Veolia Transportation COO Ken Westbrook announced that Dr. Chadwick Reese has been named as the new executive director for Chatham Area Transit Authority. Reese succeeds previous executive director Charles Odimgbe who resigned in November 2010. Prior to joining Veolia Transportation, Reese held positions as the interim transit director/operations manager for the Regional Transportation System in Gainesville, Fla., and as mass transit chief operating officer for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority in Jacksonville, Fla. His most recent position was as general manager for Gwinnett County Transit.
Daimler Buses North America announces the appointment of Kevin DeHart as vice-president of new motorcoach sales for its brand Setra. He will oversee new motorcoach sales and marketing strategy for both the Setra TopClass S 417 and Setra ComfortClass S 407 motorcoach models sold in North America. DeHart comes to Daimler Buses with extensive senior sales and management experience, with most recent experience in the automotive industry working for the Robert Bosch Corp.
The board of directors of the Eno Transportation Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Joshua L. Schank as its 12th president and chief executive officer. Schank, who is succeeding Dr. Stephen Van Beek, will assume his new responsibilities on February 21, 2011. He currently directs the National Transportation Policy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., which has proposed a new vision for the Federal role in surface transportation policy. Additionally the board is pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. Barbara Gannon, interim president of the foundation, to the newly-created position of executive vice president of the Eno Transportation Foundation. She also will continue to hold the title of executive director of the Center for Transportation Leadership.
Gary W. Cumbie, donor relations officer, Tarrant County College Foundation, was elected chairman of the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) at its board meeting in January. Cumbie succeeds Bob Parmelee, a Fort Worth attorney, who had been chairman since 2008. Rosa Navejar, executive director and president of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, was elected vice chair and Gary Havener, a real estate developer, was voted secretary. New appointments made to The T’s board were Jesse Martinez and Janet L. Saltsgiver. Also sworn in were returning board members Bob Jameson, Reby Cary and Jeff Ritter.
At the January meeting of the IndyGo board of directors, 2011 officer elections were held and three long-time members accepted the roles of chair, vice-chair and secretary/treasurer. Danny Crenshaw, appointed to the IndyGo board in July 2003 by the City-County Council, is the group’s new chair person. Crenshaw is the founder of Crenshaw Insurance. Alan Rowland, appointed to the IndyGo board in June 2008 by the City-County Council, is the group’s new vice-chair person. Rowland is the business development manager for CompTIA’s education program that serves the academic and not-for-profit communities. Juan Gonzalez, appointed to the IndyGo board in September 2009 by Mayor Greg Ballard, is the group’s new secretary/treasurer. Gonzalez is a vice president and senior business banking relationship manager at Key Bank.
Catherine Hudgins was elected chair of the board of directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro). Hudgins, a board member representing Fairfax County, Va., succeeds Peter Benjamin. The board also elected First Vice Chair Tom Downs from the District of Columbia and Second Vice Chair Mortimer Downey, representing the federal government. Currently, Downs is the chairman of the board of advisors for Veolia Transportation of North America. Four new members joined the Metro board; Downs and Tommy Wells of the District of Columbia, Mary Hynes of Virginia and Kathy Porter of Maryland. Wells is the new chair of the District Council’s Committee on Public Works and Transportation. Hynes is a member of the Arlington County Board and represents Arlington County on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission where she serves on the Legislative Committee. Porter formerly served as mayor of the city of Takoma Park, Md., from 1997 to 2007.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (Metro) board of directors voted unanimously to confirm Richard R. Sarles as general manager/chief executive officer of the transit agency, to continue the work he began as interim general manager in establishing a safety-first culture, modernizing the system and improving service for riders. As the CEO, Sarles is responsible for the day-to-day management of the agency including train, bus and MetroAccess services for 1.3 million passenger trips a day. Sarles has served as interim general manager since his appointment by the Metro board of directors on April 3, 2010.
Arthur Nagy, general manager of Mitsubishi Electric Power Products’ Transportation Systems Division has announced his retirement, effective April 1, 2011. Nagy joined Mitsubishi Electric Power Products in 2003 and is credited with establishing shop operations and growth of the division. Prior to joining at Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Nagy held management positions in engineering, procurement, contracts and sales for rail equipment suppliers, including Westinghouse Electric, Magnetek, ADtranz and Bombardier.
MV Transportation Inc. is pleased to announce John Siragusa has been promoted to president of Western Operations. Siragusa has been at MV Transportation for 18 years, most recently serving as VP of Operations for the company’s Western region.
NJ Transit named Kevin O’Connor as vice president and general manager of Rail Operations. O’Connor has served as NJ Transit’s acting vice president and general manager of Rail Operations since July 2010, managing a complex system of 12 commuter rail lines and 165 stations that serves more than 270,000 passenger trips on a typical weekday.
Sefac Inc. announces the appointment of Robb Weaver as regional sales manager, James Johns as parts manager/technical support and Wayne Matthews as warehouse supervisor. Weaver will provide sales support to the Sefac Northeast region. Johns will have the primary responsibility of providing technical support for Sefac lifts to clients, as well as processing parts orders. Matthews is in charge of coordinating all incoming and outgoing shipments as well as general supervision and safety of the warehouse.
Suzanne Burke has been appointed to the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) board of trustees. SORTA operates Metro and Access transit services in Greater Cincinnati. Burke, a Wyoming, Ohio, resident, is currently chief executive officer of Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio, a role held since 2005. Sean Rugless has been re-elected chair of the board of trustees of SORTA for 2011. Rugless is president and CEO for the Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Margaret C. Gutsell has been elected as vice chair. Gutsell is the principal and owner of Inclusive Quality.
