MIRTA LLC, founded by Deb Matherly in 2019, is both a launch and a landing. Ms. Matherly has been leading national research and practice at the nexus of emergency preparedness, resilience and equity for over a decade; she is or has been the Principal Investigator for nine full TRB research projects within this nexus. Her body of work leading diverse teams of researchers is grounded in local, regional and state experiences, through research, interviews, and case studies. Inclusive evacuation planning and emergency preparedness have been a major focus for twenty years. She has also supported diverse projects for federal, state, regional and local agencies as well as private clients. Her career summary includes 20 years with the Louis Berger Group (WSP as of 2018), 10 years working with other consulting groups, and six years each with the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority and the Maryland Mass Transit Administration.
Mirta, LLC was founded by Deb Matherly in 2019 as an avenue for connecting and growing her professional and personal passions. Urgent issues of equity, climate change, resilience, and emergency management and response are interconnected and interwoven with transportation; addressing them intentionally and concurrently, at local, regional, and national levels, is imperative. MIRTA LLC adds another voice and venue for this broader movement.
Increasingly, Ms. Matherly’s national applied research related to the confluence of transportation, equity, emergencies, resilience and climate change has intersected with her volunteer efforts, such as the (SC) Midlands chapter of the Sierra Club, the SC Climate Reality Project, and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia Green Team and Social Action Committees, as well as her hobbies- (check out the link to “Mother Nature is Ticked Right Off” for her musical collaboration and video for one example.)
MIRTA LLC provides research and transportation planning resources on a national scale. Her Transportation Research Board projects span more than a decade; she is or has been the Principal Investigator on nine major TRB projects, as highlighted on the Projects page, as well as leading and supporting dozens of other significant projects for TRB, federal, state, regional, and local governments as well as private sector clients.