Get to Know TWC’s Teams

Get to Know TWC’s Teams

Since its inception in September 2021, TWC team members have interacted with public transportation organizations and individuals from across the county who work in the industry. From in-person consultations to webinars and presentations, TWC’s resources and the people developing and working with them have served a range of needs. For those interested in reaching out to and working with TWC, here’s a breakdown of TWC’s program teams for a general understanding of their focus areas. Team leads are listed first, in italics.

Career Pathways: Karitsa Holdzkom, Maurice Beard, Jack Clark, Pat Greenfield, Jason Macumber, John Schiavone

The Career Pathways team works to advance workforce development strategies and initiatives that effectively support frontline worker training, retention, and the creation of career pipeline and career ladder programs built on a foundation of labor-management collaboration and community and education partnerships.  Apprenticeship and mentorship programs produce highly effective outcomes and are a key focus for this group. Career Pathways manages TWC’s apprenticeship network, the American Transit Trainers and Apprenticeship Innovators Network (ATTAIN), providing individual and location-based technical assistance around apprenticeship and mentorship to members of the network, engaging the group through periodic events, and facilitating dialogue and peer-to-peer learning opportunities. 

Communications: David Stephen, Alashia Bryant, Annmarie Carmody, Pat Greenfield, Sudan Smith, Xinge Wang

The Communications Team plays a central role in relaying TWC’s objectives, while also developing materials, resources, career stories, and presentations on recruitment and retention initiatives gathered in #ConnectingMyCommunity – the national transit frontline worker recruitment campaign. The team shares news and updates about TWC’s work, as well as information about activities at transit locations across the country through the e-newsletter, Pulse, and TWC’s social media channels. The team also provides strategic communication support to assist other teams in their work and programs to support workforce development nationwide.

Finance and Administrative: Liz Waller, Joyce Williams

The Finance and Administrative team provides as-needed support for all team members’ activities, especially in-person conference and meeting logistics, virtual meeting logistics, and travel. The team also directs queries from the public to the appropriate team for follow-up and handles all TWC financial obligations and required internal and external reporting.

Funding Opportunities: Karitsa Holdzkom, Shayna Gleason, Doug Nevins, Liz Waller, Xinge Wang

Through resources on the TWC website, presentations, and events, the Funding Opportunities team provides the transit industry with useful information on how to compete for and make use of funding. The team researches and identifies funding sources that can support workforce development activities in public transit, and it monitors notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) from various sources, including agencies within the federal government, and posts those relevant to public transportation workforce development on the TWC website. The Funding Opportunities team also assists transit agencies by exploring ways to use workforce development funding grantees receive through FTA’s Low-No grants or Urbanized Area formula funds.

Instructional Design: Julie Deibel-Pundt, Marina Budeyeva, Allie Franklyn, Amri Joyner, Addie Khanu, Brandon Liu, Arnett Powell, Kristen Ribaudo, Jessie Supervielle

The Instructional Design team works with transit agencies and their partners to develop frontline-focused courseware materials, training resources, and curriculum. It also organizes and coordinates with public transportation agencies to engage in training consortia (Elevator/Escalator, Signals, Rail Car, and Traction Power). Instructional Design team members deliver Train-the-Trainer courses at transit agencies nationwide to help foster an agency’s internal training capability. Additionally, the team works on various training and design work when projects are established, including but not limited to ZEB training and resource development.

Research: Xinge Wang, Doug Nevins, Michaela Boneva, Shayna Gleason

The Research Team conducts applied research and data analysis projects to support promising and innovative practices in transit workforce development. The team produces and curates resources to disseminate through TWC’s Resource Center, continually updates and further develops the Transit Workforce Data Dashboard, and conducts case study research on transit locations around the United States.  

Technical Assistance: Amri Joyner, Alashia Bryant

The Technical Assistance team provides specialized workforce development support to public transportation agencies across the United States. Core team members handle initial requests for assistance, ensuring those requests reach the appropriate TWC subject matter experts for response, resources, and consultations. The team tracks assistance requests and generates comprehensive reports on workforce development trends, challenges, and successes by region, transit mode, and other relevant factors. To ensure accessibility, TWC offers technical assistance through various channels, including in-person consultations, social media, the TWC website, email, and a toll-free phone line.

Zero-Emission and New Technologies: Jason Macumber, Maurice Beard, Jack Clark, Brandon Liu, John Schiavone

The Zero-Emission and New Technologies (ZEB) team at TWC is dedicated to developing resources, presentations, training materials, and technical assistance to support transit’s workforce as agencies move toward sustainable transit solutions that require expertise in a range of current and emerging technologies. The team has worked collaboratively with other organizations on national standards for zero-emission buses, has developed a Battery Electric Bus Familiarization course, and is working on hydrogen fuel integration. The team’s work helps support a workforce-based focus on a safe and efficient transition to cleaner, more efficient public transportation systems.