Susi Marlina is a civil engineer by education and training. In her role as Project Delivery Team Leader for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in Delaware, she works on stewardship and funding of projects. She has a broad background on the technical side. Prior to attending the Operations Academy (OA) Senior Management Program in 2023, she worked closely with her management. Then, when she became a manager herself, she learned the importance of communication with her team and with other stakeholders and partners.
“This change from working in the technical side to management was significant for me because it was a career change,” Susi said. “In the Operations Academy, I learned a new way to make decisions. The way I interact with my team had to change from technical to management and the Operations Academy really helped me with better communication, in understanding myself, and understanding the people I’m working with.”
Working together in a group on a presentation in the Operations Academy, Susi received one of the most important lessons—the need to collaborate well with other stakeholders and DOT partners. The act of communicating with everyone and asking for each other’s help and guidance is the most effective way to achieve everyone’s overall goal, which is to serve people and ensure their safety on the roads.
“There were many reminders for me about that, especially in the management sessions,” she said.
Exchanging knowledge from people from different states, in varying roles was extremely helpful, and listening to them share how they tackled problems that occur everywhere was worth the two weeks’ time and effort. She learned much more about how state troopers resolve the transportation-related issues they encounter, as well as better management of construction zones and incident management.
The Operation Academy’s emphasis on creating a culture of transportation systems management and operations (TSMO) is in alignment with what she does in her job with the U.S. DOT. The structure and inclusion of everyone in the system who works with the state is something Delaware already has, but she was able to promote its advantages to her cohort at the Operations Academy.
“Transportation practitioners think about safety above all; we have a kind of power to make the roads safer through policies, decisions, and designs, and the message is, we have to communicate to do everything right to the best of our ability,” she said. “The Operations Academy is intense. We have the same goals, and we must share with each other about what we do. Everyone is passionate about their job, and at the Operations Academy, you learn so much from others and it is so beneficial to have so much useful interaction between professionals from all across the transportation industry.”
