In the early 1990s, Eno launched an annual leadership conference to bring together the brightest graduate students in transportation-related fields for a week-long immersive experience in Washington, D.C. The program offers students a unique opportunity to learn about federal transportation policymaking and engage directly with the government, nonprofit, and industry leaders shaping it.

This June, Eno will host the 29th annual Leaders Development Conference (LDC). The outstanding group of participants, announced in our newsletter last week, will dive into an intensive week designed to help them better understand how various stakeholders shape federal transportation policy – and build lasting connections with peers across the field.

Overall and 2024 Interim President and CEO Alisha Robinson Williams at the LDC graduation reception

As we prepare for this year’s conference, we are taking a moment to spotlight a few past fellows at different stages in their careers and share, in their own words, how the program impacted them. We begin with a fellow from our most recent cohort. The class of 2024 was especially meaningful to the Eno team – it marked the return of LDC after a brief COVID-related pause. These fellows came into the program eager to learn, energizing a deeply missed tradition, and one of the many wonderful participants was Myles Overall.

Overall is a Ph.D. candidate in Civil Engineering at Purdue University, with a focus on traffic safety and operations. His work includes: 1) using connected vehicle data to better assess roadway conditions; 2) improving traffic incident management through more effective team coordination; and 3) enhancing safety and mobility in work zones.

Rather than looking to work in the federal policy space, Overall intends to stay in the academic world – with eventual hopes to become a professor and continuing a family legacy in education. “Education is in my blood,” he said.

So, for someone without any interest in working in a federal transportation policy-oriented career, what is the value of LDC?

When he initially read the biographies of other participants, he felt behind, noting that he had minimal background in federal policymaking. By the end of the program, Overall came away with an enhanced understanding of the background of policymaking – including the many factors and stakeholder groups that contribute to decision making. Additionally, it was a great opportunity to hear about the interesting work others were doing within the transportation realm, and how policy plays into each of these focus areas.

“Having the opportunity to see how policy trickles down and understand how everything comes into play, what lobbyists do, and how different sectors interact was invaluable. There are a lot of things that we know to be true today, but [LDC] helped me understand how we got here,” Overall said. “Even if I never work specifically in federal policy, it is nice to understand and be able to communicate about it.”

A year removed from the LDC program, when asked what advice he would have for future participants, Overall said, “Go in with an open mind. There may be [topic areas] you agree with and others you don’t, but if you go in with a learning mindset, you will come away with an invaluable experience – and a set of friends you otherwise may not have ever met.”

2024 LDC Participants in the House T&I Committee room for a “Mock Hearing” exercise