# Ben S (@bensh3.bsky.social)

Profile: https://sifa.id/p/bensh3.bsky.social
Headline: Transit planning & geospatial analysis

## About

Transit planner from Philadelphia, working for Philadelphia. I'm passionate about abundant and equitable transportation & mobility in every neighborhood, while utilizing visual communication, analytics, and effective management, using R, Python, SQL databases, and frontend frameworks to get there. To this end, I worked as an organizer for several years in Philadelphia transit advocacy, helping win transformative policies such as free transfers between SEPTA transit routes.I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022 with a master's in Urban Spatial Analytics, where I was able to channel my broad knowledge of transit and urban policy into geospatial analytics, creative visualization, and predictive modeling. I'm now committed to further my career in the public sector, directly working with public officials and residents to envision implement groundbreaking transit improvements.

## Career

- **Planner at Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)** (Nov 2024 - Present)
  › Implement SEPTA's Reimagining Regional Rail master plan through service development and corridor design process, supporting higher frequencies and reliable service across the Philadelphia metro › Perform data analytics and modeling for ridership analysis & on-time performance on Regional Rail
- **Transit Project Coordinator at City of Philadelphia** (Feb 2023 - Oct 2024)
  › Analyze, plan, and improve surface transit and cycling in Center City/University City Philadelphia through street and traffic design interventions, partnering with SEPTA/PennDOT/Streets Department › Project management for a new long-term intercity bus terminal in Philadelphia (conceptual analysis/design)
- **GIS and Data Analyst at Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania** (Jan 2022 - Jan 2023)
  › Created map/data viz portfolio in R for draft book by Netter Center director Ira Harkavy, analyzing 60 years of socioeconomic change in West Philadelphia under urban renewal
- **Extern at Econsult Solutions** (Mar 2022)
  › Researched urban transportation equity measures across five US cities to support the ESI Center for the Future of Cities program › Devised a metric for trail accessibility on the neighborhood level using open data
- **Senior Statistician at Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania** (Oct 2021 - Jan 2022)
- **Statistical Programmer at Pfizer** (Jan 2019 - Aug 2021)
  ›	Analyzed and processed 10+ years of clinical trial data using SAS/SQL/R, producing standardized reports for FDA drug development submissions ›	Contributed towards accelerated FDA submission of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, compressing three years of work into nine months
- **Intern at Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC)** (Jun 2018 - Sep 2018)
  ›	Represented PCDC interests in civic/city planning meetings, including the Chinatown Neighborhood Plan and USDOT Reconnecting Communities Vine Street Expy grant

## Skills

### Technical
- AutoCAD
- C++
- Data Analysis
- Data Science
- JavaScript
- Microsoft Excel
- Python (Programming Language)
- R (Programming Language)
- SQL
### Business
- Data Visualization
- Project Management
### Community
- Community Outreach
### Other
- ArcGIS Products
- Data Modeling
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Geospatial Data
- Geospatial Modeling
- Quality Control
- Quantum GIS
- Remote Sensing
- SAS (Programming Language)
- Smart Cities
- Spatial Analysis
- Transportation Planning

## Education

- **University of Pennsylvania** — Master of Urban Spatial Analysis (Aug 2021 - May 2022)
  Public Policy Analytics › Built temporal-spatial regression model and data visualization on NJ Transit train delay data using R, accurately predicting for delays by time of day and station Geospatial Data Science in Python › Analyzed longitudinal trends in worker-residence spatial dynamics in Philadelphia region using Python, utilizing origin-destination analysis Transportation Planning Methods › Studied VISSIM/VISUM, 4-step transportation demand modeling, history and theories of US transportation, policy analysis, analysis of origin-destination travel surveys, cost-benefit analysis, environmental review analysis Practice of Transportation Planning › Presented case study and white paper on initiatives and recommendations for transit in Montreal (Reseau express metropolitan) light rail system
  Activities & Societies: MUSA Student Rep, Weitzman Student Council Graduate Student Rep, Penn Transit Advisory Committee
- **Vanderbilt University** — Bachelor of Arts - BA (2014 - 2018)
  Activities & Societies: Vanderbilt Commodore Orchestra, Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science

## Involvement

### Volunteering
- Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (Jan 2022 - Present)
  Public Participation Task Force Member
  Monitor, review, and vision MPO work items (Long Range Plan, Transportation Improvement Program) with a focus on equity and public outreach
- City of Philadelphia (Jul 2020 - Jan 2023)
  Civilian Environmental Advisory Committee Member, Councilwoman Katherine Gilmore-Richardson
  Advise on legislative priorities around sustainable policy, particularly around transit and land use equity

## Languages

- Chinese (professional working)
- German (limited working)