or been a principal preparer of dozens of environmental documents for transportation projects, including community impact assessments and EJ evaluations for major transportation projects across the U.S.

Notably, Cathy published the article “Beyond the Checked Box: Better Project Outcomes Start with Equitable Engagement” in the November 2024 ITE Journal, co-authored the Metro Magazine article “Environmental Justice: A Holistic, Integrated Approach to Advance Equity in Transportation” and graduated from the WTS Executive Leadership Program in 2019. She has contributed to projects such as the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) Stockton Diamond, the Metropolitan Council Blue Line LRT Extension, and the award-winning Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) West Lake Corridor Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Cathy has long been a strong advocate for equity throughout the transportation industry. She is former committee member on the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Standing Committee on Equity in Transportation (2018-2025) and currently sits on the TRB Standing Committee on Environmental Law in Transportation. Cathy is also an active member of the APTA Planning, Policy, and Program Development Committee and APTA Strategic Engagement Council.