The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced its 2012-2013 Executive Committee as voted by APTA members on Monday.

The new chair of APTA is Flora M. Castillo, Board Member of the New Jersey Transit Corporation in Newark, N.J. Castillo is APTA’s first Latina chair. Appointed by the governor to the NJ TRANSIT Board in 1999, she has been reappointed by three governors and currently chairs the NJ TRANSIT Customer Service, Safety and Security Committee, and oversees a combined capital and operating budget of nearly $3 billion. Castillo succeeds Gary C. Thomas, president/executive director, Dallas Area Rapid Transit of Dallas.

“Public transportation was an important lifeline for my family when I was young growing up in El Salvador. That is one of the reasons I am so passionate about public transportation, the people it serves, and the employees who keep the systems operating,” said Castillo. “A key APTA initiative in the next year will be the development of the next generation of public transportation leaders and workers so that we are prepared to meet the growing demand for public transit in the future.”

Peter Varga, chief executive officer of the Interurban Transit Partnership (The Rapid) in Grand Rapids, Mich., is the new vice chair, and Doran J. Barnes, executive director of Foothill Transit in West Covina, Calif., is the new secretary-treasurer.

The executive committee members are:

Chair
Flora M. Castillo, CHIE
Board Member
New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ TRANSIT)
Newark, N.J.

Vice Chair
Peter Varga
Chief Executive Officer
Interurban Transit Partnership (The Rapid)
Grand Rapids, Mich.

Secretary/Treasurer
Doran J. Barnes
Executive Director
Foothill Transit
West Covina, Calif.

Immediate Past Chair
Gary C. Thomas
President/Executive Director
Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Dallas

2012-2013 Executive Committee Members-at-Large

David J. Armijo
General Manager
AC Transit
Oakland, Calif.

Ronald L. Epstein
Chief Financial Officer
New York State Department of Transportation
Albany, N.Y.

Joseph J. Giulietti
Executive Director
South Florida Regional Transportation Authority
Pompano Beach, Fla.

Huelon Harrison
Principal
Legacy Resources Group
Dallas

Angela Iannuzziello
Vice President, Canada National Transit Market Sector Lead
AECOM
Markham, Ontario

Joseph Lhota
Chairman/CEO
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
New York, N.Y.

Crystal Lyons
Board Chairman
Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority
Corpus Christi, Texas

Reginald A. Mason
Senior Director of Transit Operations and Safety
CH2M Hill
Baltimore

Sharon McBride
Board Treasurer
Greater Peoria Mass Transit District
Peoria, Ill.

Gary W. McNeil
President
Metrolinx (GO Transit)
Toronto, Ontario

Rosa Navejar
Vice Chair
Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T)
Fort Worth, Texas

Phillip A. Washington
Regional Manager
Regional Transportation District
Denver

Charles R. Wochele
Vice President, Industry & Government Relations
ALSTOM Transportation Inc.
West Henrietta, N.Y.

Alan C. Wulkan
Managing Partner
HDR/InfraConsult, LLC
Scottsdale, AZ