Brandy L. Jones, APR
External Affairs Manager
Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority/Cincinnati Metro
Brandy Jones, APR, serves as the External Affairs Manager for the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA)/Cincinnati Metro and embodies all aspects of the selection criteria for the Mass Transit’s Top 40 Under 40 designation. In less than two years in her leadership role as External Affairs Manager, Jones has earned thousands of media placements across the country for SORTA, created the CEO’s Millennial Council and helped facilitate essential partnerships with Uber and other key partners.
Annually, she coordinates more than 30 community events and outreach activities to engage current and potential riders, including orchestrating community listening sessions and recently assisting with the promotion of the third Metro Entertainment Bus event designed to encourage Millennials and first time riders to give Metro a try during a fun evening of visiting local entertainment establishments. Additionally, she’s been instrumental in creating valuable community partnerships, including a Valentines promotion with Red Bike, a local bike sharing service to promote what a “perfect pair” biking and riding makes; SORTA’s partnership with Uber and with Gaslight, a local tech firm who used Metro’s real-time data feed to create the bus app “Bus Detective.” This free app now allows riders the convenience of seeing when their bus is due in real-time.
Her stellar efforts led to SORTA’s Marketing and Communications Team being honored as the Communication’s Team of the Year from the Public Relations Society of America and her promotion to External Affairs Manager in November of 2015. Earlier this year, Jones was elected to serve as President of the Cincinnati Chapter of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials. During her involvement with the chapter over the last three years, she has served in various capacities, including outreach chair, secretary and vice president.
"I'm a writer and a storyteller at heart so this position is really a great platform. I tell stories in a way that are engaging to our community, it's honest and ethical information that they need to be aware of and the value of public transit as well as how they can improve their lives. It also gives me variety and diversity in my day. I love that there are no two days that are alike."
