L.A. Metro announces new executive appointments to its senior leadership team
Seven new executives are joining the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) to help the agency implement its transportation infrastructure improvement program.
The seven new executives have been hired to oversee existing areas including system security and law enforcement, ethics, auditing, risk management and sustainability, as well as a new initiative for equity and race. These new appointments follow a string of appointments previously announced last June.
“We have successfully reconstituted our force with talented, diverse executives to help us deliver on our promise to provide better mobility for L.A. County taxpayers,” said Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington. “I’m confident these new leaders will make an invaluable contribution to Metro in the coming years, one that makes our agency safer, more equitable, efficient, productive and environmentally sustainable.”
The new executives
Robert F. Green has been appointed to chief system, security and law enforcement officer. He brings with him 40 years of extensive background in law enforcement leadership, executive management and investigative experience with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Green has a wide-ranging background in special operations, including Narcotics, SWAT, Canine Unit, Underwater Dive Unit, Bomb Squad and as a pilot at Air Support Division. He also served as the deputy chief during the establishment of a new Transit Services Bureau in the LAPD. Most recently, he has served as the deputy chief, chief of staff to the LAPD Chief. Green will begin his L.A. Metro duties March 1.
“I am honored to be a part of the extraordinary Metro team,” said Green. “I look forward to working with and supporting the great people in this organization as we create the safest system in America.”
Cindy Morgan Kim has been appointed as chief ethics officer. She has more than 18 years of legal, compliance and ethics experience. Most recently, she served as the chief ethics and compliance officer at Florida Atlantic University where she developed the first university-wide Compliance and Ethics Program. She has served as the deputy inspector general and general counsel for the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of the Inspector General. Her diverse experience building and managing compliance and ethics programs, including developing policies and procedures, will contribute to the overall success of the implementation and execution of L.A. Metro’s Ethics Programs.
“I am excited to support Metro’s mission of providing a world-class transportation system that enhances the quality of life for L.A. County residents and visitors,” she said. “I look forward to supporting and promoting a culture of compliance and ethics within Metro as well as in the stakeholder community.”
KeAndra D. Cylear Dodds has been appointed to executive officer, equity and race. She has more than a decade of progressive experience, at all levels of government, developing and enforcing housing, land use and transportation policy and supporting equitable, inclusive and sustainable development. She has also led inter-agency work groups and diverse community coalitions in the advancement of equitable policy. Most recently, she served as the manager, preservation and home ownership programs at the Los Angeles County Development Authority where she facilitated the development of several county tenant protection initiatives and contributed to the development of anti-discrimination and anti-displacement policies and programs. She has been actively involved in many important county initiatives, including Measure M, Measure H, L.A. Metro’s Transit Oriented Communities policy and L.A. Metro’s Equity Platform.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve in this new role. I look forward to leading Metro in our efforts to increase transportation access for our most underserved and vulnerable communities, as we contribute to a more inclusive and equitable Los Angeles County,” Dodds said.
Kenneth L. Hernandez has been appointed to chief risk, safety and asset management officer. He is an experienced risk management and compliance professional with more than 27 years of experience in both public and private agencies. Hernandez has demonstrated continual expertise in performing high-level risk assessments, leading motivated and productive teams, and driving policy development and implementation while managing the compliance program. He has demonstrated success in overseeing strategic business planning and implementation, along with his extensive education and training in public policy, local government law and labor relations positions. Most recently, Hernandez has been the managing director/risk consultant for a workers' compensation defense law firm where he managed three offices.
“My vision for Metro’s Risk, Safety and Asset Management Department is to safeguard our customers, employees and assets by actively managing risk, advancing a safe working and operating environment, and implementing an industry leading asset management program,” he said.
Shalonda Baldwin has been appointed to interim chief auditor. Baldwin comes to the position as an experienced transportation leader who began her public sector career in the San Francisco mayoral administrations of Willie L. Brown, Jr. and Gavin Newsom. She was then recruited by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to serve on its operations leadership team. At L.A. Metro she has guided innovative first-ever programs such as the Pilot Business Interruption Fund, Crenshaw/LAX Business Solution Center, the Workforce Initiative-Now Los Angeles (WIN-LA) and Project Labor Agreement/Construction Careers Policy.
“I will be focused on delivering values-based management audit services that help promote trust and confidence in Metro as we deliver upon the investments entrusted to our agency by the people of Los Angeles County,” Baldwin said.
Cris Liban has been appointed to chief sustainability officer. Liban has more than 25 years of experience in environmental and sustainability policy, urban planning, environmental science, civil and environmental engineering and geology. He currently serves as the executive contact for issues of environment and sustainability for L.A. Metro, building L.A. Metro’s environmental program into a comprehensive program. He helped fast-track the development and implementation of all L.A. Metro Environmental and Sustainability policies, as well as the implementation of L.A. Metro’s Green Construction Equipment Policy and Renewable Energy Policy. Under his leadership, L.A. Metro has achieved many firsts in the country for any transit agency, including those in the green infrastructure, green building, resource conservation, environmental and sustainability finance, research, social sustainability and sustainable transportation arenas.
“The environmental and sustainability program at Metro is about collaboration and cooperation with local and global partners to achieve common goals,” Liban said. “The execution of our projects does not only involve thinking or planning about the abstract, but instead about creating value adding solutions within our properties and our communities that others can also implement, especially for those who are most vulnerable.”
Heather Marie Repenning has been appointed to executive officer, sustainability policy. She has been a leader in local government for almost two decades with a focus on creating sustainable communities. She is a former vice president of the city of Los Angeles Board of Public Works, overseeing the Department of Public Works’ management of solid resources, wastewater, stormwater, urban canopy, streets and design and construction of public facilities. She previously served as director of External Affairs for L.A. City Mayor Eric Garcetti, directing intergovernmental and community advocacy for the city of Los Angeles.
“In reducing vehicle miles traveled, in electrifying our fleet, and in greening the largest infrastructure program in the country, few public agencies are better positioned to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our region than Metro,” said Repenning. “My goal is to ensure that we have strongest possible policies in place to address climate change, and that we execute partnerships with other agencies, with businesses and with the community that maximize our impact in the face of this crisis.
