Meet 2026 Women in Construction Week Profile: Liz Callin

While most of typical construction is about to-do lists from planning before and completing a punch list post build, the most important part on City of Madison Principal Transportation Planner Liz Callin's list is living.

"The human element, the people piece of it is definitely the most important thing," Callin said. "Before we even start thinking of planning when construction will happen, we're thinking of what is going to be built and how that might impact the community."

Callin said the crux of what she does as the City's Principal Transportation Planner is trying to connect systems that everyone uses everyday as a manager of the transportation planning team.

"We manage and oversee a variety of transportation and planning projects," Callin said. "Somethings include bus rapid transit planning. We're working on station planning for a future Amtrak station coming to Madison, as well as curb management and engaging on a variety of bicycle and pedestrian planning efforts."

A big effort in all of the projects includes engagement with the public, finding out what they need, want and how they feel about the projects impacting their everyday lives.

"Before we start putting up those orange cones or digging into the ground, we're involving the community and making sure their feedback is being considered in the project as early on as we can," Callin said.

Growing up in Portage, Wis., Callin wasn't as familiar with big city transportation systems, or what transportation planners would even do. She started learning more when she went to the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee for architecture.

"I starting to think of building designs, and started thinking about creating base within a building, and through that program," Callin said. "I got introduced into urban planning, which is really thinking about architecture but at the macro level, so thinking less about the building itself more about the community."

She then went onto earn her Master of Urban Planning from the University of Michigan, where she was introduced to the world of transportation planning.

"Transportation planning is something I'm very passionate about because it touches so many different areas of people's lives," Callin said. "It's something everyone has to do every day. We all have to get to where we're going, and the systems we get there really impact our quality life."

Callin did transportation planning work at the nonprofit, state and regional level, but loves the local level at the City of Madison.

"Thinking about transportation as access to opportunity: How are you getting to work? What jobs do you have available to you? Depending on what type of transportation you have available to you, what schools might be in reach for you and your kids?" Callin said. "How long are you spending on your commute and how does that impact your quality of life?"

After a decade in the profession, Callin said her life began to make the content of her career more meaningful.

"One thing that's made me what to stick with this career path is thinking about how women and men experience transportation differently," Callin said. "As a kid I didn't really notice it growing up in a small town, but as I got older and experienced different cities in different places, you learn about how different commute patterns vary between men and women."

Becoming a mom has helped her understand not everyone's transportation plan is the same, and different needs require different types of transportation.

"When I became a mom, and I started adding all these different things to my transportation pattern," Callin said. "It made me think how we have to push to make our transportation system better for everyone, but especially to continue to allow women to do what they want in the world."

The world continues to change, and so does the transportation system, something Callin said they're already planning for 10 years down the road. However, Callin believes having a strong transportation system in the future, begins with helping young people know its importance now.

"Breaking down the barriers and the traditional past, and sometimes that starts young," Callin said. "It starts with our kids. It starts with high school students… Women in construction can look a lot of different ways. The career path can look a lot of different ways. I didn't even know what an urban planner when I was in high school, so starting to teach kids and teens and young adults what that looks like so they can starting thinking of that being a career path so we can grow women in construction."

Opportunity to build, plan and create is endless when we think big, and for Callin, while the biggest part of the plan isn't often listed, it's the people who change us, inspire us and drive us to make the transportation system and world a better place for everyone.

Watch the video highlight on the City's social media platforms.