After stepping down for personal reasons in 2018, he will resume the role, duties, and responsibilities of the position effective immediately.
Julie Timm becomes the sixth CEO and the first female CEO in the agency's history.
Scott Avedisian, who has served as Mayor of Warwick since 2000, was chair of the RIPTA board from 2012 to 2016.
Parker is credited with launching a top-to-bottom transformation of MARTA at a time when it was still reeling from staggering budget deficits, declining ridership and a poor public image.
If Alex Clifford is offered the position of CEO/GM at the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District and accepts it, Metra estimates that its total savings to the agency from his severance agreement could top $200,000.
Donald A. Orseno, a lifelong railroader, will take the helm. Since joining Metra in 1984, he has held a variety of positions, ranging from senior trainmaster to deputy executive director/chief operations officer.
Board members are conducting interviews on Friday to replace Alex Clifford, who was ousted in June. Some board members say the lead candidate is Don Orseno, the interim executive director.
Having a strong financial background as well as some knowledge of the hydrogen fuel vehicles SunLine has pushed in the past were key skills stressed by board members.
With more than 25 years of experience working in the industry, Kenneth McDonald said he applied for the position because of all the good things he had heard about the transit system.
Keith Parker noted that services need to be fixed in order to gain support for system expansion.