Helen L. Callier
President
Bradlink LLC
Kingwood, TX
Member, APTA Business Member Board of Governors; Business Member Small Business Committee; and Sustainability Committee

How many people are employed in your business?
Bradlink, a technical services firm in business for more than 10 years, provides program management, operations and maintenance, automated fare collection, and facilities design services. It employs 25 team members.

How long have you worked in the public transportation industry?
I’ve worked in the public transportation industry for more than 20 years. This includes my indirect experience while working as a technical services manager with GE Plastics, producing resins for bus and rail vehicle components, and then as president of Bradlink working directly for public transit agencies and private clients.

How long have you been an APTA member?
I’ve been involved with APTA since 2004.

What drew you to a career in public transportation?
Some consider it a career, but I think of it as part of my DNA. Playing a role in the transportation industry is a natural progression for me after growing up in a family auto-repair business that included working on public transit agency vehicles.

As a kid, I followed my Dad around with a wrench in my hand. Later I worked on cars and then, subsequently, obtained my bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering.

After many years in corporate America, and now running Bradlink for more than 10 years, it is no surprise that our key focus and revenue generation comes from public transportation.

What have you found to be the most valuable APTA benefit or resource—the one that helps you run your business more effectively?
Being involved in the Business Member Board of Governors (BMBG) provides the greatest benefit to our firm because it provides us with keen market insights, information on legislative changes, and—most important—it allows us to nurture relationships with the transportation industry organizations and corporations in North America and around the globe. The value of these longtime industry relationships is priceless. The information shared offers a unique perspective on industry standards, needed legislation, and creative transportation solutions.

Please explain why or how this has helped.
As the president of Bradlink and the firm’s chief leader of business development, sales, and marketing efforts, the connections I make during BMBG meetings have assisted in growing our business in the transportation industry.

What do you like most about your job?
It is more than a job. Running a small business in the transportation industry is as exhilarating today as it was when I was a kid learning to fix vehicles. It is exciting to know and see projects that we have worked on help make our communities a better place to live, work, play, and pray.

Also, I enjoy listening to riders, developing strategies to solve challenges, and leading a team of dedicated people who help to move our nation, continent, and the world.

What is unique about your business—what would readers be surprised to learn?
We live and breathe the transportation marketplace! This immersion enables us to be a highly valuable resource to our clients and serve as their go-to resource.

Also, the firm’s team members are repeat users of public transit, which gives us keen insights and a creative edge on solving the transportation challenges that ultimately improve our quality of life across communities. We also use game-changing tools such as social media as an additional way to listen to passengers’ experiences. Subsequently, we’re able to leverage this information with our know-how and project experience to quickly serve our public and private transportation clients.

Make sure you see Helen L. Callier’s video, now that you've read this!