Look for opportunities in this issue's classifieds, which include 3 notices; 16 bids & proposals; and 11 employment ads for positions including a state chief of public transportation, director of finance and marketing, and a chief information officer!

Patricia Bates, Paul Glaab, Don Bankhead, Larry Crandall, Peter Herzog
ORANGE, CA—The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) Board of Directors has named Patricia Bates, formerly vice chair, as its new chair. She succeeds Jerry Amante, who will remain on the board as the city representative from the Third District.

Bates is the Fifth District Orange County Supervisor representing the cities of Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano. She joined the OCTA board in 2007.

Replacing Bates as vice chair is Laguna Niguel Councilmember Paul Glaab, who joined the board in 2006.

OCTA also welcomed three new board members: Fullerton Mayor Don Bankhead, Fountain Valley Mayor Larry Crandall, and Lake Forest Mayor Peter Herzog.

John Siragusa
FAIRFIELD, CA—John Siragusa, an 18-year employee of MV Transportation Inc., has been promoted to president of western operations.

Siragusa served most recently as vice president of operations for the company’s western region. In his new role, he will oversee MV’s team of regionally based vice presidents and support personnel across the western U.S. and Canada.

Malcolm Gatherwright
CINCINNATI, OH—After driving nearly three million miles in his career—enough to circle the globe more than 120 times—Malcolm Gatherwright, a bus operator with Cincinnati Metro since 1976, retired Dec. 31, 2010. The Ohio Public Transit Association honored Gatherwright as the state’s Bus Operator of the Year for 2010.

In his nearly 35 years with Metro, Gatherwright earned 33 annual safety awards for accident-free driving during his career. He is a member of the prestigious National Safety Council’s Two Million Mile Club for driving more than 30 years without a preventable accident.

During his career, Gatherwright received no negative customer service reports; required no discipline; and reported 2 percent or less unexpected absenteeism.

Khalid Bekka, Keven Keller
OMAHA, NE—HDR has named Khalid Bekka director of economics and finance. Bekka, an HDR employee since 2005, was previously a principal economist and department manager for the company’s Silver Spring, MD, office and will continue to be based there.

Bekka has 20 years of experience in applied economics. He succeeds David Lewis, who joined HDR when it acquired HLB Decision Economics in 2005 and will remain with the firm on a part-time basis. Lewis was a founding partner and president, and Bekka also was deeply involved in HLB’s development.

Also, Kevin Keller has been promoted to client manager for BNSF Railway, based in HDR’s Kansas City, MO, office. He assumes this role from Scott Goehri, who was named freight railroad market sector director.

Keller has been with HDR since 2007, serving previously as railroad sector environmental services director. He has more than 25 years of experience in the rail industry.

Jason Riviero
CINCINNATI, OH—The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) has appointed Jason Riveiro to the board of Cincinnati Metro’s charitable foundation, Everybody Rides Metro (ERM). Riveiro joined the SORTA Board of Trustees in September 2010.

ERM works with partner organizations to provide transportation to low-income individuals who need help getting to jobs, education, health care, and other vital services in order to maintain their self-sufficiency.

Riveiro is vice president of media and business development for TSJ Media, serving as publisher of La Jornada Latina and market manager for Cincinnati’s Spanish-language radio station.

Jerome Gray
HOUSTON, TX—Veteran news anchor and reporter Jerome Gray is joining the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Metro) as vice president and senior press officer.

Gray, a media professional with more than 20 years of experience in Houston, has been a news anchor and broadcast journalist with two Houston television stations. He received an Emmy Award for a series of reports on Africa, an Emmy and a National Telly Award for a jazz special, and a Texas Associated Press Award for coverage of South Africa’s first all-race elections.

Kenneth R. Fulmer, Kimberly Bentz
PHILADELPHIA, PA—Urban Engineers Inc. announced the appointment of Kenneth R. Fulmer as director of transit and passenger rail.

Since joining Urban in 1992, Fulmer has taken on increasing responsibilities, focusing primarily in the construction management arena. In 2006, he was named a vice president and associate of the firm. He has more than 20 years of experience in the design and construction industry.

Also, Kimberly Bentz, MSHRM, has been promoted to human resources director. She served as Urban’s manager of human resources since coming to the company in 2007.

Lillian Hames, David Heath
SAN RAFAEL, CA—Lillian Hames stepped down Jan. 21 as general manager of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART). David Heath, the district’s director of finance and administration, will serve as interim general manager until a permanent replacement is hired.

Hames was a transportation consultant in 2001 when she became project director—and, for several years, the only employee—of what was then known as the SMART Commission. After SMART became a special district created by California Assembly Bill 2224 in 2003, she oversaw the initial conceptual design of the project and the development of the 2006 Final Environmental Impact Report.

Bob Franklin, John McPartland
OAKLAND, CA—Bob Franklin has become the first former employee of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) to become president of the BART Board of Directors. He succeeds James Fang.

Franklin has served on the board since 2004. Earlier he worked for BART for six years in the finance and planning departments.

The board also unanimously elected Board Member John McPartland to serve as vice president. McPartland also is a former BART employee: a safety specialist who served as a liaison to, and facilitated disaster response training with, public safety agencies within the agency’s service area.

Mitchell W. Pratt
SEAL BEACH, CA—Mitchell W. Pratt, an employee of Clean Energy since 2001, has been promoted to chief operating officer.

Pratt previously served as senior vice president, engineering, operations, and public affairs. He came to Clean Energy after serving as general manager of the natural gas vehicle department for the Southern California Gas Company.

Michael Izbicki
WASHINGTON, DC—Michael Izbicki has joined the Louis Berger Group as director of rail systems.

Izbicki has more than 30 years of experience in rail and transit systems, including serving as interim director of the New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority and planning commissioner for the Southern New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority.

Wade Norton, Ryan McElvaney
FARIBAULT, MN—ABC Companies announced the appointments of Wade Norton as director of sales for ABC Parts, Muncie Transit Supply, and Baker Transit Parts, and Ryan McElvaney as parts territory sales manager for the northeast region.

Norton will be responsible for the North American aftermarket sales team for ABC Parts and the Muncie and Baker affiliates. McElvaney will serve Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New York excluding Long Island and New York City.

Bruce D. Nipp
DALLAS, TX—Bruce D. Nipp, P.E., has joined Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc. as transportation regional manager. He will be responsible for business development, client relations, and managing transportation projects in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.

Nipp has more than 25 years of experience in transportation planning and engineering, managing transportation-related projects involving all stages of development. He previously was president of Infrastructure Group Texas LLC, an engineering consortium of four firms. He also worked 15 years for Texas DOT’s Amarillo District.

Oliver Hoehne, Douglas Stencil
NEW YORK, NY—Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) has announced the appointments of Oliver Hoehne as a senior engineering manager in its Newark, NJ, office and Douglas Stencil as a senior supervising engineer in the Orlando, FL, office.

Hoehne has 18 years of experience in systems engineering and systems integration, with 13 years in rail and transit projects. He previously served as a project engineering manager for Siemens Transportation Systems on a large capital project for MTA New York City Transit.

In his new position, Stencil will be responsible for developing and implementing safety and security programs for the Central Florida Commuter Rail system, a new commuter railroad being managed by PB. He joins PB from Veolia Transportation, where he served as manager of safety and training for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority/Tri-Rail in Pompano Beach. Stencil has 34 years of experience, 21 of them with Amtrak.

Mark Isaak
MIAMI, FL—Mark Isaak, P.E., has been promoted to director of sales and strategy for the Transportation Service of PBS&J, an Atkins company.

Over his past seven years with PBS&J, Isaak has managed the service’s transportation business in the central and western U.S., including sales and prepositioning, staff development, and technical production activities. Earlier he was project director for the firm’s West Florida Program Management Services, with responsibility for four state and local general engineering consultant contracts.

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