26 Apr Trinity Metro names Richard Andreski new president and CEO
Trinity Metro will be under new leadership starting June 20 following an eight-month nationwide search for a new CEO and president.
Richard Andreski will join the agency from Connecticut, where he has served as the bureau chief for public transportation since 2015. He will replace interim CEO and President Paul Ballard, who took the position in November 2021.
During his time in Connecticut, he led a team of 110 planners, engineers and rail and transit professionals while overseeing an operating budget of $850 million. Trinity Metro’s current operating budget is $129.1 million for fiscal year 2022.
As bureau chief, Andreski was responsible for Connecticut’s bus rapid transit system, the CTfastrak, and its passenger rail line, New Haven Line, according to a press release. Andreski, who described himself as a believer in public transit, said he’s excited to see Trinity Metro’s potential as a great transit system.
“Fort Worth is one of the fastest-growing places in the country and Trinity Metro has a pretty visionary board,” Andreski told the Fort Worth Report. “There’s a strong feeling that growth and the opportunity to grow in a more constructive way and attract talent, headquarters and Fortune 500 businesses.”
Previously, he worked in various positions at New Jersey Transit between 1999 and 2015 as a bus service planner, capital planning manager, director of operations, coordination and policy and director of Trans-Hudson planning.
Andreski hopes to build on some of the projects already in place and even accelerate some of them to leverage federal funds, including the rapid bus system and the Lancaster Corridor project. He also wants to work on building consensus about transit and work with the business community and city officials.
The incoming CEO said he understands Texans have more skepticism about public transportation compared with his previous employer, but he plans to work on educating the public about transit’s important role in economic development.
“We have to tell our story. We can’t expect folks to just intuitively understand why transit matters,” Andreski said. “It’s about getting out and talking about the role of transit and attracting talent in relieving congestion, in making the community more attractive and improving the quality of life.”
About Richard Andreski
Andreski holds a bachelor of science in biology from Lafayette College and a master’s of city and regional planning from the Edwards J. Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy at Rutgers University. He also completed the Jurisdictional Crisis Incident Management Program from Texas A&M Engineering Extension and is a graduate of the APTA Leadership Program in 2009.
Ballard, the interim president, oversaw the agency following the retirement of the previous CEO and President Bob Baulsir, who left in October 2021 because of health reasons. Ballard previously led Trinity Metro as CEO and president for five years until April 2019.
During this time as interim leader, Ballard worked to re-establish the partnerships between transit advocates, the agency and the city following COVID-19’s two-year shut-down.
Ballard will remain in Fort Worth through the end of June to help Andreski transition to his new role.
“The board has picked someone who has a great knowledge of multimodal transportation. He has extensive experience in the bus end, and also in the rail and, and that’s one of the things I think was of particular interest to the board,” Ballard said.
Trinity Metro’s board of directors worked with executive search firm Krauthamer & Associates, LLC to conduct a national search for a permanent replacement.
“After an exhaustive national search, the Trinity Metro Board of Directors agreed that Rich is the best choice for leading our agency to even greater success,” Jeff Davis, chairman of the Trinity Metro board of directors, said in a statement. “His vast experience in public transportation and his history of building partnerships are key for the growth of Trinity Metro.”