King County Metro has named DeAnna Martin, a driving force behind numerous transformative initiatives, to be the agency’s new chief of staff.
Martin has been with King County for the past 10 years, starting at the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) in 2011, then joining King County Metro in 2017 as the public and employee engagement manager in the general manager’s office. She was integral in transitioning community engagement and government relations functions from SDOT to Metro.
Martin developed enterprise-level employee communications and engagement that centers King County Metro’s values and people in the decision-making processes. For the past two years, she served as the partnerships and engagement manager for the Strategic Communications and Engagement team.
“DeAnna’s skills in community organizing and engagement, facilitation, change management, communications and government relations have benefited Metro — and our region — greatly,” said Metro General Manager Terry White. “I am confident that as our chief of staff, DeAnna will help bridge operations, planning and community engagement to represent the voices of employees, riders and stakeholders — deepening our understanding and strengthening our strategy to successfully advance our vision for mobility in King County.”
Among her accomplishments, Martin led King County Metro’s COVID-19 crisis communications, helped develop and implement the agency’s division-to-department (d2D) reorganization and transformed how the agency’s senior leaders listen and engage with employees, bringing town halls to worksites and designing King County Metro’s annual and semi-annual meetings.
In her most recent role, Martin led the team that is strengthening King County Metro’s relationships with local jurisdictions and county elected officials; facilitates the Equity Cabinet, Transit Advisory Commission and Access Paratransit Advisory Committee; and has engaged with the community to develop the very-low/no income fare program, the Renton-Kent-Auburn Mobility Plan (RKAAMP), the North Link service restructure and numerous policy updates.
