Mari Schwabacher - Transportation Planner, FL Department of Transportation
Mari entered college planning to study international affairs and left with a love for urban planning. Understanding the importance of transportation and the impact it has on people’s livelihood, Mari pivoted her focus and devoted her time to helping people move. As a transportation planner for the State of Florida, Mari’s role comprises many tasks, all of which she welcomes with a can-do attitude and a desire to benefit the communities she serves. It’s hard to imagine life without adequate infrastructure, and we’re lucky to have someone like Mari who invests in transportation so everyone, regardless of demographics, can access proper transportation and, in turn, more opportunities.
The Basics:
Hometown: Salvador, Brazil
Current city: Jacksonville, FL
Alma mater: Florida State University
Degree: B.S., International Affairs, Minor in Urban and Regional Planning
Very first job: Grocery store bagger
Hustle: Transportation Planner, FL Department of Transportation
The Interests:
Babe you admire and why?
As an artistic/creative person myself, I am always in awe of people that are able to create art that is deep and powerful, yet very relatable. Brandi Carlile’s music and way with words is so beautiful to me; listening to her play music or just speak is a magical experience. What I admire most in her is how she uses her influence to help create social change, especially for women and the LGBTQI+ community. As a queer person, she’s someone I look up to not only for her talent, but also for her morals, values and activism.
Favorite internet rabbit hole?
I often find myself caught up in the “home improvement” side of the internet, and I’m not mad about it. I bought a house a little over a year ago and i’ve been obsessed with small home improvement projects since. I love finding used furniture on Facebook Marketplace and flipping them, figuring out a hundred different ways to set up the living room layout and rearranging the wall art. It’s a lot of fun having the freedom to do whatever I want to my space, and TikTok in particular always knows how to keep my attention with those 60-second house project videos.
If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?
I'd love to be in my hometown in Brazil right now, laying out at my favorite beach spot sipping on some fresh coconut water.
The Hustle:
Tell us about your hustle.
I am currently a transportation planner for the State of Florida. I always have a hard time explaining exactly what I do because it involves so many different things, and that’s probably what every professional in urban planning would tell you. The nature of the job is very diverse and usually tailored to each specific agency or planning firm. Here’s an attempt to keep it simple: I am the State of Florida liaison to the Gainesville urbanized area for all-things related to public transportation. A big part of my job is going to county and city council meetings to discuss new transportation projects, issues with roads, long-range transportation plans and funding affecting Gainesville and Alachua County. Because most of the funding for local public transportation comes from the State of Florida and the federal government, there’s a need for constant coordination and collaboration between the two agencies. I’m basically the middleman between the local government and the State of Florida regarding anything transportation-focused. I’ also the Complete Streets Coordinator for 18 counties surrounding Jacksonville, which is another role I really enjoy. It involves making sure road planning serves different modes of transportation other than cars and vehicles, like cyclists and pedestrians, as an effort to make the transportation system in Florida more wholesome.
When did you become interested in Planning? What brought you to transportation in particular?
I have always been passionate about many different things, but I developed a special interest in government and international affairs when I moved to the United States at age 12. Moving from Brazil to the U.S. as a kid exposed me to a lot of positive things like access to a good public-school education, incredible infrastructure and convenience, and tons of opportunity—as most immigrants would confirm. But it also made me aware of a lot of social issues early on in life, like how much racism and prejudice exists here towards immigrants and minorities, lack of government assistance programs and public transportation infrastructure—especially for marginalized groups who can’t afford to buy cars. I went to FSU to study International Affairs and ended up taking an Urban Planning class as an elective, but I loved it so much that it’s what I ultimately decided to focus my degree on. I took a special interest in transportation planning because transportation is something that affects everyone and is crucial to day-to-day life. If a place doesn’t have good transportation infrastructure, it affects people’s livelihoods. It’s so important to invest in different types of transportation like trains and bike lanes/sidewalks, so that no matter your income and place in life, you have the ability to move around. Florida is definitely lacking in facilities for anything other than cars, which isolates and underserves marginalized populations. I was directly affected by that growing up as an immigrant in the States, leading me to devote myself to help change that through my career in planning.
How have your past professional and academic experiences and lessons prepared you for the work you do today? How have they not prepared you?
One of the best things I ever did for myself was join Model UN in college—yes, I’m a nerd. This organization taught me debating skills, how to speak and write effectively and professionally; it taught me so much about collaboration, politics and diplomacy, and it exposed me to students just like me from all over the world. I made friends that are now family and learned skills that prepared me for the life I have now. I can confidently and proudly say that I still use skills that I learned in Model UN at my job every single day. The organization landed me a college scholarship and the connections I made through it helped land me my very first job in planning as park planner for the Florida Park Service (FPS). I was about to graduate college and didn’t know much about parks or ecology whatsoever, so I definitely felt like I was way in over my head. Thankfully this turned out to be the best first job experience I could’ve ever asked for. I learned how to write plans and about public speaking, mapping and design skills. I also learned so much about Florida’s diverse ecosystem and got to visit almost all state parks in Florida. Although I decided I wanted a career in transportation planning, being a park planner for two years was crucial in training me for a career in government and helped me land the job I currently hold.
How has being a woman impacted your professional experiences? What can we collectively do to support and empower women in your industry today?
Like most women, I have definitely felt the struggles of being a woman in my field. Even though we’ve seen incredible progress for female representation in urban planning and related fields like architecture, city government and engineering, progress has been slow and incremental. From my personal experience, women in the field are always a minority, and they’re rarely in leadership positions. A big part of my job is speaking and answering questions at public meetings, where the majority of the commissioners are older males. I have been talked down to and dismissed many times for being a female young professional. I have found that it’s almost always a challenge to be in the position that I’m in as a younger woman, and that I have to try a hundred times harder to be taken seriously at my job than my male colleagues. Being a woman of color definitely adds a layer to the struggle. Luckily, I have two amazing lady bosses who always have my back and have been great mentors. We’ve bonded over the struggle of being women in urban planning and they’ve helped teach me how to be firmer and more assertive when I have the floor. I feel lucky to also be experiencing the other side of it—the community and sorority that can come from being a woman in transportation, and for having the privilege of being under amazing female leadership. As women, we should always support and lift each other up, and I’m happy to say that’s been my experience with other women in the transportation planning field.
How have your job, roles and industry differed from what they looked like before the pandemic?
I feel lucky to say that I’ve been able to keep my job through the craziness that was the past year. My entire office switched to working remotely, and we are just now starting to phase out of it. Because we have been so successful at teleworking, my agency is only requiring us to go into the office once a week, which is a big change for the State of Florida. One of the few positives from the pandemic was forcing employers to see that a lot of roles are manageable from home, and I’m very fortunate to be in one of them. Most of the meetings I have to attend have switched to Zoom, and all of our work materials have been placed in a network that’s accessible remotely. On the negative side, since most of the funding for transportation projects in Florida comes from our gas tax, our budget has taken a huge hit. The lack of gas sales due to the pandemic has caused the department to withdraw from big projects and/or push them back several years, which is very unfortunate for our communities. It’s probable that anything related to public funding in transportation will struggle for the next few years as we try to recover from effects of the pandemic on our budget.
What’s one thing you’re proud to have accomplished in your career thus far?
I’m really proud of always pushing myself to do more and want more, even when I’m terrified or when I feel like I don’t deserve more. Even though I’m not anywhere near where I want to be, I never imagined I would be this far into my career at age 27, and sometimes I still have to do a reality check to make sure I’m not dreaming. I’ve always had huge imposter syndrome and have been really scared to ask for more—whether it’s a raise or bigger responsibilities—but every time I have, it’s paid off. I was very underqualified for the job I currently have, but I applied anyway. I’m proud of myself for always going for it even when I’m uncomfortable or scared. I’m a young woman in a field I’m passionate about, and that feels really good.
Are you involved with any other careers, side projects or organizations? If so, how do you balance this alongside your day-to-day responsibilities?
I’ve been playing the guitar and writing songs since I was 12, and I can sincerely say that I wouldn’t be where I am without this creative outlet. I also love photography, doodling, rollerblading and cooking. It has taken me a long time to figure out how to balance my career with my creative projects. I’ve been guilty of doing too much of one and not enough of the other and vice versa, many times. I finally realized through a lot of trial and error that balance is key. My profession is important, but being creative and playing music is just as crucial for my wellbeing and mental health. I have found that I am my happiest when I make time to also perform and create outside of my work. I think society puts a lot of pressure on making our professions the focus of our lives, and I don’t think that’s healthy. I love my job, but it also does not define me. The fact that I have many talents and passions used to stress me out because I felt like I had to focus on one thing and make it my life, but now I understand that doesn’t work for everyone and that’s okay.
Who are some women in your field that you look to for inspiration?
Janette Sadik-Khan is a huge source of inspiration for me. She was commissioner of the NYC Department of Transportation for a long time, and led one of the most important revitalizations of the city’s streets ever. Besides being a female powerhouse in the modern transportation planning world, I find her work exceptionally important because she fought for alternative transportation infrastructure. She’s responsible for creating miles of bike lanes in NYC, ousted cars from the streets and advocated to make streets safer for pedestrians. Transportation planners could all learn a lot from her about also making streets for people, not just cars. Additionally, Jane Jacobs—one of the few female pioneers in urban planning—will also always remain close to my heart.
Career and/or life advice for other babes?
If you think you’re underqualified, apply for it anyway. Even if you’re scared and that little voice inside your head is saying you’re not good enough, do it anyway. It always pays off, and I wouldn’t be where I am if I hadn’t taken huge leaps when I thought it wasn’t going to get me anywhere. As women we have been conditioned to shrink and not take up space, and I think that’s caused us to settle for less than we should and ultimately take less risks. If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.
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