Tara Casanova Powell is the Principal of Casanova Powell Consulting, an independent traffic safety research consulting firm and the current CEO for the Association of Transportation Safety Information Professionals (ATSIP). Tara is the former Program Coordinator for the Annual Lifesavers National Conference on Roadway Safety Priorities and a Research Consultant for Acusensus and the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA). Tara also serves as a faculty staff member for Impaired Driving Solutions, formerly the National Center for DWI Courts (NCDC), under “All Rise”. With over 25 years of experience in the field of road safety, Tara’s career has spanned several niches within this community.

Tara has been engaged with the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine for several years where she currently serves as the Chair for the Impairment in Transportation Committee and was the Chair of the 2021 TRB Drug-Impaired Driving Conference Planning Committee. Tara also founded and Chairs the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS) Impaired Driving Behavioral Intervention Working Group (IDBIIIG) and has recently been elected to the ICADTS Board of Directors as an At Large Member.

In 2023, Tara co-authored the Impact of Compliance-Based Removal Laws on Alcohol-Impaired Driving Recidivism for GHSA, and “Rideshare Volume and DUI Incidents in Boston, Worcester, and Northampton, Massachusetts”, a collaborative project between Lyft and Uber developed for the National Association of District Attorneys (NDAA). Prior reports include “Rideshare Volume and DUI Incidents in Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; and Fort Worth, Texas” and “Rideshare Volume and DUI Incidents in Target California Communities” in collaboration with Lyft and also developed for NDAA. Through Tara’s judicial experience, she authored “A GUIDE TO DUI PRETRIAL SERVICES Key Components & Best Practice Recommendations” prepared for the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility illustrating Pretrial Services Early Intervention Programs for DWI Offenders.

Tara has also conducted extensive research on distracted driving including several studies with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Preusser Research Group in NY, CT, Northern Virgina, and Maryland and served on the Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program (BTSCRP) expert panel for the completed project “Examining the Implications of Legislation and Enforcement on Electronic Device Use While Driving”.

Tara’s professional experience and network span several roadway safety priorities, with expertise in impaired driving, distracted driving, speed, occupant protection, and traffic records that transcend barriers that often exist within the silos of the transportation profession. Tara is very passionate about her role in transportation safety and has worked to connect traffic safety professionals including research scientist; federal, state, and local practitioners; law enforcement; and traffic records data professionals to work together to work towards ZERO deaths and to provide equitable transportation for all road users.