Trailblazer Tuesday Webinar Series

July 21, 2026

Trailblazer Tuesday with Nadine S. Lee

Nadine Lee is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), a 13-city transit system covering a 700-square mile service area with bus, light rail, commuter rail, and paratransit services, where she leverages the talents and expertise of 3,700 employees to deliver the People's Transit System.

Previously, Nadine was the Chief of Staff for Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). In this role, Nadine drove coordination and delivery of projects, programs, and services across the organization to provide a world-class transportation system for the citizens of Los Angeles County. Three foundational culture-transformation functions were established under her leadership: Equity and Race, Customer Experience, and the Better Bus Program. She also served as Deputy Chief Innovation Officer in Metro's Office of Extraordinary Innovation where she led the development of Vision 2028, Metro's 10-year strategic plan to increase prosperity for L.A. County through improved mobility.

Prior to arriving in Los Angeles, Nadine led the development and implementation of the Flatiron Flyer Bus Rapid Transit for Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD), a project that produced a 40% increase in corridor ridership in its first few months of service. Nadine also led the Northwest Rail and Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility projects in the FasTracks Program.

Nadine was appointed to the Leadership APTA Committee in 2019 and is a past Director on the WTS International Board. She was awarded 2019 WTS International Woman of the Year. Nadine participated in the 2019 APTA International Study Mission to explore Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) in three European cities. She also studied the role of performance management in improving service delivery in four Southeast Asia cities as part of the TCRP International Transit Studies Program. A registered Professional Engineer in Colorado and Kansas, Nadine received her B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Despite her engineering training, Nadine flexes her creative muscles in Adult Beginning Ballet several times a week and has participated in several performances.

Moderator: Dr. Karen Philbrick, Executive Director, MTI

May 19, 2026

Trailblazer Tuesday with April Rai

As President & CEO, April works to build upon COMTO’s 50-year history of ensuring transportation meets the needs of all users across 40 chapters in North America. With over 15 years of experience managing private, public sector and non-profit organizations, April’s career focus has centered on strategic partnership development, coalition building, people and project management. Under the direction of the COMTO Board of Directors Chair, Tanya Adams, April provides strategic leadership, guidance and ensures COMTO operates effectively to further the mission.

Previously, April served as Deputy Executive Director for the Women’s Transportation Seminar International (WTS), partnering with the Executive Director to achieve the WTS mission and vision. In that role, April focused on the management of operations including serving as Chief of Staff, lead on project planning and execution ensuring deliverability on time and within budget. April managed several board-level committees, strategic initiatives and worked to implement growth and retention strategies for membership, chapters, public and private partners as well as build relationships with advocacy organizations, local, state and federal stakeholders.

Prior to joining WTS, April served as the CEO for the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), a coalition of over 100 organizations and agencies dedicated to youth health and safety education. In this role, April engaged with transportation stakeholders on road safety programs, injury prevention education and workforce development initiatives.

April previously served as Manager & Affairs Analyst in the Office of the Dean at the University of Maryland, School of Nursing, directing government affairs and communications. In this role, April was responsible for managing the State of Maryland, Action Coalition, an initiative of AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

April resides in the Washington, DC metro area with her husband, and is based out of COMTO headquarters in Arlington, VA.

Moderator: Dr. Hilary Nixon, Deputy Executive Director, MTI

April 14, 2026

Trailblazer Tuesday with Michelle Bouchard 

Michelle Bouchard has served as Executive Director of Caltrain since April 2021.

She brings nearly 30 years of experience in the transit industry, with a long history of progressively senior leadership roles at Caltrain. Under her direction, Caltrain successfully completed the landmark $2.44 billion Electrification Project, which marked its one-year anniversary in September 2025 and represents the most significant transformation in the railroad’s 160-year history. The project has delivered faster, quieter, and more reliable and frequent service - benefiting both riders and the communities Caltrain serves.

In 2018, Ms. Bouchard was recognized by Railway Age as one of its “Women in Rail” for her leadership, industry contributions, and community service. She currently serves as Chair of the Commuter Rail Coalition, a national advocacy organization for commuter railroads.

Ms. Bouchard earned a BA in Economics from Brown University and an MSc in Urban and Regional Planning from the London School of Economics.

March 26, 2024

Trailblazer Tuesday with Jennifer Homendy

Jennifer Homendy [Pronounced: HAH-mendy] was sworn in as the 15th Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board in August 2021 after being nominated by the President and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Chair Homendy has served as the agency’s 44th Board Member since 2018. A tireless safety advocate, Chair Homendy has spent over two decades supporting the critical safety mission of the NTSB, the independent federal agency that investigates crashes in all modes of transportation, determines the probable causes, and issues recommendations to improve transportation safety.

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March 19, 2024

Trailblazer Tuesday with Jannet Walker-Ford

Jannet Walker-Ford is a nationally recognized transportation industry executive with WSP USA, a leading engineering and professional services consultancy. A tireless advocate for equity in transportation and the power of public transit to transform communities, Walker-Ford has more than two decades of diverse expertise including management consulting, technology, mobility, and transportation systems. With a focus on equity, sustainability and community building she has served in executive leadership and strategic advisor roles on ground-breaking programs and projects for large transit and transportation agencies across the U.S. She regularly draws on her two decades of experience for national consultancy firms and as the Deputy General Manager/Deputy CEO and CIO at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. 

In her role with WSP, she serves as the senior vice president & national transit and rail business leader, responsible for leading and growing the firm’s business in national transit and rail markets including the national practices for freight delivery, passenger rail, systems, technical project delivery, bus rapid transit and zero emissions. At every opportunity, Jannet leads with gratitude – continually recognizing her team, clients and industry partners for their contributions and accomplishments. 

Recognized by Railway Age as a 2023 Woman-in-Rail, she serves on multiple national boards including the current Chair of WTS International and the APTA Executive Committee and has received numerous awards recognizing her success and advocacy including the 2022 American Public Transportation Association’s Business Member of the Year; 2021 WTS Northeast Florida Woman of the Year, 2019 Women of Color STEM Technology All-Star Award; and a 2019 Conference of Minority Transportation Officials’ Women Who Move the Nation honoree.

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March 12, 2024

Trailblazer Tuesday with Tilly Chang

Tilly Chang serves as Executive Director of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. The Transportation Authority's mission is to make travel safer, healthier, and easier for all. The agency plans, funds, and delivers transportation projects to improve travel choices for residents, commuters, and visitors throughout San Francisco.  
 
Ms. Chang oversees the Transportation Authority's administration of San Francisco’s half-cent transportation sales tax and other voter-approved funding programs. She also leads the agency's congestion management functions, including developing the San Francisco Transportation Plan, which is the blueprint for countywide transportation policy and investment.  
 
Ms. Chang is Chair of the Self-Help Counties Coalition and serves as Vice-Chair of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority's Peninsula Rail Program Executive Steering Committee. She serves on the boards of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, UC CONNECT Advisory Committee, and Self-Help for the Elderly.

Prior to the Transportation Authority, she held posts with the World Bank, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and a wireless technology startup. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and M.I.T.

March 5, 2024

Trailblazer Tuesday with Veronica Vanterpool

Veronica Vanterpool is FTA’s Acting Administrator, assuming that role on February 24, 2024. Before that, she served as Deputy Administrator for 2 ½ years. She first joined FTA as Senior Advisor in August 2021. Ms. Vanterpool helps advance the goals of the Biden-Harris Administration related to equity, climate, innovation, safety and workforce development.

Ms. Vanterpool helps oversee policy priorities and objectives along with day-to-day operations of the 700-person agency. She created FTA’s first Data Office, a new business line in the agency dedicated to data analysis, governance and communication. She also represents FTA on the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation and serves as a member of the White House Inter Policy Council on Puerto Rico.

Ms. Vanterpool came to FTA from Delaware Transit Corporation, where she served as the agency’s first Chief Innovation Officer. Her previous roles include being the Deputy Director of the national Vision Zero Network, executive director of the New York City based Tri-State Transportation Campaign and board member of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Having served on a number of boards, commissions, task forces and working groups, Ms. Vanterpool has 17 years of experience in advocacy, policy, media communications, public outreach, coalition building and issue campaigns. She is co-founder and former president of the Delaware Chapter of WTS; a member of Latinos in Transit, and a 2023 Awardee of COMTO’s Women Who Moves the Nation. She was also selected to join the first cohort of the Biden Administration’s Presidential Leadership Workshop.

She is a native New Yorker born and raised in The Bronx.

Moderator: Karen Philbrick, PhD, Executive Director, MTI

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