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Projects

Explore some of Jeff's latest developments.

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Tracking Tracks

Check Jeff's progress on riding every route mile of every major rail-based transportation system.

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Speaking Engagements

Find some of Jeff's latest talks.

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Contact

Get in touch.

Jeff Kessler

Jeff Kessler is a systems optimizer passionate about the intersection of business, technology, and the regulatory state. He holds four degrees from the University of Pennsylvania — two undergraduate degrees (Wharton & Systems Engineering) from the Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology and two graduate degrees (Systems Engineering and a Regulatory & Technology Law Master in Law). Through his technical, legal, behavioral, and business backgrounds, Jeff strives to develop systems that are functionally optimized and maximize stakeholder goals.

Professionally, Jeff’s passion has been the transportation sector, where he has unparalleled work and board experience spanning every major transportation system along the entire Northeast Corridor from DC to Boston (Amtrak, WMATA, SEPTA, MTA NYCT, MBTA CR).

Jeff is currently responsible for using technology to enhance operational practices and augment front-facing customer initiatives at Keolis Commuter Services, the private operator of the MBTA Commuter Rail in Boston and the surrounding suburbs. He is the Founder and Principal of KASDAT Consulting, an Emeritus Member of the Delaware River Port Authority Citizens Advisory Committee, a member of Young Professionals in Transportation (YPT), and an organizer of the TransportationCamp Philadelphia conference.

Current Endeavors

Keolis Commuter Services

Sr. Application Specialist – Service Delivery

Craft the Railroad of Tomorrow’s operational & customer experience support systems through the advancement of technology, automation, and data utilization across the MBTA Commuter Rail’s value chain.

KASDAT Consulting

Founder and Principal

Provide independent strategic and implementation guidance to firms and private individuals looking to leverage data, automate processes, and train their workforce to do the same.

TransportationCamp PHL

Co-Chair

Organized Philadelphia’s first TransportationCamp, bringing the transportation industry’s most dynamic conference model to the City of Brotherly Love in partnership with YPT and WTS. Visit http://transportationcamp.org/ for details and to subscribe to updates about our now third-annual iteration: TransportationCamp PHL 2020!

Delaware River Port Authority CAC

Emeritus Member

Provide industry knowledge and expertise to the official independent advisory board of the Delaware River Port Authority. Served as Transit Committee Co-Chair and Recording Secretary during prior 3-year appointment (confirmed by DRPA Board and Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor).

Experience

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Experience Across the Corridor

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SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority)

✔ Functioned as an internal consultant identifying and evaluating potential customer service initiatives.
✔ Authored report and developed LINDO optimization model proposing 35 initiatives designed through field work, observation, market research, social media, historical records, and external agency collaboration.
✔ Oversaw multiple focus groups, analyzed results, and evaluated surveys to assess initiative performance.
✔ Administered and hosted more than 15 SEPTA Customer Connection events at various area destinations.

Keolis Commuter Services (Operator of the MBTA Commuter Rail)

SEPTA YAC

✔ 4th Term Chairing Organization Charged with Representing Interests of Youth in the Greater Philadelphia Region
✔ Analyze $1.36B Operating Budget, $534.5M Capital Budget, $6.8B Capital Program, and Annual Service Plan
✔ Formulate Reports on Operational Improvements and Present Findings to Board of Directors and Executive Staff
✔ Responsible for bringing a “U-Pass” Discounted Student Fare Program to students in the Greater Philadelphia Region

MTA New York City Transit

✔ Formed and directed “ORCA Select” team as Project Manager to establish platform for improving Operations Research Computation Analysis (ORCA) tool’s ease-of-use and agency adoption.
✔ Assembled Plus/Delta evaluation through field surveys and 7 self-conducted interdepartmental focus groups
✔ Restructured training model, leading to a unitary increase in both training and platform satisfaction

WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority)

✔ Automated Daily Service Reports (freeing 3.25 wks/yr), coded tool to restore archive of 26k photos, built ridership metric tool
✔ Created WiFi Portal, built App Gallery, helped transition Metro to new website, led two developer events
✔ Analyzed and proposed improvements to rail/bus operating centers, next train prediction algorithms, incident monitoring/response, service disruption operational regularity, and customer experience/communication

Amtrak

✔ Advised CETC (Train Management) Quality Control Team, Dispatch, and assisted in NE Corridor Routing.
✔ Supported designing of track structures and curve layouts; tracked Acela train on-time-performance.

Delaware River Port Authority

✔ Review Board Financials to ensure DRPA operations serve the best interests of PATCO riders
✔ Youngest member by more than 10 years; Appointment Overseen by Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley

View Graduate & Undergrad Education

View Awards & Additional Endeavors

Keolis Commuter Services (MBTA Commuter Rail Operator)

Sr. Application Specialist – Service Delivery, Since Jan ’19

Keolis Commuter Services

Application Specialist – Service Delivery, 6/18-12/18

Keolis Commuter Services

Application Specialist – Passenger Services, 9/17-6/18

SEPTA Youth Advisory Council

Four Terms as Executive Chairperson (2013-2017); Member 3/13-9/17

Delaware River Port Authority

Citizens Advisory Committee Emeritus Member (Fmr. Appointment 12/14-8/17; Transit Co-Chair, Recording Secretary)

WMATA

Digital Customer Experience Initiatives, Summer 2016

MTA New York City Transit

System Data & Research (SDR), Summer 2015

SEPTA

Customer Development & Improvement Special Projects, Summer 2014

The Transit Navigator

Founded 2012

Amtrak

Engineering Department, September 2010 – May 2011

Background

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Systems Engineering

Nothing we encounter functions in isolation; rather, everything is a set of components with complex interdependencies. Systems engineering utilizes engineering methodologies, optimization techniques, and sensitivity analyses to improve these systems.

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Behavioral Economics

Why do optimized systems often fail? They regularly make incorrect assumptions about human behavior and rationality. Behavioral Economics provides a toolkit for analyzing decisions, optimizing systems, and developing creative solutions in light of known behavioral biases and decision processing.

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Business & Finances

Virtually every system we encounter is governed by money and finances. Acting as the life-blood behind many systems, quite simply, solid financial understanding is critical to robust decision-making.

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Policy & Law

Sometimes the most critically-overlooked component of decision making is that of policy and legal implications. Knowing how to design and build systems within a complex regulatory environment along with an understanding of effective policy crafting is required for modern success.