People on the Move: March 2024

ATLANTA, GA—The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) announces the hiring of Jennifer Larosa as sr. director of government & community affairs. Larosa previously worked as a lobbyist for MARTA while at Ohio River South and McGuire Woods Consulting and has a long track record of transit and funding legislative successes, including the creation of Georgia’s first dedicated funding source for transit capital projects and the establishment of the Transit Trust Fund.

In addition, MARTA has hired Stephanie Johnson Hardy as government affairs program manager. Johnson Hardy brings more than 20 years’ experience in the public and private sectors, including working as chief of staff to Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell and most recently as a regional director at AT&T handling legislative and community engagement.

CINCINNATI, OH—Cincinnati Metro welcomes Sean O’Leary as senior director of transit operations. He will manage the delivery of fixed-route services and will oversee the transit operations function, including all drivers, service delivery, and quality. He will also develop programs to support employee relation strategies, including development and training to improve employee efficiency and responsiveness of fixed-route services. O’Leary rejoins Metro following seven years with the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky, where he served most recently as director of operations and deputy general manager. O’Leary started his career at Metro in 1995, serving in the maintenance department and later in various management positions in operations.

YORK, PA—Voith Turbo, Commercial Vehicles Group, has welcomed Thomas Utrup as western regional sales manager to the Voith NA sales team. Utrup will be supporting Voith Turbo North America within the Western Region, including California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Hawaii, Alaska, and parts of the Dakotas. He is based out of his home office in Murrieta, CA, and reports directly to Daniel Hollenbach, senior sales manager for all of Western North America.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT—Lori Labrum has been named transit market sector leader at TranSystems. She joined the company less than a year ago as senior vice president and west transit market and national BRT leader. Labrum has more than 30 years of engineering and planning experience for transit agencies across the U.S. She oversaw Utah Transit Authority’s 10.5-mile BRT project through Provo and Orem and most recently was the consultant project manager on the University Line BRT in Houston. Labrum is a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the Women’s Transportation Seminar. For APTA, she is a member of the LGBTQ+ Resource Group.

PHOENIX, AZ—Valley Metro has named Trevor Collon as chief of capital development, to lead the planning, design, and construction of light rail, streetcar, bus and rail facilities, and associated infrastructure. He will partner alongside cities, FTA, and colleagues in the private sector to build the region’s expansive transit vision. Collon began at Valley Metro in 2019, serving as manager of capital development, then as deputy director of design & construction, and, most recently, as interim chief of capital development. He brings 15 years of public- and private-sector transit development experience. Prior to Valley Metro, he worked for the city of Mesa as light rail project manager from 2013-2019. He also spent eight years as a civil engineer with Michael Baker Corporation and M2 Group.

MEMPHIS, TN—The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) announces Erik E. Stevenson as its new chief of strategic partnerships and programs. Stevenson most recently worked as the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce’s first director of diversity, equity, and inclusion. While at The P3 Group, Inc., the largest minority-owned PPP developer in the U.S., he served as chief administrative officer and later as chief data and compliance officer, where he was responsible for administering upwards of $650 million in projects including the Build Better Student Housing Initiative, focused on providing high-quality housing for HBCU campuses.

In addition, MATA names Chundra Smith as its new public information officer. She has 10 years of marketing and communications experience. She was previously MATA’s community engagement manager, where she introduced seasonal transit center activities and education for riders and citizens of Memphis about upcoming service changes. Before MATA, Smith worked with national brands such as T-Mobile/ Metro by T-Mobile, and local entities Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Arkansas Adult Education. For APTA, she is a member of the Marketing, Communications, and Customer Experience Committee.