Dwight Ferrell, who has led the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) since 2015, will resign as the organization's CEO and general manager effective Jan. 31, 2019.
“We deeply appreciate Dwight’s dedicated service to this community and its transportation system. His knowledge and experience as a transportation professional leaves SORTA better managed and better prepared to address the important opportunities before us,” said Kreg Keesee, chair of the Board of Trustees of SORTA.
The SORTA Board and Ferrell have agreed to a six-month professional services contract to support SORTA’s leadership transition, certain operational matters and key relationships with regional, state and national transportation organizations. Executive Vice President & COO Darryl Haley has been appointed as interim CEO.
Keesee added, “SORTA is financially unsustainable and we need to change how we fund public transportation in this community. Dwight has helped to focus community understanding and awareness of this reality. He and his team of professional staff and transportation consultants have presented the Reinventing Metro Plan that is the foundation for what will be presented to Hamilton County voters.”
Dwight Ferrell said, “I am proud of what our organization has accomplished in my time as CEO and general manager of SORTA. At many levels, I feel as if my work is done here and now is the time for SORTA and the community to find the organization’s next leader. As you know, I am committed to help in that effort and to continue supporting the important efforts to change the way SORTA is funded.”
Keesee indicated that the SORTA Board will discuss at a future meeting the process for selecting the new CEO and general manager for SORTA.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
