People on the Move: May 2025

DALLAS, TX—Nuria Fernandez has been named to the MV Transportation Board of Directors. Fernandez is principal consultant/CEO for AMDC Consulting, LLC. Before that, she served as FTA Administrator from June 2021 to February 2024—the first woman of color to hold that position. Immediately prior to FTA, Fernandez was general manager and CEO of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), San Jose, CA. Before VTA, she held several senior positions in public transportation, including chief operating officer of New York MTA, senior VP of design and construction for the Chicago Transit Authority, and assistant general manager at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. She served as APTA chair from October 2019 to January 2021 and has served on the Board of Trustees of the Mineta Transportation Institute and the Transportation Learning Center. She has also been a member of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials and WTS International. Fernandez is the 2025 recipient of the Transportation Research Board’s Frank Turner Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Transportation.

OCEANSIDE, CA—North County Transit–San Diego Railroad (NCTD) has appointed Lori A. Winfree to serve as deputy chief executive officer. She will also continue her role as NCTD’s chief general counsel. Winfree began her career in transportation with Lufthansa Airlines. Her work in aviation law helped set the groundwork for her eventual move to public transit at NCTD in 2013. Winfree has served as secretary for the Passenger Rail Advisory Committee of the federal Surface Transportation Board and is a member of APTA’s Light Rail Vehicle Procurement Terms and Conditions Working Group.

NCTD also has hired Jeff Hiott as deputy chief operations officer of bus and security. Hiott will also serve as a strategic advisor to the chief executive officer and the NCTD Board of Directors. Hiott brings more than 20 years of experience to the role. He began his public transportation career as APTA’s vice president of technical services and innovation. Most recently, he was senior vice president of operational transformation at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA). Prior to WMATA, he was with the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Austin, TX, where he served as vice president, enterprise program management and vice president–imagination, research, and industry benchmarking. Hiott is a member of APTA’s Bus Operations, BRT, Connected and Automated Vehicle, Zero Emission Fleet, Mobility Management, Access, and Rail Transit committees, among others, and is a graduate of the Leadership APTA Class of 2017.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT—Stacy Witbeck welcomes Adriana M. Hemzacek as its new corporate communications director. In this role, Hemzacek will lead both external and internal messaging strategies across written, verbal, and visual communications, strengthening the company’s brand identity. She comes to Stacy Witbeck from Icomera, where she served as marketing director. Before that, she was with Cubic Corporation for four years in marketing roles, and prior to that, was with HDR for 11 years, where she held a range of positions in communications and public engagement. For APTA, Hemzacek is a member of the Marketing, Communications, and Customer Experience; and Business Members Programs and Communications committees; and the Monitoring and Digital Recording Systems; and Technology Procurement working groups. 

DENVER, CO—The Regional Transportation District (RTD) has named Kelly Mackey as its new chief financial officer. Mackey brings 22 years of experience to the role, specializing in complex financial operations and organizational transformation. She will lead RTD’s finance, accounting, treasury, investment, and asset management teams. Most recently, Mackey served as vice president of finance at Trellix, a global enterprise cybersecurity company. Prior to Trellix, she was vice president of revenue operations at GHX, a Colorado-based healthcare supply chain software firm.

RTD also has selected Steve Martingano as its Chief of Police and Emergency Management. Martingano has served as acting chief since July 2024. Martingano joined RTD in 2015 as a commander and was promoted to deputy chief in 2017. He pioneered the first mental health co-responder unit in transit policing, a program that was later expanded to include outreach coordinators focused on the homeless. These efforts led him to co-found the National Transportation Vulnerable Populations Working Group, and he is a subject-matter expert for APTA peer review panels focused on policing and security.

NEW YORK, NY—The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) has announced Catherine Rinaldi as its first executive vice president. Rinaldi previously served as president of NYMTA’s Metro-North Railroad since 2018—the first woman to hold the position. At GDC, she will be responsible for strengthening the organization’s capacity to deliver the Hudson Tunnel Project. Rinaldi began her career in transportation as NYMTA deputy executive director and general counsel. She subsequently served as vice president and general counsel at MTA Long Island Rail Road and chief of staff and counsel to the MTA chair. Rinaldi is a member of the APTA Board of Directors and serves on the Public Transportation CEO Coordinating Council.

OMAHA, NE—Bridget Hennessey has joined HDR as a senior strategic communications consultant focused on the public transportation industry. Based in Irvine, CA, she will help transit clients plan and execute communication strategies to advance key public transportation programs. Hennessey comes to HDR with more than 20 years of experience leading advocacy campaigns and developing communications strategies, including as chief of staff/intergovernmental affairs officer for San Diego’s North County Transit District. Before that, she worked for multiple firms as a transit advocate, including APTA’s Center for Transportation Excellence, where she helped support ballot initiatives across the U.S. Hennessey is a member of APTA’s Legislative; State Affairs; High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail; Rail Transit; and Marketing, Communications, and Customer Experience committees.

BOSTON, MA—Keolis North America has announced that Ryan Adams has been appointed to a newly created chief performance officer role. Adams most recently served as executive vice president of market development and innovation for the company. During Adams’ leadership of the business development function, Keolis grew the size of the U.S. transit portfolio from $128.5M in annual revenue to $560M, a 336 percent increase. Adams has been with Keolis since 2013. He is a member of APTA’s Mobility Management Committee and is a graduate of the Leadership APTA Class of 2015.

In addition, Francis Julien moves into an expanded role providing strategic operational leadership to all contracts in Keolis’ U.S. transit portfolio as the vice president of operations. Most recently, Julien served as regional vice president for the eastern region. He has held several positions at Keolis including VP of commercial development, general manager, regional vice president of operations, and assistant director of operations. He also served as the deputy CEO for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas. Julien is a member of APTA’s Bus Operations and Research & Technology committees and the Emerging and Innovation Technology Subcommittee.

CINCINNATI, OH—Cincinnati Metro has promoted Khaled Shammout to deputy innovation and vision officer. Shammout will continue to oversee strategic planning, transit network planning and scheduling, transit infrastructure fund program, right-of-way, and transit centers design and construction. He has more than 30 years of transit experience in the public and private sectors, both nationally and internationally, including planning, advanced data collection and analysis, short-term and long-term public transit studies, Intelligent Transportation Systems technologies (development and implementation), transit facility design, and project management.

ORANGE, CA—Rose Casey has been named executive director of planning for the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). Casey will be responsible for developing long-range transportation plans, guiding mobility initiatives, and coordinating regionally with stakeholders to address the county’s evolving transportation needs. She has been with OCTA for more than 17 years, most recently serving as director of programs. Her previous experience includes roles as program manager at OCTA and work with Caltrans District 12 in Orange County and District 7 in Los Angeles.

PHOENIX, AZ—Valley Metro has hired Michael Eshleman as deputy chief of service planning. He will oversee planning and scheduling for the agency, ensuring that Valley Metro’s services are aligned with the region’s growing transportation needs. Eshleman comes to Valley Metro from the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District in Oakland, CA, where he had served as service planning manager since 2015.

HOUSTON, TX—Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) announces the addition of Soo M. Park, PE, as its new bridge team leader. He will lead LAN’s bridge team in all aspects of structural engineering, including bridge design for railroads, pedestrians, and vehicles. Park brings extensive expertise in bridge engineering and has a track record of delivering complex infrastructure projects. Notably, he served as bridge lead for Texas DOT’s Bryan District SH6 improvement project.

IRVINE, CA—InfraStrategies LLC has recently bought aboard two senior consultants: Shua McLean, an infrastructure systems finance and economics expert, formerly with WSP, and Daniel Arias, a specialist in transit systems and mobility/land use planning, formerly with Bi-State Development / Metro Transit in St. Louis, MO.

McLean is based in the New York City metro area, supporting several national clients in strategic financial planning, federal formula funding programs, and regional transit governance. His background includes serving as a consultant with the Inter-American Development Bank, associate with Morgen Stanley in public finance investment banking, senior associate at KPMG in government and public sector advisory, and senior analyst with Public Financial Management Inc.

Arias will be based in St. Louis and is providing advisory services in strategic planning, transportation policy, and economic and environmental planning to public and private clients. At Bi-State Development / Metro Transit, where he was planning services lead, he focused on transit system development. Earlier in his career, he worked with Nelson-Nygaard in Boston, Lyft Inc. in Atlanta, and was a researcher with the Georgia Tech Urban Transportation Information Lab.

ATLANTA, GA—The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) has announced the permanent appointments of Steven Parker as chief of staff, LaShanda Dawkins as chief administrative officer, and Jonathan Hunt as chief legal counsel.

Parker will be responsible for overseeing cross-agency functions, with a focus on key performance indicators and identifying areas of improvement across the organization. Additionally, he will manage the department of external affairs, which encompasses government affairs, public engagement, communications, and marketing. Parker has 25 years of experience in community, legislative, legal, and policy development. He joined MARTA in 2024 as assistant general manager of external affairs and most recently served as interim chief of staff.

Dawkins will assist the general manager/CEO in the overall administration of MARTA, ensuring alignment with policies and directives set by leadership. She will oversee departments that provide business support services, including human resources, labor, and employee relations. With more than 25 years of experience in legal and human resource management, Dawkins has been with MARTA since 2006, most recently serving as interim chief administrative officer. She is a member of the APTA Board of Directors and Diversity and Inclusion Council and is chair of the Workforce Development Committee. She is a graduate of the Leadership APTA Class of 2015.

Hunt will advise the general manager, staff, and the MARTA Board of Directors on legal matters, including litigation, regulatory compliance, intergovernmental relations, and real estate. He will lead a team of in-house attorneys and oversee the office of risk management and contracts, procurement, and materials. Hunt has more than 24 years of legal experience and previously worked as an engineer with Gilbane Co. before entering law. He has been with MARTA since 2014, most recently serving as interim chief legal counsel. Hunt is a member of the APTA Board of Directors and Diversity and Inclusion Council and is chair of the Legal Affairs Committee.

SAN ANTONIO, TX—Teri Treviño has been named senior vice president of customer care & public engagement at VIA Metropolitan Transit. She will oversee all aspects of the agency’s marketing, communications, sales, and customer-experience efforts, including strategies targeting ridership growth. Prior to joining VIA, Treviño served as the head of retail marketing for DISH Network. She also served as director of marketing for T-Mobile.