Kai Monast
/ (919) 696-2096Education:
2004 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dept. of City and Regional Planning, MRP
1999 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, BA Geography, Minor Environmental Studies
Work Experience:
Research Associate, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, (2002-present): In collaboration with the North Carolina Dept. of Transportation, assessing the benefits of Incident Management Assistance Patrols. Tasks include using GIS to locate and analyze crashes on freeways, performing statistical analysis of crashes, helping to create a tool for placing patrols in the future, and writing a paper and presenting it at the Transportation Research Board conference.
Research Associate, Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE), North Carolina State University (1999-2002): Worked to improve public transit across the state of North Carolina by designing software for transportation systems, providing technical support and customization for the software, helping systems analyze their routes using GIS, teaching courses on how to use new technologies, editing and writing. In addition, presented at two national and one state conference.
Junior Environmental Scientist, Pechan-Avanti Group (1999): Responsible for understanding and implementing parts of the Clean Air Act through mapping air pollution sources via GIS, analyzing effects, and predicting exposure.
Researcher, Carolina Environmental Program at UNC (1998-1999): Conducted research on global warming by expanding a model for prediction and enhancing a computer model to determine pollution levels in the environment based on user-defined inputs.
Soccer Referee (1992-present): Regional Level, Grade 7. Responsible for officiating all levels of play, from children to adults, preserving player safety, making quick and accurate decisions, handling pressure and maintaining professionalism in difficult situations.
Planning and Design Experience:
· Submitted and presented entry in Churton Street Corridor Design Competition to redesign the main thoroughfare in historic Hillsborough, NC. Proposal focused on connecting the outlying areas with the historic downtown, increasing identity, and improving transportation facilities for the pedestrian and the automobile.
· Masters Project in development is an online Assessment of Neighborhood Quality survey that empowers community members to assess their neighborhood environment and make improvements based on identified shortcomings (www.unc.edu/~kaimon/MP/)
· Created site plan for 150 acre mixed-use development in Chapel Hill, NC
· Created Transit Oriented Development plan for Durham, NC
· Master Plan critiquing and creation
· Development dispute resolution training
· Urban design history and methods
· Sustainable Transportation Planning including needs assessment and design alternatives
· Significant national and international travel to places such as Hong Kong, Dhaka, Guatemala City, Stockholm, San Francisco, Boston, and many others has introduced me to a large variety of urban forms and planning techniques
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Professional Skills:
· Co-authored paper published by the Transportation Research Board (2004): Methodology for Prioritizing and Expanding Freeway Service Patrols, TRB Paper 04-2580
· Presentation at annual Transportation Research Board conference held in Washington DC (2004)
· Two presentations on collecting and using data to improve small transportation provider efficiency at the national Community Transportation Association of America Conference (2000 and 2001) and one presentation on a similar topic at the North Carolina Rural Transportation Operators conference (2001)
· Geographic Information Systems using ArcView, ArcGIS, and MapInfo
· Programming and developing software using MS Access
· Website development using Dreamweaver
· Graphical experience using Fireworks and Adobe Photoshop
· MS Office Suite, SPSS
· Teaching and developing curricula
· Experience with architectural and mechanical drafting
Awards and Affiliations:
· Member of Transportation Research Board, 2002-2004
· Graduate Research Assistantship and stipend at UNC
· UNC Graduate Student Senate and Undergraduate Student Congress
· Carolina Environmental Program Student Fellow