The city of Raleigh, N.C., and Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) have made new appointments to their respective leadership teams.
City of Raleigh names new transit assistant director
Het Patel has been named the city of Raleigh’s new transit assistant director. He will officially step into the role on June 28.
Patel has been a member of Raleigh Transportation for the past six years. He began as a senior transit planner and later served as transit planning supervisor, helping guide the city’s transit efforts through a period of significant growth and change.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to take a leadership role within the organization and continue to make a difference in providing safe, reliable and accessible transportation options for the community,” Patel said.
In his new role, Patel will report to Transportation Director Paul Kallam and will be based at Raleigh Union Station.
“I’m pleased to welcome Het to this new leadership position,” Kallam said. “He brings a strong sense of collaboration, problem-solving and vision to our team. Raleigh is growing fast, and Het’s leadership will help our transit division rise to meet the needs of our community.”
DART names new executive vice president and COO
DART has named Trenise Winters as the agency's new executive vice president and COO.
Winters will assume her new role on July 21. Reporting directly to DART President and CEO Nadine S. Lee, Winters will lead the agency's operations teams, including bus, light rail, facilities maintenance, GoLink and mobility management.
"We are thrilled to welcome Trenise, whose more than 20 years of transit experience, leadership and proven ability to empower teams make her an exceptional addition to our organization,” Lee said. “Her history managing large-scale operations across Missouri and Illinois and leading more than 900 operators speaks volumes about her operational expertise and strategic insight.”
Winters comes from Metro Transit in St. Louis, where she drove process improvements and technology integration, launched leadership development programs that strengthened the talent pipeline and consistently delivered impactful results. Her leadership resulted in increased operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and the successful adoption of new technologies.
“I am inspired by DART’s innovative vision and their mission to improve the customer experience,” Winters said. “I look forward to joining the team and contributing to the transformation of public transit for the North Texas Region. It is exciting to take on the challenge of meeting increasing transit demand while modernizing operations, in a part of the country that is experiencing a significant population growth.”
Winters holds an MBA from Lindenwood University and a Bachelor of Science in business administration/finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Brandon Lewis | Associate Editor
Brandon Lewis is a recent graduate of Kent State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Lewis is a former freelance editorial assistant at Vehicle Service Pros in Endeavor Business Media’s Vehicle Repair Group. Lewis brings his knowledge of web managing, copyediting and SEO practices to Mass Transit Magazine as an associate editor. He is also a co-host of the Infrastructure Technology Podcast.
