2016 Top 40 Under 40: Candace Toth

Sept. 6, 2016
Candace Toth, Capital Signage Specialist Design, Engineering & Construction Management, Architecture & Art Division, Sound Transit

Candace Toth

Capital Signage Specialist

Design, Engineering & Construction Management

Architecture & Art Division

Sound Transit

  • Alma Mater: Brown University
  • Favorite books: “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, “Invisible Cities” by Italo Calvino, & “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho
  • Favorite hobby(s): Bicycling (in 2015 Toth completed a 200 mile ride from Seattle to Vancouver, BC); bike camping, knitting/fiber arts, and culinary adventures
  • Favorite transit system (outside of the one you work for or have worked for): Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Boston, Massachusetts and Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), New York, New York. Toth lived in New England for a number of years and enjoyed riding both systems

Candace Toth joined Sound Transit in 2012 after 6 years as a Project Manager for a nationally recognized east coast public artist. Her responsibilities included evolving the artwork from concept through design, engineering, fabrication, on-site construction and installation. Toth now utilizes her experience managing the design, fabrication and installation of Sound Transit’s Capital Signage program.

In 2013 Toth managed an update to Sound Transit’s standards for customer signage, working closely with internal operating departments and stakeholders to overhaul signage design, the criteria for locating information at facilities, and the Agency’s process for signage development and installation. Over the past four years as the project manager for capital customer signage, she has implemented these new standards at five newly constructed stations, and integrated them into the design documents of 17 new stations/facilities.     

This past year Toth managed the successful fabrication and installation of updated customer signage for the recently opened University Link Extension. This required managing a $750,000 signage contract for the new stations along the Extension, and managing an additional $1M contract for the Agency’s first ever system-wide update to light rail signage at all 13 existing light rail stations. An integration effort for the University Link Extension opening channeling bus service to the high capacity light rail system was also undertaken. Through this integration effort, Toth marshaled resources from multiple transit agencies to ensure a smooth user experience as passengers transfer between modes.    

Toth is a member of Young People in Transit (YPT), the Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD), Cascade Bicycle Club, and participates in Women in Transit (WTS). She is currently pursuing her project management professional (PMP) certification.

"...It ties into that desire for wanting to have an impact in my work. I believe that public transit and Sound Transit have social and environmental missions to improve the quality of life for our communities as well as benefit the environment."

Fun Fact: Toth is a 2004 Ivy League Champion in NCAA Division 1 Fastpitch Softball, her position was catcher and she has a twin sister.