Employee Spotlight: Meet Chase Milner

It was a big weekend for football in Tennessee which makes it the perfect time to talk about one of FTDD’s favorite RPOs.

On the football field, RPO usually means run-pass option — a play designed to give the quarterback options and keep the defense guessing.

At FTDD, our RPO means something a little different: Chase Milner, Rural Planning Organization Coordinator. And just like a good RPO play, Chase knows how to assess the situation, spot an opportunity and make the right move.

Chase coordinates regional transportation planning efforts for Northeast Tennessee, working with local governments and regional, state and federal partners to identify transportation needs, pursue funding opportunities, and move projects from ideas to implementation. His work spans everything from road safety and multimodal transportation to trails, alternative fuels, infrastructure, and long-term planning.

And if there's an opportunity to put an idea into motion, Chase is usually ready to make the call.

One example is his work to bring electric vehicle charging infrastructure to FTDD. Chase spearheaded a grant that helped FTDD install EV chargers, ultimately supporting the addition of a four-car fleet of Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles. Over the past year alone, those vehicles have logged over 42,000 miles across the region which is a pretty impressive example of putting sustainable transportation into practice.

Chase is also proud of helping communities turn big ideas into practical projects. Most recently, he helped Hancock County secure a $100,000 Healthy Active Rural Tennessee grant to re-envision its downtown through a pedestrian plaza demonstration. His work with Mountain City through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Thriving Communities Program has also helped advance transportation safety, trails, ADA planning, and additional recovery funding following Hurricane Helene.

For Chase, the most rewarding part of the job is seeing those efforts translate into tangible improvements for the people who live in Northeast Tennessee.

“I like helping people, making a meaningful contribution and knowing that my work is helping create positive outcomes for communities and the citizens we all serve,” said Milner.

That desire to make a difference is rooted in Chase's lifelong interest in the connections between people, places, and the environment. A Lexington, Kentucky, native, Chase holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources with a minor in Anthropology from the University of the South: Sewanee.

His career has taken him through land conservation, fisheries science, battlefield preservation, land-use planning and international service. One experience especially close to his heart was traveling with his spouse to El Sinaca, Guatemala, in 2016 through Living Waters for the World, where they helped develop a clean water system for the community.

Chase describes himself in three words: curious, resourceful and purposeful. Those are qualities that certainly come in handy when you're connecting people, ideas, and resources to solve problems.

When he's not helping communities navigate transportation planning and funding opportunities, you can find Chase fly-fishing, hiking and exploring the Southern Appalachians with friends, family and his dog, Dottie.

And the best advice he's ever received? “Leave things better than you found them.”

It's advice that seems to fit Chase and his work at FTDD pretty well.

Whether he's working on a transportation plan, pursuing a grant, helping a community develop a new project or finding a more sustainable way to get from Point A to Point B, Chase continues to look for opportunities to leave Northeast Tennessee a little better than he found it.

That's our kind of RPO.