Meet APTF Scholarship Recipient Amanda Vandegrift!

Amanda W. Vandegrift received an American Public Transportation Foundation (APTF) scholarship in 2012 while studying engineering at Georgia Tech. Today, she is deputy CEO, finance & administration, for WeGo Public Transit in Nashville, TN.

How Has APTF Helped You in Your Career?

“I’m in my second year in this position,” Vandegrift says, “but it took a lot of hard work and the financial support of organizations like APTF for a first-generation college student to get to where I sit today. I’m so grateful for the support I received from APTF. It made a huge difference in my life at the time and allowed me to focus more on my studies and less on my bills. At the 2025 APTA TRANSform Conference in Boston, I celebrated a full-circle career milestone when my Leadership APTA Class of 2025 raised and donated $40,000 in new scholarships to build the next generation of leaders in public transportation.”

More About Vandegrift

In addition to providing strategic direction as deputy CEO, Amanda Vandegrift also serves as CFO, managing a $158 million operating budget for the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority and an $11 million operating budget for the Regional Transportation Authority of Middle Tennessee—both doing business as WeGo Public Transit. Prior to joining WeGo, Vandegrift was a partner at InfraStrategies LLC, where she established and managed a multimillion-dollar, national portfolio of major transit advisory contracts. While in this role, she developed the financial and implementation plans for several national transit ballot initiatives, including Nashville’s Choose How You Move program.

The mission of APTF is to increase and retain the number of individuals choosing the transit field as a career by providing scholarships and engagement opportunities to deserving students and transit professionals. Learn more, including how to contribute.