Meet Our National Chair

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Shirley A. DeLibero, dubbed throughout the transit industry as the "Queen of Transit," has spent
the last twenty-eight (28) years in the transit industry.

Ms. DeLibero started her career in her native city of Boston at the MBTA where she served as project manager rehabilitating old PCC cars. She then became Superintendent of the Green Line. From Boston she went to Washington, DC to WMATA where she served as Director of Bus Services and was later promoted to Assistant General Manager, overseeing the bus system for seven (7) years and the rail system for one (1) year. From WMATA, she moved to Dallas to become the Deputy Executive Director for the DART system. As number 2 at DART, sheheaded the day to day operations of the agency. While at DART, the rail system became a priority and was under design when Ms. DeLibero left to fulfill her dream of running a transit system. In 1990, she went to New Jersey Transit to become the Executive Director of the third largest transit authority. During Ms. DeLibero's tenure, many new rail lines and bus and rail facilities were built.

In December of 1998, the Mayor of Houston called upon Ms. DeLibero to come and fulfill his dream of building Houston's first rail line after his predecessors had studied and debated it for thirty (30) years. In 1999, she accepted the challenge and went to Houston to become the President and CEO of METRO. Ms. DeLibero achieved much advancement with the bus system, but the most significant accomplishment was building the light rail system that opened January 1, 2004. The light rail system was built ahead of schedule, under budget and solely with local money. She credits this success to the team of fine employees and a good project management team.

Ms. DeLibero has had a very successful career in the public sector and on April 30, 2004 retired to join the private sector, starting her own consulting company. Today, she is the President of DeLibero Transportation Strategies, LLC. She is the recipient of numerous awards and has been featured in many magazine articles and leadership books. She has been very active with several organizations and committees. Currently, Ms. DeLibero serves as COMTO's National Chair and previously served as APTA's Chair in 1999 and COMTO's First Vice Chair.

Ms. DeLibero was inducted into APTA's Hall of Fame in 2006 and received the Sharon Banks award for Innovative Leadership in Transportation from the Transit Research Board (TRB) in 2007. She says the highlight of her career was to build the rail system in Houston, which she calls "against all odds," and to have the Board of Directors honor her by naming the rail operations building ‘The Shirley A. DeLibero Rail Operations Center.' Being named to the APTA Hall of Fame is an honor and the culmination of a dream three decades in the making.

COMTO: Meet Our National Chair

Meet Our National Chair