About Us

In 2022, Beverly Watts launched a consulting firm to advise small businesses and public/private sectors on how to Build, Motivate and Expand (BME Consulting) their operations related to infrastructure and transportation projects.

Prior to launching her firm, she was appointed in 2016 as Wayne County’s first female Director of the Department of Public Services. As Director, Watts was responsible for managing the annual budget, developing a capital improvement plan, setting strategic goals and creating a communication/marketing plan for each of the department’s six divisions. Watts managed nearly 600 employees with an annual budget exceeding $300 million dollars.

In 2022, Watts received COMTO’s “Women Who Move the Nation” award.

She currently serves on the Michigan Infrastructure Council, appointed by the Governor in 2022.

Watts has a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in Telecommunication; she received certification from the Harvard School of Executive Education in 2019.

With over 25 years of diverse experience in transportation engineering at both the private and public sectors of the industry, Kay Adefeso is the Detroit Transportation Service Center (TSC) Manager at the Michigan Department of Transportation where he manages diverse multi-disciplined project teams in project management, construction engineering, system level transportation asset management, and traffic operations.  In his current role, Kay oversees the TSC’s implementation of multi-modal transportation capital improvement programs, budget planning, operations, and maintenance of the transportation systems, providing strategic leadership to advance MDOT’s initiatives and goals while fostering multilateral relations with local municipal agencies, government/elected officials, industry partners and stakeholders to effectively deliver transportation programs and projects to serve and connect people, communities, and the economy.

Joshua Salazar is the leader of HDR’s Michigan Transportation practice and is a project manager with 20 years of experience in both the public and private sector leadership. Joshua has led multi-disciplined teams to scope, evaluate, and prioritize capital projects for programming with short-term and long-term implementation strategies. He has led several large multi-modal projects through program management, planning, preliminary engineering alternatives, plans/specifications, capital cost estimates, evaluation of traffic and environmental impacts, and comprehensive stakeholder outreach. Joshua’s experience also includes developing the federal agency documentation required for compliance with grant funding agreements.

Kesha McKinney brings over a decade of dedicated service in community development and engagement. In her current role as the Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), Mrs. McKinney is actively involved in the coordination of impactful engagement for small and disadvantaged businesses in Southeast Michigan, ensuring that all businesses are heard and represented while also promoting equitable opportunities for businesses on the I-375 Reconnecting Communities Project. Her previous role as a Community Outreach Coordinator at the City of Detroit City Council provided her with valuable experience in community outreach and initiatives. In this role, she worked with the community to actively build programming that supported community needs. Mrs. McKinney is committed to driving progress and innovation toward a more equitable future for all Detroiters.