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11/10/2020
The Regional Transportation District of Denver (RTD) yesterday welcomed Debra Johnson as the agency's new chief executive and general manager.
Johnson – the first woman to assume the role in the agency's 51-year history – takes the reins during a transitional year at RTD, with service changes and budget challenges brought about by the pandemic. She succeeds Paul Ballard, who led RTD on an interim basis since February.
Johnson's first day included early-morning visits to RTD’s operating divisions and a virtual meeting with all of the agency’s employees, RTD officials said in a press release.
During an agency-wide address, she told employees that they should expect to see her out and about across the system, as she embarks on a learning phase.
"Collectively, we can ensure that we come out stronger than we are now, in the sense that we have been faced with some unprecedented challenges, some untraveled terrain," Johnson said. "But what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, in the sense that we can leverage the experiences that we have garnered thus far and move forward and present RTD 2.0."
Most recently, Johnson served as deputy CEO of Long Beach Transit in Southern California.