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Meet the RTC Directors

Mr. Gibson serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County (RTC). The RTC is an integrated transportation agency serving as the metropolitan planning organization, public transit operator and street and highway agency for the citizens of the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area and unincorporated Washoe County, which includes a portion of the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Since his appointment in 2009, Mr. Gibson has focused on customer service, partnerships, collaboration, and reducing agency operating costs, as well using alternative project and program delivery methods. The results include:
·       Reducing agency operating cost by over 30 percent while delivering the largest multimodal construction program in the agency’s history.
·       Restructuring the transit system to reduce operating costs while improving customer satisfaction with improved on time performance and innovative services such as the RTC RAPID bus rapid transit project;
·       Executing a shared services initiative between the RTC and the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency for regional economic forecasting and mapping.
·       Broader community outreach program and introduction of Construction Manager at Risk delivery methods.
Mr. Gibson is making the RTC a leader in sustainability and transportation. The RTC adopted a Sustainability Policy, achieved LEED certification for two recently opened transit centers, and obtained recognition for the development of Complete Streets and sustainable highway design throughout the Truckee Meadows. The region was designated as a Bicycle Friendly Community by the American League of Bicyclists and one of the RTC’s major roadway projects - the SouthEast Connector - was recently recognized by the Federal Highway Administration as a project worthy of demonstrating sustainable design practices. Other accomplishments include obtaining a Transportation Investment for Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions (TIGGER) FTA grant to purchase and demonstrate electric bus technologies as well as winning an FTA State of Good Repair grant to replace older fixed route vehicles with newer fuel efficient hybrids. 
Prior to joining the RTC, Mr. Gibson was a Vice President and Senior Professional Associate with Parsons Brinckerhoff. Lee also worked at the RTC of Southern Nevada from 1989 through 2002 as the Planning Manager for the metropolitan planning organization function and then as Assistant General Manager for Transit where he led the initial development of the Bus Rapid Transit program.
Industry and Community Involvement
Mr. Gibson is a founding member of the Northern Nevada Transportation Collaborative (NNTC), a coalition of business and government leaders, academic researchers, transportation professionals and citizens dedicated to promoting transportation as key tool for economic revitalization, quality of life, and sustainability. In 2012, Mr. Gibson will be the Chairman of the Nevada Executive Committee for Transportation Safety where he works withstate and local agencies to champion safety policies for all modes of transportation. He is also a member of the TRB Planning Applications Committee and the APTA Planning and Policy Committee. 

 

Tom Taelour joined the RTC in 1983 as Finance Manager and in 1999 assumed the position of Chief Financial Officer, with responsibility for all aspects of RTC's finance, accounting and risk management. Under Tom's management, the RTC has received awards from the Government Finance Officers' Association (GFOA) for the Distinguished Budget Presentation and for the Certificate of Achievement in Excellence for Financial Reporting for the last 20 years. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Nevada Society of Certified Public Accountants.

   

David Jickling has worked for the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) since 1991. He began his career in multi-modal transportation planning and transit operations 22 years ago at the City of Tucson. David was appointed RTC's first Director of Public Transportation in November 2001, assuming responsibility for operational planning and management of all contracted public transportation functions of the RTC.

 

Jeff Hale has been named the agency’s engineering director. Before joining RTC, Hale worked in construction and project management for the Nevada Department of Transportation. He was responsible for the I-15 north design-build project in Las Vegas, the state’s first large-scale design-build highway construction project. Hale earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from California State University, Chico.

 

Amy McAbee Cummings is the new planning director. She was previously with the planning and engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff where she was Nevada Planning Manager. She brings experience in managing complex multi-modal transportation studies, National Environmental Policy Act analysis and efforts to link sustainable transportation planning with land use planning. Cummings earned a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Maryland, College Park and is working toward a master’s degree in history and historic preservation at the University of Nevada, Reno.

  

Steve Burlie has over 20 years experience in human resources, process improvement, negotiating and consulting. He joined the RTC in August 2004. Steve has responsibility for Administrative Services, which includes human resources, information technology, security, safety and strategic planning. He is a graduate of California State University at Los Angeles and the Executive Program at the Anderson School at U.C.L.A. Steve is a Certified Compensation Professional with WorldatWork.