People on the Move: August 2025

RALEIGH, NC—Het Patel has been named the City of Raleigh’s new transit assistant director. Patel has been a member of Raleigh Transportation for the past six years. He began as a senior transit planner and later served as transit planning supervisor, helping guide Raleigh’s transit efforts through a period of significant growth and change, including advancing four BRT corridors through planning and design. Patel will report to Transportation Director Paul Kallam and will be based at Raleigh Union Station.

RIVERSIDE, CA—ENC announces that Rachel Pereira has joined the company as northeast regional sales manager. Pereira has nearly 15 years of transit industry experience and a proven track record of delivering growth, operational excellence, and trusted partnerships across North America. Previously, she worked for ten years at USSC Group, where she led northeast regional sales. Her career also includes leadership roles at Luminator and ABC Companies. In her new role, Pereira will be responsible for regional sales strategy, agency engagement, and supporting customer fleets as they transition to cleaner, more efficient transit solutions.

AKRON, OH—METRO Regional Transit Authority announces the promotion of Eric Scott to the position of chief operations officer (COO). Scott brings more than 30 years of experience to the role. He began his career as a heavy wheel vehicle mechanic for the U.S. Army Reserve, then joined TDDS Technical Institute as a diesel technician instructor, later becoming program director. Scott joined the METRO team in 2009 as a maintenance trainer and was promoted to director of asset management in 2022. As COO, he will oversee daily operations, lead efforts to improve efficiency, and elevate service delivery across the organization.

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—The National Transit Institute (NTI), housed at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, announces the appointment of Geisha D. Ester as its new executive director. Ester brings more than 27 years of transit industry experience and 18 years of leadership in workforce development to NTI. She most recently served as vice president of training and workforce development at the Chicago Transit Authority. Ester will lead NTI’s efforts to expand national training programs, develop new course offerings, and foster industry partnerships that strengthen the transit workforce of tomorrow. Ester has served as chair of the Transportation Research Board’s TCRP Project F-34 and vice chair of NTI’s Advisory Committee. For APTA, she is chair of the Education and Career Awareness Subcommittee and serves on the Workforce Development Committee and on the Labor and Employee Relations and Organizational Development subcommittees.