Our Staff
Main Street Connections staff provides excellence in public transportation recommendations in support of our clients missions and their customers. We succeed by earning the satisfaction of our clients, the respect and trust of those who depend on us, do business with us; and the pride of our employees.
Michael LaBello - Managing Partner
Project Management
518-423-8684
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Mr. LaBello holds a degree in Civil Engineering with a concentration in bridge and highway design. Experience includes positions as partner at Main Street Connections a transportation consulting firm, an Intermodal Transportation Specialist with the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), and CEO of Eastern Testing an engineering firm dealing in Quality Control and Quality Assurance.
Mr. Labello has over 34 years of experience in the transportation and engineering fields facilitating activities affecting public, private and political audiences. Mr. LaBello’s time with Main Street Connections and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has allowed him to accumulate vast knowledge of the programs of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA); SAFETEA-LU and MAP-21, United We Ride, mobility management efforts nationwide; one-click/one-call center development, collaboration and cost sharing methodologies; partnering principals; IT and ITS Technologies, and public, private and political barrier recognition. Mr. LaBello’s time is spent working with state and local governments and their associated stakeholders designing and implementing coordinated mobility management programs involving multiple partners, missions and funding sources that have a common mission of the movement of people. Mr. LaBello is a creative and dynamic thinker whose view of transportation's future is one of multi-agency collaboration with a purpose of meeting growing mobility needs in a world of shrinking government and its available resources. He brings that creative and dynamic thinking to the federal world of mobility management.
Jennifer Thorne - Managing Partner
Transportation Research & Analysis
518-423-3985
Ms. Thorne holds a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University at Albany. Experience includes positions as Partner with Main Street Connections a transportation consulting firm, Major Capital Projects Manager with the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA), Transportation Analyst with the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), and Environmental Planner with a major regional law firm in Upstate New York. Ms. Thorne has served on two municipal planning boards.
Jennifer Thorne has over eight years’ experience in the transportation planning field and with her time with Main Street Connections and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) having allowed her to accumulate vast knowledge of the programs of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and mobility management efforts nationwide. Ms. Thorne spends the majority of the time working with local communities to design and implement a coordinated mobility plans and one-click/one-call center development. Jennifer's experience includes analyzing both transit, human service and veteran agency operating budgets to determine where cost sharing opportunities exist, and educating local politicians and community stakeholders on funding requirements with respect to federal initiatives such as United We Ride and the mandates of SAFETEA-LU and MAP-21. She has also worked as a project manager on both FTA and FRA funded capital projects, understanding ADA issues related to mobility at intermodal stations, bus stations, and level boarding requirements at rail stations. Jennifer also has experience in Title VI requirements taking the lead in this area at triennial reviews and preparing Title VI reports for the FTA.
Professional Supporting Cast
The supporting cast of Main Street Connections is extremely diverse and consists of: Urban and Rural Public Transportation and Technology Professionals, Federal Programs Expertise, a Tribal Transit Government Relations, SQL & PHP Programmers, Database and GIS Expertise, Information Technology (IT) and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Expertise, System Engineering and Federal ITS Architecture Requirements, Web Content Management Developers, and Graphic Designers & Artists.