Pavithra Parthasarathi, HRTPO Deputy Executive Director -   Pavithra returned to the HRTPO as Deputy Executive Director in December 2020. Previously she was with the HRTPO from 2011 to 2013 as a Principal.  Following her departure from the HRTPO in 2013, Pavithra worked for CDM Smith in New Haven, CT for two years on the development and integration of travel demand models in revenue forecasts for a variety of facilities including toll roads and managed lanes for public and private clients. For the past five years, Pavithra has worked with the Puget Sound Regional Council in Seattle, Washington.  The Regional Council provides regional planning services for its region, and also serves as the MPO for the Seattle area.  Pavithra’s experience in Seattle has included work related to Freight, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Performance Based Planning, Financial planning, and coordination of transportation planning efforts with the Regional Council’s overall planning program.

Pavithra received her Masters and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota and her Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from Anna University in India.  Pavithra is excited to be back in Hampton Roads and with the HRTPO, as it brings her closer to family in the Raleigh, NC area.

Brandon Rogers, HRTPO Transportation Planner - Brandon also joined the HRTPO in December 2020.  He is native of Walkertown, NC, located right outside of Winston-Salem, NC.  He attended his freshman year of college at Old Dominion University, but then transferred to North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, NC where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Supply Chain Management in May 2018.  For graduate school, Brandon attended Texas Southern University in Houston, TX, graduating with a Master of Science in Transportation Planning and Management in May 2020.

During his time in graduate school, Brandon worked as a graduate research assistant for the Center for Transportation Training and Research where he collaborated with his professors on locating vulnerable communities in several Texas counties that lacked public transportation.  He also wrote a thesis that examined the economic impact of the Interstate 73/74 Corridor, a partially-built corridor that passes through South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and Michigan.  Brandon’s interest in transportation began in middle school when he would help navigate trips with his family.  His transportation interests are in highway and rail.  In his free time, Brandon loves spending time with friends and family, doing genealogy on his family, traveling, and watching college basketball.

John Harbin, HRPDC Senior Regional Planner – John Harbin joined the HRPDC in January 2021. Previously, he was the Administrator of the Living River Trust, a local nonprofit land conservancy and environmental mitigation organization. In that role, he oversaw day-to-day operations of the organization, including both land conservation and mitigation programming, development and marketing, community outreach, and strategic planning in collaboration with a 12-member Board of Trustees. His projects included the acquisition of 500 acres within the Great Dismal Swamp, the first conservation easement in the city of Portsmouth, and using land conservation for managed retreat to sea level rise in the cities of Chesapeake and Norfolk. John previously worked for the city of Chesapeake as a Principal Planner where he administered real property acquisition programs in support of conservation, open space, and compatible use goals, reviewed conditional rezoning and use permit applications for consistency with plans and policies, and led environmental planning programs associated with water-quality, recurrent flooding and sea level rise, and local foods.

John has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Policy and Planning from Virginia Tech and a Master of Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia. John serves on the Board of Directors for the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He is a native of Williamsburg, and in his free time, he enjoys outdoor activities like fishing, hiking, and surfing, traveling, and trying new local restaurants.