Welcome to the 13th annual 40 Under 40 issue. The magazine began honoring younger transit professionals back in 2008. The feature allows the spotlight to turn and shine on up-and-comers in the industry, as well as those who have worked to make the industry better.
There were more than 150 nominations received this year. The evaluation committee read each one and scored entries in four areas: industry contribution, innovation, leadership and community impact. The task of narrowing down a long list of worthy nominees to a final group of 40 becomes more difficult each year and this round was no exception.
It will continue to take a variety of experts to move the industry forward and the 2021 40 Under 40 honorees represent a cross-section of disciplines including professionals from engineering, operations, safety, planning, communications and government relations.
While the disciplines may vary, each has developed deep ties within their communities and within the transit industry. Several members of this year’s group stated their ardent belief that accessibility is a right, not a privilege and are working in various corners of the industry to improve access. Every honoree is involved in state or national organizations, working to keep the path clear and welcoming for all who will follow.
More than 33 percent have earned various professional designations and several more have earned master’s and doctoral degrees.
The group speaks more than 10 languages among them and approximately 40 percent of the honorees have more than 10 years of experience in the transit industry. There is one honoree with 20 years of experience, who began as a part-time bus operator in college.
The group shared their individual nuggets of interest, which includes artists, musicians, a black belt and one grade-school Oreo-stacking champ.
Congratulations to all the 40 Under 40 honorees. We hope you take the time to get to know them beyond the pages of the magazine by visiting the 40 Under 40 page on our website, masstransitmag.com/40-under-40; where you’ll find additional fun facts, deeper first-person viewpoints and more information about their accomplishments.
