- One word to describe yourself: Dedicated
- Alma Mater: Texas Woman’s University
- Favorite book: “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde
- Favorite TV show: “The Office”
- Favorite movie: “Funny Girl”
- Favorite hobby(ies): Birding, camping, knitting and needlepoint
Donna Bowers began her transit career in 2008 as a temporary administrative assistant. Since that time, she has found herself playing critical roles in the management of a successful commuter rail startup and modernizing a transit system in central Arkansas.
As project assistant at the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA), she completed her undergraduate degree while supporting the administrative duties of the Capital Program Development Department of the agency, always willing to go above and beyond to make the DCTA team a success. Her commitment directly resulted in the successful design, construction and start-up of the A-train a $350M, 21-mile commuter rail system.
Following the operational start-up of the A-train she was promoted operations manager for the A-train, where she continued to grow as a transit professional.
In Bowers’ first year as director of operations at Rock Region METRO, she was responsible for the implementation of the METROtrack system, which provided customers with real-time predictive arrival information through a smartphone application, SMS text or on the web. The successful launch of METROtrack was primarily due to her unwavering dedication to completing the project on time and error free.
A few months after product launch, she embarked on one of the most aggressive service modifications Rock Region METRO has undertaken. Armed with improved data from the METROtrack system, she and the agency's planner were able to formulate service improvement plan that improved the customer experience while remaining budget neutral.
She has also implemented an interactive voice response system to improve the trip-planning experience for METRO's paratransit customers.
“I enjoy being part of providing a vital service to the community and working to improve that service each day.”
“I love working in the public transit industry because no two days are ever the same. Each day provides new opportunities and challenges for learning, improvement and growth.”
“The most challenging part of my job is finding creative and innovative ways to continually make enhancements, internally and externally, with limited resources and funding constraints.”
“I’m most proud of being part of the project management, opening and new operations of DCTA’s A-train service.”
“Always be consistent and fair. Let these be traits that your employees can count on. I believe this builds a foundation of respect and trust in your interactions with employees.”
