Cincinnati Metro boosts leadership team with three new hires

Three people have joined Cincinnati Metro’s leadership team: Chris Cole, vice president of transit operations; Amy Rasmussen, ridership development director; and Pat LaFleur, external affairs manager.

Cole joins Cincinnati Metro’s executive team to oversee transit operations at its two fixed-route operations facilities, where he will ensure excellence in bus operations, service delivery, employee development and more.

Cole brings more than two decades of operations expertise, nearly 15 of which in Ohio’s transit sector. Prior to arriving at Cincinnati Metro, Cole served as chief operating officer at the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, where he oversaw the implementation of the agency’s strategic plan. Before joining the team in Dayton, Cole spent nearly a decade in leadership and executive roles at the Central Ohio Transit Authority.

Cole attended Southern New Hampshire University where he majored in organization leadership.

Amy Rasmussen joins Cincinnati Metro’s External Affairs team and is responsible for making strategic business decisions and community connections that will grow ridership and business-related sales opportunities.

Prior to joining Cincinnati Metro, Rasmussen was senior manager of business development with Scioto Services, the Cincinnati affiliate of a national facility services provider, where she helped transform the organization’s small, local market into a sustainable enterprise. Additional experience includes coordinating community engagement for the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority and serving as committee chair and board president for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Warren County, Ohio.

Rasmussen holds a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice and sociology from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

Pat LaFleur also joins Metro’s External Affairs team to oversee public and media relations, as well as the agency’s digital content and social media.

LaFleur brings nearly a decade of local news media experience to Metro, most recently spending seven years as transportation beat reporter and digital producer at Greater Cincinnati’s ABC affiliate, WCPO-TV. Prior to entering journalism, he spent three years as a content marketing specialist in both in-house and agency settings.

LaFleur holds a Master of Arts in English from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Miami University.