Associates
The Wathen Group team includes associates with various areas of expertise. We approach each new endeavor with a focus on identifying the best resources to deliver and to build an integrated team. The associates listed below, which are just some of the talented individuals at TWG, showcase some examples of the depth of experience TWG offers across multiple disciplines.
Deborah Wathen Finn
Business Transformation, Market Positioning, and Revitalization Expert
Deborah Wathen Finn has 35 years of experience in the transportation industry with a record of effective leadership and innovation in public and private sector organizations and a commitment to community and civic service. A proven executive in leading both private and public sector organizations in transportation, infrastructure, and technology, Deborah has created revenue growth, improved market position, developed stakeholder support and transformed operations. She has led organizations of various sizes including several organizations with unionized workforces.
Deborah combines strong people skills, leadership experience, collaboration and strategic focus with a keen understanding of operations delivery. She is an effective change agent having led transformations of various organizations with measurable results. Her approach to change management focusing on cultural change has resulted in operational efficiencies, as well as improved safety performance and quality of customer service.
As President of The Wathen Group, Deborah provides strategic consulting assistance to clients on strategic planning, crisis management, and negotiations, as well as transit and rail operational issues. She also conducts business development for clients ranging from start-up ventures to established global firms. Deborah has previously held executive level positions with major infrastructure firms where she has effectively developed transportation and security based practices at regional, national and global levels.
She has held leadership positions in major transportation authorities in the metropolitan New York region and the greater Buffalo region developing strategic planning and public initiatives. She has significant operations leadership experience having led public transportation operations which included commuter rail, light rail, bus and paratransit operations for over a decade. She has conducted due diligence and peer reviews for various agencies with a special focus on operational effectiveness and system and operating safety.
Deborah is recognized for her track record in creating and implementing innovative public engagement programs since her early days of sub-regional planning. She developed an innovative constituency development approach to ultimately generate support for the passage of the Transportation Bond Issue in 1979. Deborah also developed innovative methods for engaging diverse stakeholders in carrying out reputation management programs while in leadership at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and NJ Transit. The Port Authority case study became a model in the business literature.
Deborah serves on the Executive Advisory Board of SmartDrive, a California-based startup technology firm that utilizes automobile driver performance based technology to provide sustainable improvements in driver and passenger safety resulting in cost efficiencies. She is active in community and trade organizations. She also serves as vice chair of the Yarmouth (Maine) Economic Development Advisory Board.
She is active with her alma mater, having served two terms as an Overseer and as Chair of Colby College’s Alumni Council. Deborah has received a number of honors for her ongoing contributions to the industry and community including: Woman of the Year for the Greater New York Chapter in 1999; the first woman to receive the Greater New York Council of Boy Scout’s Construction and Industry Transportation Person of the Year Award in 2005; and the Women Builders Council 2008 Champion Award.
Deborah holds a B.A. in Government from Colby College and a M.A. in Political Science from Northern Illinois University.
Joan McDonald
Infrastructure and Economic Development Leadership in Public and Private
Joan McDonald has 35 years of experience leading diverse organizations in New York State, Connecticut, and New York City. She offers a unique perspective in the administration and management of infrastructure and planning projects, the development of organizational and communications strategies and guidance on public finance. Ms. McDonald is a member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) and sits on the Policy Committee of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Future of the Interstate Highway System study.
Joan specializes in strategic planning, strategic management solutions, partnering, project facilitation, and conflict resolution. Through providing key research, conducting workshops and facilitating roundtable discussions, Joan has a proven track record in infrastructure and economic development leadership across public and private sectors to identify opportunities, develop solutions, and implement strategic plans.
Joan’s portfolio includes providing strategic advice and consulting to the City of Norwalk Redevelopment Authority in the advancement of the City’s Transit Oriented Development Plan. The City of Norwalk requested background material to outline the benefits and costs of transit-oriented development as well as a workshop for the members of the City Zoning Board and the City Planning Board.
In working with the Westchester County Association’s Smart Growth Initiative, Joan provides project management for the county’s ambitious initiative, the first in the nation’s Smart Cities ComPact, to bring a unified approach to smart growth including transportation, land use, technology, and broadband.
Dr. Nabil Ghaly
Technology, Security, and System Power
Dr. Ghaly is a NY State Education Department licensed Professional Engineer and has extensive experience in providing technical support to the Rail Transport Industry related to new technology signaling, communication and security systems. During his tenure with New York City Transit, he planned and managed all aspects of the Signal & System Capital Program. His major achievements include the successful implementation of a Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) system on the Canarsie Line, the planning, design and construction of an enterprise network based on SONET/ATM technology, the implementation of an Automatic Train Supervision System (ATS) on Division A, and the implementation of a state of the art public address system that provides real-time train arrival information on the Canarsie Line. He was instrumental in the development of technical, safety and operational standards for CBTC implementation, and the successful demonstration of interoperability between two CBTC suppliers.
Kasey Hurlbutt
Employee Engagement and Empowerment
Kasey Hurlbutt is a Professional Engineer (PE) based in Los Angeles and provides senior strategic expertise on employee engagement and empowerment programs. She served as the program manager for CH2M’s global rebrand and culture program, of which safety played a central role. Kasey’s leadership galvanized grass-root ambassadorship and executive-level endorsement to create a value-based brand and culture reboot. She managed an $8 million budget, over 1,000 tasks, 20 projects and half-dozen project managers across five continents to deliver a world-class, award-winning employee engagement communications strategy, ambassadorship program, and brand that yielded a 2% YOY decrease in voluntary attrition despite major organizational restructuring.
Before accepting the opportunity to lead the brand and culture program, Kasey served as a stormwater engineer on major light rail and bridge programs in Portland, Oregon, and deputy quality assessment manager on the Portland-Milwaukee Light Rail expansion.
Frances Hooper
Organizational Effectiveness, Delivery and Industry Practices
Frances Hooper has over thirty years of experience in transit and local government operations, administration, and finance with specific expertise in rail and bus operations. She has held senior positions at Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Dallas Area Rapid Transit and New Jersey Transit. With APTA she worked with transit agencies across the country on a wide variety of transit operations and management issues. She has a broad understanding of how transit agencies work and knowledge of industry leaders and staff, which can be effectively used to identify the differing ways that transit agencies are organized and how they operate and make decisions.
Fran has experience conducting organizational effectiveness reviews of rail operations, restructuring, and realignment of roles and responsibilities and development of strategic plans. She has been the staff lead for a variety of industry peer reviews conducted by APTA for seven rail transit agencies. Topics included in the reviews that she worked on included the analysis of the agency’s organizational structure, the effectiveness of current processes, procurement, policies and systems, training and certification and the adequacy of operational facilities.
Stephanie Finn
Business Development and Strategy
Stephanie Finn joined The Wathen Group in 2016 to focus on business development, strategy, and communications across a range of industries and project scope.
She most recently served as Chief Operating Officer for Common Sense a full-service branding, marketing, and business development group with offices in Boston and Cape Town – offering traditional and digital marketing services for progressive businesses and nonprofits.
She developed a broad base of expertise working on initiatives such as establishing the Cape Town branch operations; managing the communications plan for global nonprofit organizations using Social Media and Google AdWords; and assisting in the development of growth strategies through data analysis, competitive reviews and other broad strategic exercises for social enterprises.
Prior to leading Common Sense, Stephanie spent nearly five years working for Smaller Earth, a global youth travel provider specializing in cultural exchange programs. While at Smaller Earth, her role included sales, marketing, product development and client relations.
Specific responsibilities as Assistant US Director included developing a strategy for US market expansion to send American youth overseas to participate in cultural exchange programs; conducting market research and site visits to implement new travel programs and products; and lead business development from overseeing client relationships to establishing new ones.
Stephanie began her career in the marketing and research department of Univision, the US-based Spanish-language television network. There she performed in-depth analysis of media spending, consumer insights, and buying patterns of the U.S Hispanic market to support Sales and Business Development teams.
Stephanie graduated from Colby College with a major in International Studies and a concentration in Economic Development.
Ann Millan
Chief Administrator and Quality Control
Ann Millan is our Chief Administrator and leads quality control at The Wathen Group. She brings decades of experience in securities, trading, and administration to help ensure our team takes a consistent and high-quality approach to project delivery.
Responsibilities include working closely with The Wathen Group team to administer the day-to-day operations, preparing client documents, and managing quality control including the areas of finance, accounting, and coordinating communication.
Throughout Ann’s career she has held various positions to implement new programs; assist with research and compiling client reports; data analysis; exhibit preparation; and record management.