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MEET THE APTA STAFF |
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Meet Eugene F. Reed!
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Eugene F. Reed
Program Manager-Standards Support
Member Services Department
What are your primary responsibilities?
 My primary responsibilities are to assist APTA staff, volunteers and contractors with the development of APTA standards.
I serve as the primary resource for maintaining standards, related webpages and work group collaboration websites. I collaborate with program managers in the APTA Standards Development Program to ensure the timely delivery of documents. I created and maintain a database of published documents, new documents and pending documents for each working group. Additionally, I provide training and educational tools for volunteers and staff related to the use of the standards’ database and collaboration sites. | Do you have direct contact with APTA members? If so, please talk about recent times you’ve helped out a member.
Yes, I have direct contact with members every day, mostly in a troubleshooting capacity. For example, I help members search for a specific standard, login correctly to their working group collaboration site and provide instruction for how they can use their collaboration site more effectively.
Most recently, I showed a member how to use the new search feature to locate documents in the APTA Standards Program Published Document Library.
What initiatives, projects or programs have you worked on at APTA that you have taken particular pride in completing?
Shortly after I joined APTA, I was tasked with cataloguing all standards the association has produced. The number of documents was astounding and laid the foundation for my work today. Now I have a firm grasp of the number of documents that exist, which standards are in need of updates, what is in development and where the gaps are.
As a new employee, I’ve tried to familiarize myself with transit-related issues, challenges and policies while growing my network to include transportation professionals.
I’ve also participated in staff activities like the APTA chili cook-off, where I took home the second-place title; the green initiative, which focuses on APTA’s green and sustainability activities; and the work groups on effective meeting management, APTA’s culture and metrics and committee staff advisors. These internal working groups create excellent opportunities for me to participate in team building activities with a variety of staff members with whom I would not otherwise interact.
When did you land at APTA?
I’ve worked for APTA for eight months, and that period has been a true crash course introducing me to the concerns that must be addressed prior to the first passenger ever requesting a mode of public transit. I find the industry exciting and full of opportunities to improve the lifestyle of millions of Americans. Put simply, “Where public transportation goes, community grows.”
I am extremely happy for the opportunity to work on the APTA team, make a valuable contribution and advance the mission of the association.
Have you held other jobs in the public transportation industry?
No, I am new to public transportation, at least from the business side. However, I have used public transportation for the better part of the last 12 years to get to work, social and sporting events throughout the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.
Personally, I am utterly fascinated by the research and energy being spent to implement a dedicated high-speed rail system in North America.
What professional affiliations do you have?
I am a member of the American Society of Association Executives and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Both organizations are committed to executive leadership training and the latter also works with succession planning and community outreach in minority communities.
Could you tell us something about yourself that might surprise us?
These days I make a conscious effort to maintain a healthier work-life balance. Rather than considering my professional achievements or failures to be the primary focus of my life, I choose to make more time for family, health, leisure and spiritual pursuits while devoting a reasonable amount of energy to managing my ambition and career opportunities.
When I do a job, I make a concerted effort to complete it either on time or early, not simply completing the task but achieving the goal. I like to transform the projects I work on, taking them from one point and evolving them to their fullest potential. My motto is simply “make more or want less,” and that’s applicable in any context.
I consider myself an eternal student, constantly learning new and innovative approaches to common problems to share with my colleagues, family or friends in a mutual exchange for sharing and learning. In short, how can I be better than I was yesterday?
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