OCTA Appoints New Chief Operating Officer
The Orange County Transportation Authority recently announced that industry veteran Jennifer Bergener has been appointed to the position of chief operating officer, which completes an organizational restructuring to meet the existing and future transit needs of the county.
In the newly created position, Bergener will be responsible for all transit operations including bus operations and maintenance, rail operations, OC Streetcar operations and maintenance, Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency oversight, paratransit, microtransit and contracted services.
“This new position unifies all of our transit operations and maintenance under one umbrella and sets OCTA on a course for success as we continue to reinvent the way in which we deliver public transportation,” said OCTA CEO Darrell E. Johnson. “Jennifer’s experience and skills make her the ideal leader to take on this role.”
Bergener has more than 20 years of experience as a transit professional, holding a broad range of positions in transportation programming, finance, project development and delivery, as well as governmental affairs.
For the past 15 years, Bergener has been at OCTA serving in a variety of roles primarily in rail planning, project and program delivery and new transit services development. In addition, she has served as the Managing Director for LOSSAN, which serves as the managing agency for the state-supported, Amtrak-operated Pacific Surfliner intercity passenger rail service. Jennifer started her career at Amtrak, working on project development and cost controls and she also worked at the San Mateo County Transit District as a grant and program writer.
“I’m excited to lead a team of talented individuals who demonstrate every day how dedicated they are to delivering innovative public transportation options for the residents, business and visitors of Orange County,” Bergener said. “OCTA is prepared to tackle the challenges and explore the opportunities presented in our rapidly evolving industry.”
In the past five years, OCTA has embarked on an effort to reinvent transit service in Orange County through a number of initiatives including redesigning the bus system, redeploying resources to the core of the county and introducing local transit options, exploring on-demand transit, enhancing the customer experience through technology, and implementing the OC Streetcar, a light-rail line set to break ground later this year.
In the unified Transit Division, Bergener will oversee more than 1,000 employees with an annual operation budget of approximately $375 million.
