Nashville MTA/RTA hires Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Development Officer

The Nashville MTA and the Regional Transportation Authority have recently hired two new senior level executives to fill key vacancies.

Rita Roberts-Turner, chief administrative officer, joined the transit agencies on May 2, 2016, and Julie Navarrete, chief development officer, began her new duties on June 20, 2016.   

Roberts-Turner previously served as the chief of staff for the Office of the General Counsel at Vanderbilt University. She began her career in public service having worked as an assistant public defender, assistant metropolitan attorney, and later as chief of staff for former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. She also served as the director of the Metropolitan Government’s Human Resources Department before joining Vanderbilt University.

Roberts-Turner holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky University where she graduated cum laude. She earned her law degree from Temple University School of Law.  She is an active member of the Tennessee Bar Association and Nashville Bar Association, and is also on the board of Gilda’s Club Nashville and the Tennessee State Board of Appeals.

Navarrete previously served as transit development officer at Hampton Roads Transit in Virginia where she actively advanced studies for the extension of high capacity transit throughout the HRT service area and the development of a regional plan for an interconnected multi-modal transportation system. She has 20 years of transportation project management experience in the industry.

Navarrete holds a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Old Dominion University. She has served in leadership and advisory roles on numerous boards including the American Public Transportation Association Policy and Planning Committee and Environmental Subcommittee, American Planning Association (Virginia and North Carolina Chapters), Women's Transportation Seminar (North Carolina Triangle and Hampton Roads Chapters), Southeast High Speed Rail Association, and Light Rail Now – Virginia Beach. 

“With the transportation challenges ahead, I am pleased to have the expertise of these two individuals on our team as we work collaboratively with all stakeholders to build a better and more accessible transportation network for the Middle Tennessee region,” MTA/RTA CEO Steve Bland said.