Sean Rugless has been re-elected chair of the Board of Trustees of the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) for 2012. He has been on the board for more than three years and was named SORTA chair in October 2010. Dr. Margaret C. Gutsell has been re-elected as vice chair. She has been on the SORTA board since 2007.
Sean Rugless: Rugless is president and CEO for the Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce, where he is responsible for cultivating strategic partnerships and alliances for the purpose of strengthening minority businesses and growing the business community as a whole.
Rugless is an alumnus of Leadership Cincinnati and former Cincinnati Business Courier Forty under 40. He is a member of the Urban League's African-American Leadership Development Program Alumni. He has been recognized as Who's Who in Black Cincinnati. Rugless serves on the boards of the Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau, Downtown Cincinnati Incorporated and the United Way of Greater Cincinnati.
Rugless previously worked in brand management at Procter & Gamble. He also developed and led a brand consultancy practice in Cincinnati. He received his MBA in Marketing & Competitive Strategy from the University of Rochester's Simon School of Business. He currently resides in Forest Park.
Dr. Margaret Gutsell: Dr. Gutsell is currently the principal and owner of Inclusive Quality, which provides training and consultation services. She is also an adjunct professor at the College of Mount St. Joseph. She is involved in transportation nationally as the chair of APTA’s Transit Board Member ADA Subcommittee. She previously served as executive director of the Inclusion Network, an organization committed to promoting and supporting efforts to include people with disabilities in the community. During her tenure at the non-profit, her expertise helped businesses, organizations, schools, museums, and individuals to be more welcoming and inclusive to everyone.
The governor appointed Gutsell to the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council, where she served two years as vice chair. She holds a BA in psychology from Michigan State University, an MA in rehabilitation counseling, and an Ed.D. in special education from the University of Cincinnati, with concentrations in human development counseling and administration. She has taught and published at the university level. She resides in College Hill.
