Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chief Communications Officer Pauletta Tonilas will leave the L.A. area transportation agency to return to the Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Denver to serve as assistant general manager, communications.
Tonilas held the positions of FasTracks public information manager and senior manager, Public Relations & Public Information at RTD before joining L.A. Metro in August 2015.
L.A. Metro credits Tonilas with leading and implementing the successful Measure M Public Education Program that contributed to the 71 percent voter approval of the sales tax measure, seeking board approval of a new advertising contract that will bring digital information displays to rail stations, building a bench of qualified consultants to help with L.A. Metro’s communication efforts and leading the effort to establish a new naming convention for L.A. Metro’s rail and bus rapid transit lines.
L.A. Metro CEO Phil Washington will name an interim CCO and said that a national search for a replacement will soon begin. According to a L.A. Metro's blog "The Source," Washington has made it a point of emphasis at L.A. Metro to attract people to careers in the transportation industry and grow leaders through professional development. He also wants Los Angeles to be a “Transportation Center of Excellence” with a workforce that serves as the farm team for the entire transportation industry.
In December, Stephanie Wiggins left L.A. Metro to become CEO of Metrolink. "The Source" noted that Washington takes pride in the promotions of Tonilas and Wiggins and considers them graduates of the "“LA Metro Leadership University.”
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
