I am excited to announce that recently I was named to the national leadership of the Conference Of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), and have been appointed to its board of directors.  As an active member since 1997, and the chairman of its strategic planning committee, I look forward to serving as a board member of an organization that has played an instrumental role in my 16 plus years in the public transportation industry.

The mission of COMTO is to ensure a level playing field and maximum participation in the transportation industry for minority individuals, businesses and communities of color through advocacy, information sharing,training, education and professional development.  Thriving on its active volunteer members, COMTO strives to see the diverse faces of America equally reflected in alllevels of the transportation industry. 

Previously at COMTO I was hired as an independent consultant to develop and manage the first COMTO CITY Internship Program that was funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and in part by Parsons Brinckerhoff.  In nine short months we were able to hire 24 minority college students in Washington DC, Baltimore, North Carolina, and the San Francisco Bay area and provided them with 10-week long transit related internships with public transit agencies as well as private firms in the transit industry. As you may know, the COMTO CITY Internship Program has continued to be successful over the years. 

As a board member I plan to continue the growth of programs like the COMTO CITY Internship Program.  I believe that we have to continue to encourage young people to participate in our industry as part of our succession planning efforts so that we have a legacy to pass on to the next generation of transportation professionals.  I also think it is important for us to continue to advocate on the Hill so that we continue to receive the funding critical to ensure we have an industry in place to hand down. 

Cubic has been a huge supporter and corporate sponsor of COMTO for several years and I look forward to watching that relationship continue to grow.  As my work with COMTO and Cubic continues I look forward to being able to update you on our progress.