Harold Williams, 90, of Woodland Park, MI, a founder of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), died May 11.

Williams was a retired FTA associate administrator and longtime director of civil rights for its predecessor organization, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration. During his tenure at DOT, under both Democratic and Republican presidents, he helped develop far-reaching regulations for equal opportunity in public transportation, including Title Vl for equal access to service, as well as regulations on employment and small, minority, and woman-owned business opportunities in all federally funded or assisted public transportation.

Following his retirement, he was a consultant to public transit agencies and DOT on issues of equal opportunity.
 Williams joined other public transit leaders to found COMTO in 1971. The organization’s board of directors named him honorary historiographer in 2002, and he worked with the board and staff to ensure the complete documentation of COMTO’s history.

COMTO has established a blog where members can post their tributes to Williams.