People in the News

Veolia Transportation COO Ken Westbrook announced that Dr. Chadwick Reese has been named as the new executive director for Chatham Area Transit Authority. Reese succeeds previous executive director Charles Odimgbe who resigned in November 2010. Prior to joining Veolia Transportation, Reese held positions as the interim transit director/operations manager for the Regional Transportation System in Gainesville, Fla., and as mass transit chief operating officer for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority in Jacksonville, Fla. His most recent position was as general manager for Gwinnett County Transit. 

Daimler Buses North America announces the appointment of Kevin DeHart as vice-president of new motorcoach sales for its brand Setra. He will oversee new motorcoach sales and marketing strategy for both the Setra TopClass S 417 and Setra ComfortClass S 407 motorcoach models sold in North America. DeHart comes to Daimler Buses with extensive senior sales and management experience, with most recent experience in the automotive industry working for the Robert Bosch Corp. 

The board of directors of the Eno Transportation Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Joshua L. Schank as its 12th president and chief executive officer. Schank, who is succeeding Dr. Stephen Van Beek, will assume his new responsibilities on February 21, 2011. He currently directs the National Transportation Policy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., which has proposed a new vision for the Federal role in surface transportation policy. Additionally the board is pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. Barbara Gannon, interim president of the foundation, to the newly-created position of executive vice president of the Eno Transportation Foundation. She also will continue to hold the title of executive director of the Center for Transportation Leadership.

Gary W. Cumbie, donor relations officer, Tarrant County College Foundation, was elected chairman of the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T) at its board meeting in January. Cumbie succeeds Bob Parmelee, a Fort Worth attorney, who had been chairman since 2008. Rosa Navejar, executive director and president of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, was elected vice chair and Gary Havener, a real estate developer, was voted secretary. New appointments made to The T’s board were Jesse Martinez and Janet L. Saltsgiver. Also sworn in were returning board members Bob Jameson, Reby Cary and Jeff Ritter. 

At the January meeting of the IndyGo board of directors, 2011 officer elections were held and three long-time members accepted the roles of chair, vice-chair and secretary/treasurer. Danny Crenshaw, appointed to the IndyGo board in July 2003 by the City-County Council, is the group’s new chair person. Crenshaw is the founder of Crenshaw Insurance. Alan Rowland, appointed to the IndyGo board in June 2008 by the City-County Council, is the group’s new vice-chair person. Rowland is the business development manager for CompTIA’s education program that serves the academic and not-for-profit communities. Juan Gonzalez, appointed to the IndyGo board in September 2009 by Mayor Greg Ballard, is the group’s new secretary/treasurer. Gonzalez is a vice president and senior business banking relationship manager at Key Bank.

Catherine Hudgins was elected chair of the board of directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro). Hudgins, a board member representing Fairfax County, Va., succeeds Peter Benjamin. The board also elected First Vice Chair Tom Downs from the District of Columbia and Second Vice Chair Mortimer Downey, representing the federal government. Currently, Downs is the chairman of the board of advisors for Veolia Transportation of North America. Four new members joined the Metro board; Downs and Tommy Wells of the District of Columbia, Mary Hynes of Virginia and Kathy Porter of Maryland. Wells is the new chair of the District Council’s Committee on Public Works and Transportation. Hynes is a member of the Arlington County Board and represents Arlington County on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission where she serves on the Legislative Committee. Porter formerly served as mayor of the city of Takoma Park, Md., from 1997 to 2007.