Pittsburgh, PA—The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) announced today that Lillian Gabreski has been named its Director of Transportation. She will join the organization’s leadership team, lead a department of 13 staff members, and oversee transportation initiatives on behalf of the 10-county region.
Gabreski has an exceptional background in strategic planning and transportation, as well as securing state and federal grants. She joined the organization in 2018, and has become known by both staff members and external partners for taking innovative approaches to solving complex challenges.
“I am excited to have Lillian officially join our leadership team,” said Rich Fitzgerald, Executive Director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission. “She has been with the organization for over six years, and in that time, has demonstrated her steadfast commitment to improving the quality of life for area residents. Lillian’s leadership style, expertise in transportation, and proven experience in securing grants for our region made her a natural choice for this position. She will hit the ground running and continue with SPC’s mission of planning for the continued success of Southwestern Pennsylvania.”
As Director of Transportation, Gabreski will direct the development of the organization’s required program documents like the region’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). Both the TIP and LRTP plan for specific transportation and infrastructure projects across the 10-county region. Additionally, Gabreski will supervise all of the department’s programs including multimodal transportation planning, operations and safety, transportation demand management, a vanpool program, active transportation initiatives like trails, and many other initiatives.
During her time at SPC, Gabreski has served in a variety of roles. More recently, she has served as the Manager of Sponsored Program Development and led the organization’s development of competitive grant funding applications for local, state, and federal discretionary programs. She played a very instrumental part in developing the application which SPC, PennDOT, and Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to secure the $142 million grant for the Eastern Pittsburgh Multimodal Corridor project. Additionally, she has guided the organization’s efforts on equity to ensure that programs adhere to the federal environmental justice requirements and Justice40 guidance.
Gabreski earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Penn State University’s Schreyer Honors College, and a Master of Public Administration with a concertation in economic and financial policy from Cornell University. She will officially assume the role on Oct. 24.
