Texas’ Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority (CCRTA) is receiving a grant designed to grow transit leaders through a professional internship program under way at the agency.

With this Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Innovative Workforce Development Grant funding, the CCRTA and other transportation agencies are seeking to address is issue of aging leadership, leadership gaps by gender, evolving technological strategies and strategic collaborations, and community long-range-planning that includes a growing public transportation segment.

“With these additional resources, aspiring leaders in the growing field of public transportation will have on-the-job, professional development opportunities designed to prepare them for the multifaceted world of tomorrow’s transit,” said CCRTA CEO Scott Neeley.

The value of professional internships is not new to Neeley, who was selected for such a program by the City of Odessa, Texas, in 1990.

In addition to Neeley, two other members of the CCRTA Leadership Team: Managing Director of Strategic Planning Carl Weckenmann and Managing Director of Transportation Rosa Villarreal are also graduates of professional development internship programs. Weckenmann navigated an internship in 2001-2003 in Oklahoma City’s Metro Transit program, and Villarreal earned leadership development and practicum experience through a professional intern program in Grand Prairie, Texas in 1996.

The Management Internship Program will offer challenging learning and work opportunities in areas such as transportation management, technologies of transit, community planning logistics, and related fields such as financial forecasting and marketing, leading to career opportunities in transportation, according to the FTA.