SMART names three to leadership positions

Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) has added one and promoted two to its leadership team.

Tiffany Gunter has joined the agency as the new deputy general manager. Gunter was previously the deputy executive director at the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) and has more than 25 years in the public service and transit arena serving the region.

Gunter’s prior experience includes serving as the director and deputy city manager for the city of Birmingham, Mich.; the Deputy CEO and chief operations officer for the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) of Southeast Michigan; and as executive dean of inter-institutional affairs and educational partnerships at the Wayne County Community College District. She has also held positions in the retail and automotive industries. Having served in various leadership roles and local government organizations, Gunter brings experience in infrastructure, operations, transportation, and higher education.

“Tiffany is a great addition to the SMART executive team and will be instrumental in leading us into the future,” said Dwight Ferrell, general manager of SMART. “She brings a wealth of transit knowledge, as well as experience in planning and community engagement. Her experience and skills will help us build SMART into an engaged and responsive mobility agency that better connects people to jobs, and where they want to go throughout the region.”

Gunter has a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michigan –Dearborn. She has also earned Professional Certifications in Executive Leadership and Management from Harvard University and the University of Notre Dame. Gunter serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Rail~Volution, a national board focused on multimodality with improved public transportation and she is a member of Links, Inc. where she serves the Detroit Chapter as the Treasurer.

Amie May has been promoted to vice president of bus operations, only the second female in SMART history to ever serve in this capacity. She is responsible for the systemwide management of efficient, cost effective and reliable fixed-route bus service and oversees the bus operations, drivers, road supervision and dispatching. May started her career at SMART in 2008 and has been promoted to various administrative and management positions which have prepared her for this new leadership role to further improve access to mobility throughout the region.

May earned a Master of Business Administration with concentrations in Human Resource Management from Baker College and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Eastern Michigan University, an Associate in Psychology from Oakland Community College, and an Associate of Business Administration from Schoolcraft College.

Veteran employee, Le Juan Burt has been named vice president of maintenance. Burt started his career at SMART in 2001 as a coach service attendant and has been promoted to various supervisory and management positions in maintenance over the years. He currently oversees the authority’s facility and vehicle fleet maintenance and repair programs; Community Based Service Providers maintenance program, ensures compliance and develops and implements the authority’s vehicle maintenance training program. This is one of several organizational changes that have been made to ensure SMART has a strong leadership team in place to improve access to mobility throughout the southeast Michigan region

Burt has a certificate for Heavy Equipment Maintenance from Wayne County Community College. He is currently pursuing a business management degree through Macomb Community College.