Gunta Mackars
BLA, OALA, CSLA
Principal, Transportation, North America
Gunta Mackars is a strategic leader in the Transportation sector, bringing a full life cycle perspective shaped by experience on both the client and design sides of major transit, aviation and multimodal hub projects. Her career spans public and private sectors, giving her a nuanced understanding of funding, stakeholder engagement and design alignment. Managing multidisciplinary infrastructure initiatives, she has a proven track record of delivering comprehensive solutions through a range of delivery models including AFP and P3. She collaborates with clients to integrate safety, security, sustainability and adaptability into designs, prioritizing long-term operational effectiveness, strengthening climate resilience, and paving the way for future expansion and emerging mobility technologies. By building partnerships among operators, government agencies and communities, she ensures projects address immediate needs while delivering lasting quality and value.
For Gunta, transportation systems are more than networks to move people—they are opportunities to create destinations that elevate the customer journey. As a global traveler and regular public transit user, she draws on firsthand experience with passenger flow, accessibility and convenience to shape her perspective. By combining an understanding of user needs with insights into emerging trends, she transforms transit hubs into vibrant third spaces with alternative revenue streams such as Retail and Restaurants. Her design approach integrates placemaking, EDI and environmental stewardship, creating spaces that align client goals with meaningful community impact.
Her leadership has set benchmarks in transit infrastructure, advancing integrated station and site standards, wayfinding, universal accessibility and integrated art to create spaces that are efficient, safe, welcoming and intuitive across all transit modes. By enabling seamless navigation for every passenger—inclusive of all abilities and needs—and embracing adaptable solutions that integrate emerging technologies, Gunta positions transportation systems as equitable, innovative and future-ready.
Beyond her professional role, Gunta is the founder of an urban forest advocacy initiative focused on creating the conditions trees need to thrive and mature. Her commitment to harmonizing human needs with environmental integrity aligns with our Corporate Social Responsibility initiative with One Tree Planted. Together, these efforts underscore the importance of ecological resilience and future-proofing the built environment through sustainable practices, reflecting a shared belief in actions that benefit future generations.
