Eno Center for Transit Leadership Begins
Second Year

The Eno Center for Transit Leadership (CTL) executive development program kicked off its second full year of course offerings in April, with a week-long program in Denver, Colorado.

Developed by the Foundation in coordination with the American Public Transit Association, the Transit Cooperative Research Program, and the

Federal Transit Administration, CTL is cultivating the next generation of transit leaders. The interactive

courses, offered three times a year, bring together a dynamic mix of participants who are senior-level managers in public transportation agencies and in the private sector firms that serve them.

The 18 students who participated in the Denver program examined topics high on the agendas of transit executives, such as: managing relationships with external constituencies, assessing funding strategies for new initiatives, dealing with the media, developing effective board members, and fostering good labor-management relations.

Students received instruction from a faculty of nationally known transportation instructors, led by CTL Program Director Dr. Barbara Gannon, which included transit general managers, business executives, and labor leaders.

"You have [with CTL] experienced public and private sector senior managers, who are getting ready to take the next step toward becoming CEOs, talking about executive-level issues," said 2005 CTL alumnus Kary Witt, bridge manager/deputy general manager of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. "Just being around people who have that shared experience is valuable. And it's a network of peers that continues when the course is over."

The remaining 2006 CTL courses are scheduled for Washington, D.C. (July 9-14) and Chicago, Illinois (November 5-10).

Lichtanski Scholarship Winners Announced

Sharon Montez, of the Corpus Christi (Texas) Regional Transportation Authority (CCRTA), and Fred Worthen, of Community Transit (Snohomish County, Washington), are the winners of the 2006 Frank J. Lichtanski Memorial Scholarship.

Each year, the scholarship provides tuition support for one or more professionals from small and mid-sized transit agencies to participate in the Eno Center for Transit Leadership (CTL).

Montez is director of capital and facilities for CCRTA, which provides accessible and affordable, primarily bus, transportation to Nueces and San Patricio County residents in an 838 square-mile service area. Worthen, a 20-year veteran of the transit industry, is director of transportation for an agency that operates 32 local and 31 commuter bus routes in the greater-Seattle area.

The scholarship honors the memory of Frank Lichtanski, longtime general manager and CEO of Monterey-Salinas Transit in Monterey, California. Lichtanski was a CTL instructor until his death in 2005.

ITSP Spring 2006 Mission

The International Transit Studies Program (ITSP) spring 2006 mission, scheduled for May 4-19, will study examples of coordinated transportation services.

Twelve public transportation professionals, under the direction of Mission Team Lead J. Barry Barker, will participate in meetings and site visits with transit officials in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and France.

The mission will focus on transit providers that are adopting flexible, coordinated approaches to addressing the needs of all community members, including individuals who live beyond major urban centers, those with limited transportation access to available jobs, and those with disabilities or other special mobility needs. Mission participants will also explore the partnerships, technology, communications, financing, and politics that underpin these approaches.

A 30-year transit industry veteran, Barker has been executive director of the Transit Authority of River City (Louisville, Kentucky) since 1994. He has been honored for his work to ensure diversity in the workplace and accessible transportation by the Paralyzed Veterans of America, Easter Seals, and the NAACP.

The ITSP is sponsored by the Transit Cooperative Research Program, funded by the Federal Transit Administration, and managed by the Eno Foundation under a contract with the National Academy of Sciences.