People on the Move: October 2023

OMAHA, NE—Matthew Tucker has joined HDR to lead the firm’s global transit program. He will be responsible for more than 600 global transit employees who provide a diversified portfolio of services tailored to the needs of bus, streetcar, commuter rail, light rail, subway and inter-city passenger rail projects and programs worldwide. From 2008 to 2023, Tucker was CEO of the North County Transit District (NCTD), Oceanside, CA. During his tenure, the agency constructed a new downtown COASTER rail station, replaced its entire fleet with new locomotives and advanced the agency’s transition to zero-emissions bus fleets. Prior to NCTD, Tucker served as executive director of the Virginia Department of Rail & Public Transportation, chief operating officer of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, deputy public transit director for the city of Phoenix and deputy general manager of the Greater Richmond Transit Company. For APTA, Tucker has served as vice chair and secretary/treasurer and been a member of the Board of Directors, Diversity and Inclusion Council, Recovery and Restoration of Service Task Force, Mobility Recovery & Restoration Task Force and Public Transportation CEO Coordinating Council. He has also served on the Rail Transit CEOs, Bus & Paratransit CEOs, Legislative (including as chair), Commuter Rail, High-Speed & Intercity Passenger Rail and Bus Operations committees, among others.

VANCOUVER, WA—C-TRAN has appointed Leann M. Caver to serve as its deputy chief executive officer. She will be directly responsible for the agency’s operating divisions including fixed route, paratransit and “The Current” on-demand service, as well as C-TRAN’s On-Street teams, radio command center, and operations administration. Caver will also be responsible for the agency’s diversity, equity and inclusion team including C-TRAN’s organizational development initiatives and customer experience / ADA coordination group. Caver started her career at TriMet, Portland, OR, working in dispatch and leading the agency’s bus and rail operations command center. For APTA, Caver is a member of the Diversity and Inclusion Council and LGBTQ+ Resource Group and serves on the Bus Operations, Small Operations, Sustainability, Access and Workforce Development committees.

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, WA—Community Transit veterans Roland Behee and Melissa Cauley have been promoted. Behee will serve as chief operating officer and Cauley as chief planning and development officer. Behee has served Community Transit for 25 years and Cauley for 16 years. Behee previously led the agency’s planning and development department. Recent accomplishments have included standing up new security and sustainability initiatives while providing leadership to the agency’s work to evaluate and procure contracted transit services. After joining Community Transit in 1998 as a geographic information systems coordinator, Behee rose through key roles leading the agency’s strategic planning. Before Community Transit, he worked eight years as a planner for the City of Everett.

Melissa Cauley Cauley has led the agency’s design and construction activities and planning efforts supporting the board’s adoption of the Transit Changes in 2024 and Beyond service expansion. She joined Community Transit in 2007 as manager of the agency’s grants program, before earning promotions to manage regional programs and projects, including expansion of Community Transit’s Swift BRT network. Before Community Transit, Cauley managed a Planned Parenthood clinic in Marysville, administered grants for the town of Twisp and served as executive director of a social service organization in Twisp.