Will Kempton, chief executive officer of the Orange County Transportation, has announced he is retiring from the agency and plans to continue his work in the field by leading a statewide non-profit dedicated to transportation advocacy and education. Kempton, who has led OCTA since August 2009, has accepted the position of executive director for Transportation California and plans to leave the agency on Feb. 28.
Michael Davis, chief operating officer and senior deputy administrator at the Maryland Transit Administration, is 1 of 14 national honorees for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials annual President's Transportation Awards. The awards recognize individuals, programs or teams for improving environmental conditions, utilizing technology, implementing excellent executive management skills, increasing efficiencies and making effective use of taxpayer dollars.
AC Transit has named David Wilkins, a veteran of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to head the agency’s bus rapid transit (BRT) program. Wilkins, who has domestic and international experience developing multi-million dollar budgets, managing contracts and administering complex capital improvement programs, will be the program director for a BRT plan to modernize and improve East Bay bus service. Wilkins retired from the U.S. Army Reserve with the rank of Lt. Colonel, after a 25-year career in which he completed an 11-month tour as the base engineer and director of public works at Bagram Air Force Base, solely responsible for the infrastructure development, life support operations and facility management of the largest military base in Afghanistan.
Martin Thies, chair of the Intercity Transit Authority, announced the appointment of Ann Freeman-Manzanares as the interim general manager upon the departure of Mike Harbour. Freeman-Manzanares is currently the agency’s director of development, overseeing many administrative functions for the agency, including capital projects, procurement, grants, planning, inventory, and marketing and communications.
The board of directors for Scantek Inc. appointed Steve Marshall to the position of company president. In addition to more than 30 years of engineering experience in sound & vibration control, Marshall brings a business background that includes management positions in both the aerospace and HVAC&R industries. Marshall is a fellow of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering and served for 10 years as its treasurer.
Patrick Hickox, P.E., has joined HDR as bridges & structures director. Prior to joining HDR, he was senior vice president/construction engineering director at Figg Engineering. Hickox has more than 24 years of experience in design, construction and asset maintenance of complex, long span bridges with a specialty in cable stayed bridges. His experience includes projects delivered through traditional means, along with extensive alternative delivery experience. He started his career with the Alabama Department of Transportation after receiving his bachelor's degree in structural engineering from the University of South Alabama.
Greater Dayton RTA Executive Director Mark Donaghy has been elected president of the American Bus Benchmarking Group (ABBG). Transit systems in 13 U.S. cities came together in August, 2011 to form the group, which is committed to sharing key performance indicator information with peer agencies in an effort to improve efficiency and productivity.
di Domenico + Partners, an architecture, landscape architecture and planning firm, is pleased to announce the addition of Ileana LaFontaine as the firm’s marketing director. LaFontaine has been involved with the design community for more than 12 years, having managed and directed the marketing departments of several New York architectural firms, including Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, Mitchell/Giurgola and Murphy Burnham & Buttrick. Her experience with transit consultants includes positions within the marketing departments of Systra Consulting and STV Inc.
PWTransit Ltd., a division of Calgary-based Pacific Western Transportation, is pleased to announce that Scott Pass has joined its team as the director of business development. Pass has managed public transit and private transportation systems for more than 25 years, including 12 years as the manager of Whistler Transit Ltd. and was the director of transportation, planning and contracts for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Pass has an extensive background in transit system general management, planning, scheduling, operations, labor management, and developing highly-motivated and collaborative leadership teams, with a focus on operational efficiency and effectiveness.
