Curvie Hawkins, Jr. ‘95, ‘00 - 2008 Outstanding African-American Alumni Award
Curvie Hawkins has over a decade of experience in the transit industry. He currently serves as the Director of Planning for the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) where he was hired as one of the youngest directors at The T. He serves his company and community with pride. His key responsibilities include managing and directing all planning related efforts including bus, rail and strategic planning. Curvie is currently overseeing the planning of a $400 million commuter rail line from southwest Fort Worth into DFW Airport.
Mr. Hawkins leadership in the development of The T’s Strategic Plan resulted in the project being awarded the Planning Project of the Year by the Midwest Section of the Texas American Planning Association. As part of the strategic planning process, he received accolades for developing a public involvement plan that incorporated widespread community involvement and validation, which resulted in overwhelming community support.
Prior to joining The T, Curvie was employed by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) where he worked in the planning department and directed project teams during the development of bus feeder plans leading to the opening of two Light Rail lines. He worked for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the Cities of Southlake and Crowley, and as a Graduate Research Assistant at UTA.
He is knowledgeable of the transit industry and is often called upon to perform numerous presentations such as at the 2007 Transportation Summit, the Transportation Research Board Conference on Application of Transportation Planning Methods, and the annual meeting of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO). He was honored to present on transportations strategies at Congressman Michael Burgess’ 2007 Renaissance Communities Economic Development Summit.
In 2005, Curvie was elected as the Fort Worth chapter president of COMTO, a national organization whose purpose is to identify, recruit and develop emerging professionals for senior and executive level positions within the transportation industry. While under the leadership of Mr. Hawkins, the Fort Worth Chapter was awarded the 2006 Emerging Chapter of the Year. He is a member of the American Planning Association, Congress of New Urbanism, Toastmasters International, and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). The mission of ULI is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Curvie personally believes in this mission and consistently works to spread the message of the link between transit and land use in creating a sustainable future. To this end, he was asked to serve as a panelist during the 2007 Design for Density conference, which promoted the concept of sustainable, compact development.
Curvie is happily married to Laneshia, a Board Support Administrator at Dallas Area Rapid Transit, and they are dedicated to making his community a better place to raise their children, Jadin and Aria. Curvie is active in community events, church and children’s school. He is a member of the PTA and has been a Junior Achievement teacher. He routinely volunteers as a career day speaker for area schools from the elementary to high school level.
His civic involvement includes being appointed by the Mayor as Chairman of the Arlington Transit Advisory Board and serving as a member of the Fort Worth Central City Redevelopment Committee. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Southeast Fort Worth, Inc., a non-profit development company, dedicated to the revitalization of the southeast quadrant of Fort Worth. In 2002, Curvie was elected as a Precinct Chair and was chosen as a delegate for the 2002 and 2004 Texas Democratic State Conventions.
Mr. Hawkins is a proud graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington where he attained a Masters degree in City and Regional Planning and a Bachelor of Science in Economics. While attending UTA, Curvie was awarded the title University Scholar and was recognized for two successive years as a selection for Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. He served as president and treasurer of the Student Planning Association and membership director of the National Association of Business Economists. He was a mentor in the UTA HOSTS! Program and was elected a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, national leadership honor society. Also while a student at UTA, Curvie created and published a newsletter entitled Dub Nation Publications, a forum for young minority journalists.
Curvie’s final graduate paper entitled, A Bus Plan for the City of Arlington, was awarded the Student Planning Award from the Midwest Section of the Texas American Planning Association.
Curvie recognizes the quality of a UTA education and he has demonstrated this though consistent hiring of interns and graduates of UTA. In his position at The T, he hired four UTA graduates and while at DART he provided internship opportunities for two students.
Curvie demonstrated his loyalty to his alma mater by providing real world experience for students. In 2004, under Curvie’s encouragement, The T commissioned a study with a graduate class in the School of Urban and Public Affairs. The study assessed the market potential of transit-oriented development at the Richland Hills commuter rail station. Curvie helped to arrange for the student project manager of the study to present the findings to the Mayor and City Council.
Curvie volunteered his time by returning to UTA, in November 2006, to provide a lecture on Public Transportation for a graduate class in the School of Urban and Public Affairs.
