Established in 1995 for the sole purpose of managing the non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) benefit for health plans and government entities, Alaina Maciá recognized MTM’s vast opportunities for service expansion. Leveraging the company’s strengths in developing solutions for connecting community resources, Maciá has led the charge in creating diversified product offerings in the public transit realm, including travel training, functional assessments for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paratransit eligibility, and ADA paratransit brokerage.
Each of these services provides fresh approaches for achieving MTM’s vision of communities without barriers, allowing MTM to help more than five million people gain independence each year. Maciá also spearheaded the founding of Ride Right, an MTM affiliate that operates paratransit, fixed-route transit, special needs transportation and mobility management services.
MTM arranges more than 7 million NEMT and paratransit trips for the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and transportation disadvantaged every year. Under Maciá leadership, MTM ensures safe and independent travel on public transit systems from California to New York. She has also ensured MTM’s substantial growth stemming from new services, evolving from 200 employees in 2005, to more than 1,300 in 2014. Annual revenue has increased from $60 million in 2005 to a projected $279 million this year. Maciá wants MTM to be the best, continually offering innovative solutions that remove community barriers.
Maciá holds a Master’s Degree in business administration from Washington University’s Olin School of Business. She has been the recipient of many honors, including being named one of 2012’s Most Influential Businesswomen by the St. Louis Business Journal; she was also named to the publication’s 30 Under 30 class in 2004 and 40 Under 40 class in 2011. Most recently, she was named Entrepreneur of the Year in the Midwest Region’s Healthcare Services category by Ernst & Young, and will go on to compete in the national category in November.
Her leadership has helped MTM achieve its place in the Journal’s Top 150 Privately Held Companies, Top 20 Fastest-Growing Private Companies, and Top 5 Largest Women-Owned Businesses.
“MTM’s services revolve around creating communities without barriers. Every day, I hear inspiring anecdotes from our team about how our services have helped to increase accessibility, inspire confidence and promote independence. From travel training individuals with disabilities to actually going out in the community to identify barriers to travel, seeing accessibility come to life and promoting fixed-route utilization is what I enjoy most.”
“I believe that public transit systems can always benefit from improved flexibility. In the future, I would like to see more public transit options available nationwide to continue increasing system accessibility and expanding utilization for consumers of all abilities.”
