Jeff Popovich
Chief Information Officer
Corporate Affairs Department

What are the job ­elements you focus on the most (your primary responsibilities)?

Primarily I manage the information technology infrastructure, websites, and general office services for APTA. I help make sure that staff have the necessary tools and information to support the needs of our members.

APTA has responsibility for several different websites, including www.apta.com; www.publictransportation.org, which incorporates the National Alliance of Public Transportation Advocates; APTA standards; the American Public Transportation Foundation; and the Transit Cooperative Research Program.

The Information Technology Department, within Corporate Affairs, collaborates and consults with industry leaders on technical issues and usage affecting their business. We work with outside groups to further our role in public ­transit technology.

For example, we’re in the process of working with the Transportation Research Board to create a tech portal. The APTA Research and Technology Committee will oversee this portal, which will provide videos, white papers, and other resources—a good place for public transit leaders to learn about these technologies. We will solicit content from the industry, making sure it is not vendor-specific, and ultimately this content will be accessible from the APTA website.

Do you have direct ­contact with APTA members? If so, please talk about the two most recent times you’ve helped out a member.

My contact with APTA members ranges from the basic—people having trouble resetting their passwords on the website or finding information—to participating in technology peer reviews at APTA member sites. Recently I received a call from a member looking for some specific information. I put the member in touch with another member who I knew had that information. I see part of my job as connecting members and helping them achieve their goals.

I also collaborate with public transit CIOs, primarily at agencies but also some business members. Recently I was invited to New York to be a judge for a “hackathon” hosted by APTA member Clever Devices. The teams were challenged to create unique visualization techniques based on transit bus datasets.

What initiatives, projects, or programs have you worked on at APTA that you have taken particular pride in completing?

I am a graduate of the Leadership APTA Class of 2012. Through my participation in the program, I became more interested in making information technology especially relevant to our members so we can present them with information and guidance they need to succeed. I’m proud of my accomplishments through Leadership APTA. The year-long process gave me an opportunity to see the nitty-gritty details of public transit operations, allowing me to experience what my peers deal with at their agencies every day. My Leadership APTA team gave a presentation on the uses of social media in public transportation. It’s linked at the APTA website.

Sustainability is another important part of my work for APTA. We’ve done a lot to enhance our green activities at APTA and reduce our carbon footprint. In IT, one of our major green efforts has been to create a virtualized data center. In the past, APTA had 16 different servers providing a range of services to the staff and members, but now we have only five physical machines doing the same work. Software technology has allowed us to virtually create servers while using less hardware, which uses less electricity, ­produces less heat and, by reducing cooling costs, adds to the energy savings.

We have also converted many hard-copy processes to online formats: Leadership APTA applications and review, APTA Board of Directors nomination forms and review, APTF scholarship applications and selections, committee collaboration websites, and general web services. In conjunction with the Policy Department, we’re beginning to digitize the resources in the APTA Information Center.

How did you “land” at APTA? How long have you worked here?

I saw the job online and applied. I had previously been working with a children’s literacy organization as its head of IT. I was looking for a new challenge and wanted to stay in an industry that I could be proud to say I worked in. That was six and a half years ago. It seems like yesterday.

Could you tell us something about yourself that might surprise us?

AI served in the U.S. Navy as a member of the Presidential Honor Guard. One unit of each branch of the military is considered the president’s own; we were the sailors who march in parades in ­Washington, DC, perform at ceremonies at the White House and ­Pentagon, and perform burial ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. Only 160 members of the entire Navy serve in this unit at any given time. It was a great honor.

Make sure you see Jeff Popovich's video, now that you've read this!