The Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University is proud to announce Dr. Hillary Isebrands as the new director.

Dr. Isebrands has three decades of expertise and experience improving roadway design and safety through her research, technical assistance, and leadership. Roadway safety is the number one priority for all Federal, State, Tribal and local transportation entities and Hillary has been instrumental in leading the way to reduce fatal and severe injury crashes across the United States (US). Throughout her distinguished career, she has provided technical assistance, training, and facilitation in all 50 states focusing on the challenges on rural roadways and intersection safety – including one of the national experts on roundabouts in the US.

“I am excited to be leading a dynamic and skilled team of experienced researchers at WTI who are advancing rural transportation,” said Isebrands. “Together we will continue to advance rural transportation initiatives for Montana and beyond.”

Prior to joining WTI, Dr. Isebrands spent the last 16 years with the US Department of Transportation (USDOT), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), championing roadway safety initiatives in the Office of Technical Services – Resource Center as a Senior Safety Engineer and Team Leader on the National Safety and Design Team and more recently as a Team Leader and Program Lead within the FHWA Office of Safety. In these roles, Hillary was a leader amongst dedicated and specialized teams within the Federal government that worked every day to get people home safely. In her tenure at FHWA, she oversaw the National Center for Excellence for Rural Road Safety – managed by WTI – for over a decade. Through these efforts hundreds of rural practitioners have been trained in planning, design, operating, and maintaining rural roadways.

“We are so pleased to welcome Dr. Isebrands as a center director. She has already hit the ground running with cross campus collaborations, and we are thrilled to have her at MSU,” said Dr. Alison Harmon, Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Montana State University. “Her commitment to transportation safety and her experience at the Federal level will bring a valuable perspective to WTI.”

Hillary’s leadership extends into professional and academic spheres, where she actively shapes the future of the engineering profession. Through her roles in organizations like the Transportation Research Board (TRB), her support for students in STEM, and her visionary cross-agency work through the USDOT Rural Opportunities to use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) Management Council and Rural Safety subcommittee. She consistently cultivates new talent and ideas. Dr. Isebrands fosters collaboration–connecting diverse groups such as engineers, planners, public health, and policy stakeholders–highlights a unique, visionary leadership style that successfully bridges the gap between academic theory and real-world safety impacts.

Dr. Isebrands demonstrates leadership through a powerful blend of national program management, long-term mentorship, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. She effectively guides national safety policy and technical assistance, translating complex research into actionable roadway safety solutions. Her leadership is rooted in a lifelong commitment to safety and her instrumental role in spearheading national initiatives like the Safe System Approach.

Her engineering projects, programs, and research have predominantly focused on rural challenges; seeking solutions and results through a rural lens. Her research on rural roundabouts on high-speed roadways was one of the first comprehensive data sets for this type of facility in the United States and introduced safety models to predict outcomes at rural intersections. She has contributed to dozens of roundabout publications over the last 20 years including NCHRP 672 Roundabouts: An Informational Guide (2010) and NCHRP 1043 Guide for Roundabouts (2023). Hillary is the current Chair of the TRB Standing Committee on Roundabouts and Alternative Intersections (AKL12) and is a past member of the TRB Standing Committee on Geometric Design and the TRB Rural Transportation Issues Coordinating Council.

Rural is the common thread in the tapestry of Hillary’s personal and professional life, stemming from her family’s Iowa farming roots and upbringing in northern Wisconsin to raising her children in rural Colorado. She is excited to expand her rural fingerprint to the Big Sky country of Montana.