Board of Directors
2024 COMTO Headquarters Board of Directors Nominations Overview
The Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) is seeking nominations for professionals across modes and disciplines to consider service as a member of the Board of Directors for the 2024-2026 term. The Board of Directors works to establish and ensure adherence to overall organizational policy toward the successful fulfillment of COMTO’s mission.
Nominations will be accepted through April 23, 2024 for the positions of Chair, 1st Vice Chair, 2nd Vice Chair, Secretary/Treasurer and 3 At-Large Members. Self-nominations are encouraged.
Click here for more information and to submit a nomination.
2021-2024 Board of Excellence
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Tanya Adams
Chair
Tanya works with WSP USA’s business lines, regions, and functional groups to create a work environment that produces three key outcomes: a culture of trust that provides safe spaces for sensitive conversations; increased workforce diversity and advancement of WSP diversity talent; and greater support for WSP colleagues who are leaders in underrepresented communities. In addition, in her role as Senior Vice President of Inclusion and Diversity, Tanya advocates for minority business involvement in both the engineering and business communities and on WSP USA’s contracts. Prior to joining the firm, she served in leadership roles with the Illinois Department of Transportation for 19 years.
Tanya is actively involved in diversity initiatives with community organizations—serving alongside many minority business partners—and she develops and directs both internal and external programs to meet business diversity needs. Tanya’s personal objective is to see the diverse faces of America equally reflected at all levels of the transportation industry. She has devoted her career to serving as an advocate and a resource to minority individuals and businesses.
Since 2007, Tanya has been involved in the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), having served as a member of the Board, Corporate Advisory Council, Joint Leadership Team, Women Who Move the Nation Committee, and the Program Planning Committee. In 2016, she was named COMTO’s Corporate Executive of the Year, in 2018 she received COMTO’s President’s Award for Excellence and currently serves as 1st Vice-Chair, recognizing her leadership efforts and outreach to minority and disadvantaged business firms locally and nationwide.
In 2015, she became the first African American woman to be elected to the board of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Illinois. She also served as the Chair of ACEC’s Students Engaged in Engineering Committee for 10 years, currently serving as Vice Board Chair, Tanya is actively engaging and fostering an interest in the transportation industry among students.
In addition, Tanya is a member of WTS and was named 2018 Woman of the Year; she also actively participates in the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association (IRTBA).
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Lester Woods
First Vice-Chair
Lester Woods was appointed Chief Administrative Officer on April 1, 2020, after serving in the position on an interim basis since July 2019. In this capacity, he oversees four MoDOT divisions including communications, diversity and inclusion, health and wellness, and human resources. He has been with MoDOT for 19 years, and previously, served as MoDOT’s External Civil Rights Director for 15 years.
Before coming to MoDOT, he worked in human resources at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Woods holds a bachelor of science degree in wildlife biology from Grambling State University, a master of public administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia and was conferred with a doctor of ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in May 2020.
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Gwendolen Gray
Second Vice-Chair
Ms. Gray has a professional multi-modal transportation background and has served in the public and the private sector infrastructure projects for twenty-nine years. She has gained a wide range of experience in program management, project, construction management and compliance management—this includes project controls on capital, rail, freight rail, highway, roads and ports.
Ms. Gray is currently the Project Controls Director and Vice President for HNTB. She has over 24 years experience in the public transportation industry. Her extensive transportation network expands throughout the country. She focuses on project controls for the firm’s current and future complex infrastructure work, as well as community relations and engagement in the firm’s West Division. She is based in the HNTB downtown Los Angeles office.
Previously, Ms. Gray was the Project Controls Program Management Consultant in the Program Management and Highway Group, Los Angeles County Transportation Authority. Ms. Gray also has twelve years of professional experience of Compliance Management and Small Business Enterprise (SBE), Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Disadvantage Veteran Businesses Enterprise (DVBE) Oversight. Ms. Gray holds a B.S in Organization Management and a minor in Accounting from Cabrini University.
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Michelle Hiett
Secretary/Treasurer
“Helping others is the rent we pay for the space we occupy.”
This motto is the premise by which Michelle D. Hiett lives. With the goal of understanding the “Big Picture” towards adding immediate value personally and professionally, it is also the basis by which she orchestrates completion of each assignment. For more than two decades she served in the non-profit sector establishing policies, procedures and new reporting mechanisms to prevent grant funding losses, preserving headcounts and preventing layoffs through development of hybrid financial/operational indicators to identify cost savings, creating analytical tools which improved finance operations, promoted successful financial audits and ensured going concern,developing test scripts and completing design reviews for new project initiatives and providing expert guidance and training to support staff as well as to those in leadership roles.
Michelle successfully employed positions of graduated responsibility from general accounting and financial analysis to project implementation support within a wide variety of industry. Never shrinking from undertaking a challenge, Michelle transitioned readily from health-related industry to transportation-related industry eight years ago when she joined the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and became a pivotal contributor to the SEPTA Key project. In October 2017, she maintained her forward momentum and broadened her scope by joining LTK Engineering Services to assist the general public at large and now enjoys the opportunity to assist other major public transportation communities in Maryland, New York and Washington, DC among others.
Finally, Michelle has served transportation and related industry through service to trade organizations such as COMTO and WTS in leveling the playing field for minorities and women. As Assistant Treasurer/Scholarship Selection Chair for COMTO Philadelphia, Michelle was tasked early in her tenure with auditing close to two decades of advertised scholarship distributions. She also established COMTO Philadelphia’s distribution of annual tax statements, acknowledging to funders their total contributions for the previous year by event or initiative. During her first term as Treasurer, Michelle recouped $7,000.00 for the chapter from previous commitments that had been unfulfilled for a variety of events. In a volunteer organization, this is no easy task and requires a delicate balance of professionalism towards maintaining current and prospective financial supporters. Now, as President, she maintains all integrity in the processes employed by the chapter as well as provides a level of financial transparency unmatched by any of her predecessors.
Michelle has mastered the art of resourcefulness through her listening and problem-solving skills as well as her technique of researching every accessible avenue prior to seeking further assistance. She brings the expertise and flexibility needed when clients must extend their existing human resource base for a long-term project or a task-oriented assignment. Michelle is a consummate professional and responds in kind when called upon to serve in a volunteer setting.
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Freddie Fuller
Immediate Past Board Chair
A proven leader and a true public servant, Freddie Fuller has spent his entire professional career in the public transportation industry. For more than 24 years Freddie has utilized his education, expertise and relationships to engage and connect organizations and individuals within the transit industry.
He is currently a Vice President and Geographic Sales Manager (GSM) for the Mid-Atlantic at Jacobs, leading our national Transit Payment Systems team with a focus on business development for transit and rail pursuits across the United States and Canada. As a result of his efforts, Jacobs has developed new business in Baltimore, Washington, DC, Charlotte, Atlanta and New Orleans. In addition, he has been asked to serve as liaison between Jacobs and several political organizations including: African American Mayors Association, Community Leaders of America, International City/County Management Association, National Association of Counties, National League of Cities and US Conference of Mayors.
A private sector consultant and public servant, Freddie currently serves on boards as the National Chair of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) and as Secretary/Treasurer of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).
In 1997, Freddie was introduced to COMTO while attending a Garret A. Morgan event in Washington DC. The following year he was selected for the second class of Leadership APTA.
While working at the National Transit Institute (NTI) at Rutgers University, Freddie facilitated a meeting between COMTO and NTI which led to COMTO offering continuing education credits at its National Meeting & Training Conference. Soon after, Freddie joined COMTO’s National Meeting & Training Conference program planning committee. In 2004, Freddie began his own consulting practice and COMTO asked him to develop and manage their inaugural CITY Internship Program which was funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
In 2011, COMTO asked him to serve as chair of their strategic planning committee. A year later Freddie began serving on the COMTO board of directors and was elected to the APTA Business Members Board of Governors (BMBG).
Freddie has been a member of the COMTO board of directors since 2012 and serves on the finance, fundraising, strategic planning committees and the legislative advisory council. He also engages industry partners to advance the mission and position of COMTO.
In 2015, Freddie became chair of the APTA BMBG legislative committee. That same year he was elected to his first three-year term on the APTA executive committee. In 2017, he was named vice chair of the BMBG budget committee and appointed to the APTA finance committee.
In the fall of 2018, Freddie was elected to a two-year term as COMTO National Chair and elected to a three-year term as APTA Secretary/Treasurer.
At APTA Freddie also serves as chair of the finance committee and a member of the American Public Transportation Foundation (APTF) board of directors and chair of its finance committee.
In addition to his commitments to COMTO and APTA, Freddie was selected as a fellow by the Eno Transportation Foundation in 2006 and selected to participate in the Transit Cooperative Research Program’s International Transit Study Mission in 2007. Prior to joining Jacobs, Freddie also served in leadership roles with Prince George’s County-The Bus, GRTC in Richmond, VA, National Transit Institute at Rutgers University, District Department of Transportation in DC, Cubic Transportation Systems and his own consulting practice, PT Consulting.
Freddie earned an undergraduate degree in Urban Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University, two Masters degrees from Georgia Tech in City Planning and Civil Engineering. He also completed coursework towards a doctorate degree at Virginia Tech in Planning, Governance and Globalization. He and his wife, Tasha reside in Woodbridge, Virginia and are the proud parents of four children. Freddie loves to work out regularly and is an avid runner.
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Regine Beauboeuf
At-Large Member
Regine C. Beauboeuf, PE, is Senior Vice President, Program Equity Advisor at HNTB Corporation, an employee owned infrastructure solutions firm. Ms. Beauboeuf has 35 years of regional transportation and infrastructure experience specializing in the management of large, complex transportation projects. She has extensive experience on design build and public private partnership projects in the U.S. and Canada. She has managed and supervised the engineering program for the Detroit River International Crossing project (The Gordie Howe Bridge — $4.2 billion) for the localization of the new border crossing between the cities of Detroit and Windsor in Michigan, USA, and Ontario, Canada. Ms. Beauboeuf has served as the project manager for the Turcot Interchange Design/Build ($1.2 billion), the A-25 PublicPrivate-Partnership ($485 million) in Montreal, Quebec and the Innovate Mound Project in Macomb County where the County is looking to reconstruct and modernize nine (9) miles of Mound Road from I-696 to M-59 through the Cities of Warren and Sterling Heights. In her current role as director of Infrastructure and Mobility Equity, she is charged with providing technical expertise and leadership on HNTB’s ongoing efforts advancing equity through the organization’s existing work, enhancing our Partners Program, increase opportunities for historically underutilized businesses and collaboration with industry associations.
Prior to her experience in the private sector, Ms. Beauboeuf was the supervising engineer for the Project Development Section of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). In that capacity, Ms. Beauboeuf was responsible for the development and delivery of all capacity improvements and new road projects for the State of Michigan and managed a delivery budget of $3 billion.
Regine is president of the Michigan Chapter of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) and co-chair of the COMTO Industry Awards committee; Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees for Michigan Women Forward; member of the Board of Trustees at Central Michigan University; member of the Leadership America Class of 2020; former Board Director of the Michigan Chapter of the American Council of Engineering Consultants (ACEC); former Commissioner of the East Lansing Transportation Commission; and was appointed by former Governor Jennifer Granholm to the Michigan Board of Licensed Surveyors and the Michigan Board of Professional Engineers of which she was the chair. In addition, Regine served on the Board of Directors for the Metropolitan Lansing YMCA, was president of the Magalie Joachim Foundation, Montreal, QC, and has been a member of the Links, Inc. since 2004. In June 2019, Regine participated in a trade mission to Israel sponsored by MEDC and the Michigan Israeli Business Association (MIBA) as a representative of the Transportation Industry for the State of Michigan. In May 2021, Regine was elected to the MIBA Board of Directors. MIBA seeks, through her addition to the Board, to accelerate and strengthen the exchange of mobility related technology between Israel and the State of Michigan.
Regine is fluent in French, English and Kreyol.
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Yvette Janniere-Houlder
At-Large Member
Yvette Janniere-Houlder is an accomplished, business leader and change agent with more than 30 years of experience in the Transportation Industry including aviation, bus and rail in both the private and public sectors. She has a record of achievement driving strategic organizational improvement efforts aligned with technology and business goals. She currently serves as the Lead Program Manager, Enterprise Applications at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York State.
Ms. Janniere-Houlder holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from York College, is a Certified Project Management Professional through the Project Management Institute and holds a Master of Business Administration from Fordham University.
She enjoys volunteering, mentoring, traveling and spending time with her family. She has been an active member of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) for 10 years serving in several roles for the New York Chapter including Treasurer, Executive Vice President, President and Advisory Board Member. She has also served on the COMTO National Historically Underutilized Business Sub-Committee.
Ms. Janniere-Houlder is also a member of the following professional organizations; Women Transportation Seminar (WTS); Project Management Institute (PMI); National Association of Professional Women (NAPW); former Vice Chair Summit Academy Charter School Board and is a member of the Uniondale Bond Oversight Committee which is responsible for overseeing a $158M Bond to upgrade and expand the schools of the Uniondale Union Free School District.
COMTO has been an immeasurable value add to my personal and professional growth and has allowed me many opportunities to encourage and empower others to also reach beyond their comfort zones and join the journey. I look forward to continuing COMTO’s 50-year legacy committed to fighting for social justice and equity for minority individuals and small businesses within the transportation industry.
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Ruben Landa
At-Large Member
Ruben Landa is an experienced and accomplished leader in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry. He has more than 21 years of experience in public involvement, public affairs, communications, and diversity program management. His career includes significant time with STV Incorporated, HDR Inc., the Texas State Senate, K Strategies Group and now with WSP USA, where he is the Texas CPI Lead and Senior Communications Manager.
Ruben's professional career includes extensive experience developing and managing public involvement and diversity programs on many high-profile legacy projects in the states of Texas and Arizona. Ruben maintains an in-depth understanding of public policy, public administration and community factors that can affect decision-making on major public projects. This has allowed him to develop programs using a strategic approach that has produced positive results for both the client and the community.
Ruben has developed and implemented numerous effective public involvement and communication programs for major projects in the transportation industry. These included comprehensive public involvement programs for major investment studies, alternative analysis studies, draft and final environmental impact statements, and programs geared for design-build projects. The tools utilized for these projects have been far-ranging and innovative, and they have been widely accepted and adopted by major transportation authorities, such as the Texas Department of Transportation, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, City of Dallas, Houston METRO, Arizona Department of Transportation, and Valley Metro Rail in Phoenix.
Ruben also has significant experience in diversity program management in the transportation and construction industries He has a proven record of developing comprehensive and effective programs geared toward maximizing the participation of diverse firms on major projects. Ruben's range of expertise in this field includes DBE, M/WBE, SBE and HUB program development, as well as public outreach, procurement, contract compliance, capacity building and mentor-protégé program development and implementation. He has successfully developed and implemented programs for the Texas Department of Transportation, DFW International Airport, Dallas Love Field Airport, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Fort Worth Transportation Authority, the City of Dallas and Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Through his considerable expertise, Ruben has developed strategic partnerships and maintains leadership roles with numerous advocacy organizations in the industry, including minority chambers, contractor associations and trade organizations. He is a committed industry leader and currently serves as President for the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) North Texas Chapter and serves as the Council of Presidents (COP) Representative on the COMTO National Board of Directors. He is also the Immediate Past Chairman of the Board for the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association (RHCA), Vice President of Programs and President- Elect for the Greater Dallas Planning Council (GDPC) and Vice President for the MBE Institute for Public Policy (MBEIPP). Ruben has been recognized for his leadership in the business community, including being named the Top Dallas Minority Business Leader by the Dallas Business Journal in 2014, the Honorable Ray LaHood Award Recipient for Women in Transportation Seminar (WTS) in 2019, the GDPC President’s Award in 2018 and 2020 and COMTO President & CEO Award of Excellence in 2020.
A proud native Texan, Ruben has earned both Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in Political Science from Sam Houston State University in Texas. He is also an avid marathon runner, Spartan racer, yogi, and traveler.
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Melissa Rolle-Scott, TSSP
At-Large Member
Melissa Rolle-Scott is a highly motivated transportation professional with over 29 years of technical, administrative and management experience in the mass transportation (bus, rail, and automated guideway) industry. She is currently a Transit Section Chief in the Office of Safety & Security for the Miami-Dade Department of Transportation & Public Works (DTPW) where she is responsible for providing leadership in the planning and directing of Internal Audits and serves as the department’s liaison for safety-related state and federal audits. She has met the requirements and received her certificates from the Federal Transit Administration and Transportation Safety Institute’s Transit Safety and Security Program (TSSP) for both the Transit Bus and Transit Rail Programs.
Ms. Rolle-Scott has served and provided leadership in several divisions of the Department of Transportation & Public Works (DTPW) which includes: Safety & Security; Transit Services Administration; Maintenance Control; Customer Service; and the Automated Fare Collection System. Prior to joining Miami-Dade DTPW, Ms. Rolle-Scott worked as an Industrial Engineer for Martin Marietta Denver Aerospace and Pacific Telephone as an Outside Plant Engineer.
Ms. Rolle-Scott is very active in the transportation industry. She serves on the national Scholarship, CITY Internship, Membership and Industry Awards committees of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) and serves on the Board as an At-Large Member of the COMTO Miami Chapter. She has previously served COMTO as the National Membership Chair from 1999–2006 and President of the Miami Chapter, from 1998–2002. Under her leadership, the Chapter was recognized as the “Chapter of the Year”. Ms. Rolle-Scott also served as the Miami Chapter’s Treasurer and Membership Chair from 1995–1997. Ms. Rolle-Scott was the recipient of COMTO’s Gerald Anderson Sibling Award for her exceptional service to COMTO both in 2001 and 2013. She is affectionately known as the Miami Chapter’s “Queen”.
Ms. Rolle-Scott has also served as a Transit Research Innovative Program (TRIP) Ambassador and has served on several TCRP Research Panels. She is a graduate of the Leadership APTA (American Public Transit Association) Class of 2002–2003 and, also continues to serve on APTA Committees.
Ms. Rolle-Scott contributes to her community’s well-being in numerous ways, with a special commitment to education, youth development and seniors. She is a mentor in the MDC BBBS partnership. She has served as a Take Stock in Children Mentor, KAPOW teacher and SECME judge at various Miami-Dade County Schools. She is a former President of the University of Miami Black Alumni Society.
As President & CEO of the Mt. Calvary Community Development Center, Inc., she is responsible for providing leadership to govern such activities as Senior Entrepreneurial Computer Training, After-School Computer Access Lab, Youth Photography Training, Reading Enrichment and food and clothing distribution. For the past13years, she has also served as the Senior Pastor of the Mt. Calvary National Church of God, Inc.
Ms. Rolle-Scott holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Miami and a Master of Science in Engineering Management from Florida International University. She is also a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation Fellow.
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Quincy Howard
Council of Presidents Representative, Columbus President
An industry expert with more than twenty-five years of successful experience in Supplier Diversity and Business Development, Quincy Howard has a proven track record of fostering business relationships between private/public companies and agencies and the minority business community. Quincy has had a rich history of experiences throughout his career including a Minority Business Development Coordinator at the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, a Grants Administrator at the Ohio State University, and an entrepreneur running a Financial Advising and Investment Broker firm that he successfully ran for over ten years. But his passion has always been supplier diversity.
After the 2008 market crash, he made the hard decision to close his business down. Feeling defeated but not beaten, Quincy began his job search back into corporate America. With a strong work ethic, tons of experience, and a lot of prayer Quincy joined the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) as the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program Administrator, performing the same work that sparked his passion many years earlier. Now after having served over ten years at COTA, Quincy has recently taken his drive and passion to the state level as the Assistant Chief of the Minority Business Development Division of the Ohio Department of Development where he is responsible for overseeing the operations of the MBE, WBE, VBE and EDGE certification programs, business lending and bonding programs, and the minority business assistance centers across the state of Ohio.
Quincy also serves as the current President of the Conference of the Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) Columbus Chapter and is a national board member for the National COMTO organization. The COMTO Columbus Chapter has been recognized nationally as the Chapter of The Year for its programming and outreach efforts to help minority businesses and the minority community progress in the Central Ohio area. This prestigious award is annually awarded to a chapter that has made outstanding contributions to the transportation industry. In Quincy’s off time, he enjoys his wife of 20+ years, Melinda, his daughter Sydney, who is a sophomore at Hampton University majoring in Kinesiology, his furry son, Argo, and hanging with his Omega Psi Phi Fraternity brothers and playing a round golf.
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Demauris Terry
Council of Presidents Representative, Southern California President
Demauris Terry serves as the Executive Vice President/COO for BA, Inc., a certified minority-owned civil engineering firm, and brings more than 20 years of business operations experience with a deep understanding of agency policies and requirements. He has strong leadership skills to catalyze, implement, and lead the company’s strategic agenda. For the past 10 years, he has successfully run and operated the day-to-day activities of one of the top minority-owned, small business civil engineering & construction firms in the greater Los Angeles and Phoenix metropolitan areas.
Having worked in both large and small corporations, he is familiar with the unique characteristics and challenges that define each type. Demauris is actively engaged in and committed to helping drive the success of small businesses within the engineering and construction industry, in and around Southern California.
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Renee Banks
Board Advisor
Ms. Banks is a rail transportation expert and is President & Chief Communications Officer for G. W. Peoples Contracting Co., Inc. (GWP), the only African-American-owned railroad construction firm in the country. She coordinates GWP’s marketing and communications, as well as federal, state and local government relations, including federal, state and local DBE/MBE/SBE certifications, business licenses, annual reports, contractors’ licenses and tax filings.
Ms. Banks was Manager of Government and Public Affairs for AMTRAK where she served as a legislative advocate for intercity passenger rail transportation. This provided extensive railroad management experience, sales, crisis management and communication skills, as well as familiarity with the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, and publicly-funded transportation programs.
Ms. Banks graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University and attended the University of Pittsburgh and before joining Amtrak, was Assistant Press Secretary for the late U.S. Senator John Heinz (R-PA) in Washington, DC, after working for Salomon Brothers in NYC and Consolidation Coal in Pittsburgh.
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Christian Kent
Board Advisor
Christian T. Kent has over 35 years of experience in the public transit industry in the private and public sectors, and 16 years in a senior executive role, serving as a charismatic change agent and turnaround specialist for numerous paratransit services across the country. Mr. Kent is best known for his executive role at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). He was responsible for the nation’s fifth-largest paratransit service and system-wide accessibility and ADA compliance for WMATA's rail, bus, and paratransit services. In 2018, Mr. Kent started his own consulting practice, Transit Management Consulting, LLC, specializing in ADA paratransit management, strategy and leadership development.
A staunch advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion, especially for people with disabilities, Mr. Kent has been a member of COMTO since 2007. He was the first chair of the Accessibility Advisory Council that he helped establish in 2017, and he currently serves on the COMTO Board of Directors as a Board Advisor. Mr. Kent is also Managing Principal of KL2 Connects, LLC, an executive recruitment firm that has been serving the transit industry exclusively for over 15 years. Mr. Kent attributes his love for COMTO to the warmth and generous spirit of its members, and in particular, their commitment to fairness, growing talent and helping others achieve their career goals.
Mr. Kent began his transit career in 1987 at the University of Virginia as a student bus driver while pursuing his Bachelor’s in Government and Master’s in Education.