June 16, 2025
“My focus is how people move. It’s not just about putting in a bus stop based on data; how are the people who live in or visit the area going to use it, and how are they getting to it?”
Christi Apicella brings more than 25 years of experience across the federal, municipal, private, and nonprofit sectors of transportation, with a strong focus on the New England region. Her work has always centered on one core idea: transportation is about people. Whether she’s planning a multimodal corridor or helping a neighborhood rethink its streets, Christi works to understand how people move through their communities, and how thoughtful transportation decisions can improve their daily lives.
Christi has worked on both the consulting and agency side of transportation, with 15 years at Bowman culminating in serving as New England Service Lead for Planning & Project Development. On top of her planning experience, Christi is a skilled communicator who enjoys stakeholder coordination, helping departments within agencies find common ground, and bringing communities together around shared goals. She’s known for her ability to bridge the gap between technical details and human experience—translating engineering language into compelling stories that resonate with city leaders, agency staff, and community members.
“Christi’s approach to client and teaming relationships, in addition to her technical expertise and savvy, makes her one of the most respected transportation planning professionals in Massachusetts,” said Principal Planner Conor Semler. “She can work on a wide variety of project types with equal excellence. Clients seek Christi out for her perspective to draw from her experience and intuition.”
Our team first got to know Christi working on the Boston Neighborhood Slow Streets project and teamed with her on several projects after that, continuing to be impressed by her thoughtful, human-centered approach to transportation planning and community building.
“From those early interactions there was something special about working with Christi,” said Conor. “She embraced our open and collaborative approach and responded in kind. We worked as one team under separate company names.”
"From those early interactions there was something special about working with Christi."
- Conor Semer, Principal Planner
As positive as those teaming interactions were, we’re even more excited to now work with Christi under the same company name! Conor and our other New England team members say they look forward to up-and-coming planners at Kittelson having the opportunity to learn from and grow alongside Christi. For her part, Christi says she feels aligned with Kittelson’s values, and excited to work in a firm with a strong research focus, flat and collaborative structure, and customized approach to projects.
“When I considered a return to the transportation consulting world as the next chapter of my career, Kittelson’s core value of ‘outward focus’ was the deciding factor,” said Christi. “It is aligned with my passion for customized solutions that center on the good of communities, not giving them something off the shelf.”
We’re grateful to have Christi on board and can’t wait to see the difference she’ll make for our team and clients. Christi will be based in our Boston, MA office and will advise on projects nationwide. If you’d like to learn more about the role Christi will be playing at Kittelson, contact her directly here. Welcome, Christi!