Resource Center

Session Description: As the transit industry accelerates toward zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) adoption, a comprehensive workforce strategy is essential for a successful transition. This session focused on creating effective plans for workforce development, implementing targeted training programs with an emphasis on safety, and ensuring long-term success in transitioning to ZEVs. Attendees learned about applied research, innovative training solutions, and technical assistance designed to help transit agencies develop a skilled workforce equipped to support zero-emission technologies.

Moderator:

• Jason Macumber: Senior Advisor of Workforce Development and Technology – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center

Speakers:

• Eliseo Acosta Jr: Workforce Development Coordinator – Amalgamated Transit Union
• Mark Finnicum: Chief Operation Officer – Stark Area Regional Transit Authority
• Molly King: Deputy Associate Administrator for Research, Demonstration, and Innovation – Federal Transit Administration
• Jennifer Sweten: Director of Operations – Missoula Urban Transportation District
• Billy Terry: Director – National Transit Institute (NTI)

MC24 ZEV Transition Strategy Workshop slides

Session Description: Consistent with FTA’s strategic goal of driving workforce recruitment, this session explored successful models and strategies for increasing awareness of transit careers among potential workers. Presenters also focused on approaches to recruiting and retaining individuals from diverse backgrounds, emphasizing engagement with the communities transit serves. Through discussions of hands-on initiatives, mentoring and training programs, and partnerships between transit agencies and community organizations, this session explored various ways transit systems can create sustainable pipelines to attract and retain talent from communities of different sizes and demographics.

Moderator: 

• David Stephen: Senior Communications Specialist – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center

Speakers:

• Scott Joiner: Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition – Bi-State Development/Metro Transit (St. Louis)
• Adam Parast: Enterprise and Strategic Initiatives Lead – King County Metro (WA)
• Antonio Pollard: Organizer – Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 (DC)
• Dan Stoffer: Manager, Bus Instruction – Metro Transit (MN)
• Jaymi Swarbrick: Director of Human Resources – Merrimack Valley Transit (MeVa – MA)
• Trenise Winters: Assistant Executive Director – Bi-State Development/Metro Transit (St. Louis)

MC24 Successful Models for Career Awareness slides

Session Description: Transit workers operate in a challenging environment in close contact with the public. Recent years have seen an increase in assaults on transit vehicles and in transit facilities, making the protection of transit workers and riders a crucial goal for the industry. This presentation will feature perspectives from research, transit agency labor and management, and the federal government. Panelists shared updates on transit assault trends, examples of mitigation strategies identified through engagement with agency leaders and frontline workers, innovations in operator workspace design, and models of successful joint labor-management safety planning through FTA’s updated PTASP rule.

Moderator:

• Lisa Staes: Associate Director – Center for Urban Transportation Research

Speakers:

• Lisa Staes: Associate Director – Center for Urban Transportation Research
• Russell Bateman: Training and Education Administrator – Amalgamated Transit Union
• Andrew Falotico: Health and Safety Director – Amalgamated Transit Union
• Alexander Houck: Deputy Chief Safety Officer – Maryland Transit Administration
• Stewart Mader: Senior Program Analyst for Safety Policy – Federal Transit Administration
• Michael McMillan: President and Business Agent – Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1300 (MD)

MC24 Transit Worker Safety slides

Session Description: This session explored ways to increase the number of women in careers in the transit trades through initiatives and partnerships that provide support and opportunities for advancement and training. Panelists addressed the barriers to employment women face in entering frontline transit careers, the types of outreach and support that can increase employment, and described the programs and services that help women thrive in frontline transit careers. Transit agencies and union representatives outlined initiatives designed to increase the representation of women in the transit trades, and women in the industry spoke about their first-hand experiences, the opportunities they have been afforded, and the critical role that workplace culture, programs, and policies played in their success. Attendees also heard about opportunities to engage with federal partners, such as the USDOL Women’s Bureau program and the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) program.

Moderator: 

• Karitsa Holdzkom: Senior Policy Analyst – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center

Speakers:

• Annmarie Carmody: Senior Communications Associate – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center
• Shannon Arms: Operations Manager – Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
• Laila Bofia: Utility Mechanic – Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA)
• Tisha Carroll: Workforce Development Program Manager – Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA)
• Lee Gibson, DBA: Talent Acquision Manager – Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA)
• Charles Jenkins: Director – Transport Workers Union Local 100, New York City Transit Training & Upgrading Fund
• Celeste Kirkland: Power Division Vice Chair/Safety Inspector – Transport Workers Union Local 100 (NYC)
• Nicole Neri: Regional Administrator – U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau
• Yvette Trujillo: International Executive Vice President – Amalgamated Transit Union

MC24 Women in Transit Trades slides

Session Description: This session explored mental health and wellness among frontline transit workers, offering actionable insights from the latest research, practical applications, and best practices. Presenters also highlighted the role and importance of workforce development strategies in promoting a healthier, more productive workforce, and its potential organizational impacts, such as reduced turnover and absenteeism.

Moderator: 

• Karen Philbrick: Executive Director/CEO – Mineta Transportation Institute

Speakers:

• Janie Berry: Deputy Director of Human Resources –Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
• Sandy Brennan: Vice President and Project Manager – Foursquare Integrated Transportation Planning
• Michael Coplen: President & Founder – TrueSafety Evaluation, LLC
• John Courtney: Amalgamated Transportation Union Representative – Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265
• Ed Watt: Principal – WattADR

MC24 Transit Worker Mental Health slides

Session Description: This session was designed to enhance learner engagement by utilizing interactive learning techniques. Through a discussion led by a panel of seasoned instructional designers from diverse backgrounds, the workshop demonstrated how to translate material into engaging activities through the use of storytelling, gamification, and real-world problem-solving exercises. Additionally, the workshop showcased a blend of traditional methods and innovative technology tools to create learner-centered instructional experiences that promote critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration through group work and discussions.

Speakers:

• Julie Deibel-Pundt: Program Director, Instructional Design – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center
• Frank Burnett: Training Specialist – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center
• Allie Franklyn: Instructional Designer – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center
• Kristen Ribaudo: Senior Instructional Designer – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center

MC24 Engaging and Interactive Training Strategies slides

Session Description: Currently managing or expecting to begin the process of transitioning part of your fleet towards electrification? Transitioning from work with the 12- and 24-volts electrical systems in traditional diesel and CNG buses to Zero Emissions Buses (ZEBs), with upwards of 800 volts, requires a significant commitment to additional skills training and development for new and incumbent transit technicians. As a central component of a nationally-coordinated effort to help prepare frontline technicians with the training needed to meet the challenges and demands of this new technology, TWC has developed a Battery Electric Bus (BEB) familiarization course, currently delivered in partnership with National Transit Institute. This full-day session combined an in-depth introduction to key elements of the course resources, freely available to all, followed by an afternoon technical tour of a nearby ZEB maintenance facility.

Moderator:

• Jason Macumber: Senior Advisor of Workforce Development and Technology – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center

Speakers:

• Brandon Liu: Instructional Designer – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center
• Brian Markey: Chief Executive Officer – Custom Training Aids Inc.

MC24 Transition to ZEVs slides

Session Description: Want to make your workforce metrics more digestible, interactive, and insightful? Robust data can provide insights into the success of transit workforce development programs, hiring trends over time, and more, but raw data can be hard to interpret and analyze. Using TWC’s Transit Workforce Data Dashboard as a model, participants in this intensive explored methods for creating powerful and easily understandable data visualizations. These graphs and charts can support transit providers’ and unions’ efforts to measure and effectively communicate program metrics and employment trends.

Speakers:

• Andrew Carpenter: Director – National Center for Applied Transportation Technology
• Douglas Nevins: Senior Researcher – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center
• Dr. Shayna Gleason: Senior Researcher – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center
• Michaela Boneva: Research Associate – International Transportation Learning Center / Transit Workforce Center

MC24 Elevating Your Workforce Data slides