People on the Move: August 2023

DALLAS, TX—Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has selected Jeamy Molina as its chief communications officer. Molina joins DART after more than 15 years leading integrated communication strategies with non-profit organizations and large local corporations. She will have oversight of DART’s customer service, strategic communication, marketing, media relations and internal communications departments. Molina has been recognized as a “40 Under 40 Leader of Influence” (PRSA, Dallas chapter) and a “Rising Star of PR” by PR News People to Watch. For APTA, she is a member of the Marketing & Communications Committee.

WASHINGTON, DC—Amtrak has announced that Robert Grasty has been named executive vice president, chief human resources officer, reporting to Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner. Previously, Grasty served as Amtrak senior vice president of human resources. He has more than 25 years of business experience in designing and executing human resources strategies in both U.S. and international organizations spanning the transportation, healthcare, energy and financial services sectors. He spent several years prior to joining Amtrak serving in operations and executive leadership roles for Fortune 100 and 500 companies.

ORANGE, CA—Damon Blythe has been named director of bus operations for the Orange County Transportation Authority. Blythe will lead the oversight of bus operations and support, as well as specialized transportation services, including the OC ACCESS paratransit group. He will also support the contracted fixed-route team, which makes up approximately 40 percent of the regular OC Bus service. Blythe began his public transit career 25 years ago with the Utah Transit Authority as a driver, before moving into transit planning, helping to move people during the 2002 Winter Olympics. In 2012, he moved to the North County Transit District in San Diego County, where he worked four years in the rail division before moving into the planning department, eventually becoming chief operations officer. For APTA, Blythe is a member of the Access, Bus Operations, Mid-Size Operations, Bus Technical Maintenance and Zero Emission Fleet committees, among others.

LEXINGTON, KY—Jill Barnett, executive director and general manager of Lextran, has left the agency to serve in a position outside of the public transit industry. Barnett began her nearly 14-year tenure at Lextran in 2009 and served as assistant general manager (with Transdev) and director of community affairs and community outreach coordinator. She was promoted to general manager in 2020. For APTA, Barnett has served on the Public Transportation CEO Coordinating Council and Bus & Paratransit CEOs, Legislative, Rail Transit, Small Operations, Workforce Development and Procurement and Supply Chain committees, among others.

SAN DIEGO, CA—Hasan Ikhrata, chief executive officer of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), has announced he is to leave the organization Dec. 29. Under Ikhrata’s leadership, more than $1 billion in funds were awarded for projects throughout the San Diego region and major progress was made on several, key regional priorities. Before joining SANDAG, Ikhrata served as executive director of the Southern California Association of Governments, after holding a variety of leadership roles at the organization.

STEVENSVILLE, MD—Stertil-Koni USA Inc. has announced that Scott Steinhardt has been promoted to the newly created post of general manager. In his new position, Steinhardt will be responsible for managing Stertil-Koni sales, marketing, operations and service departments. Steinhardt joined the company in early 2022 as vice president of sales and was recently promoted to vice president of sales & marketing. His career includes more than 27 years of industrial sales, marketing and management experience.