The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) announced the appointment of Denise W. Barreto as the agency’s first chief equity and engagement officer.

Barreto will lead the CTA’s ongoing efforts to deliver efficient and equitable transit services throughout its service area.

“Transit is about much more than getting from point A to point B—it’s about improving lives and communities by providing opportunities to everyone,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. "This new position will help achieve that goal, which has been my top priority since becoming CTA President. Denise Barreto has a long track record of championing equity and inclusion in Illinois, and we are thrilled to leverage her expertise to ensure the CTA’s efforts leading equity and diversity initiatives continue to advance and are institutionalized across the agency.”

Denise W. Barreto's Role with CTA

Barreto will work to further expand the CTA’s partnerships within the industry and the communities it serves to continue to advance equity initiatives and opportunities.

Barreto, a native of south Cook County, has a Bachelor of Arts in communication from Judson University and is a graduate of Bloom High School in Chicago Heights.  

Barreto served as the inaugural director of Equity and Inclusion at Cook County for the past three years and spent more than a decade as a private sector consultant to local government, corporate, and philanthropic entities. Her firm’s clients have extended into 45 Illinois government entities across six counties and close to 150 jurisdictions across the U.S.