Photo by Mitch Wood

APTA has joined forces with the White House and DOT to build broader awareness of the importance of public transportation to the Hispanic community and encourage even more engagement in shaping transportation policy. At the request of the White House and DOT, APTA Chair Flora Castillo and APTA President & CEO Michael Melaniphy convened a group of Hispanic public transportation leaders to discuss issues and develop outreach strategies. In conjunction with the Legislative Conference, they met with Julie Rodriguez, White House associate director of Latino affairs. Attending the meeting were, from left: Frank Alejandro, chief operations officer, Los Angeles Metro; Jose Bustamante, vice president of rail, RK&K; Flora Castillo, APTA chair and New Jersey Transit Corporation board member; Rosa Navejar, president, The Rios Group; Kathy Waters, APTA vice president-member services; Rodriguez; Melaniphy; Bryna Helfer, DOT director of public engagement; Terry Solis, the Solis Group; Brian Farber, FTA associate administrator; Angie Malpiede, board member, Regional Transportation District, Denver; and Maria Elena Juarez, DOT associate director, intergovernmental affairs. James de LaLoza, senior vice president, AECOM, participated by phone.