Inside Connections - May 7, 2025

May 7, 2025

RTD announces selection of Kelly Mackey as CFO

Kelly Mackey joins the agency Monday and brings more than two decades of financial and operational expertise to her new role. As Chief Financial Officer, she will oversee the agency’s $1.4 billion budget, steward resources with fiscal integrity on behalf of the agency’s more than 3,000 employees, and drive financial strategies that support RTD’s mission to make lives better through connections.

Click the link below to read a memo from General Manager and CEO Debra A. Johnson announcing Mackey’s appointment yesterday.

Memo

Civil Rights team member achieves agency first with ADA certification

The Civil Rights Division is proud to recognize Civil Rights Administrator Tim Dean for earning the ADA Coordinator Training Certification Program (ACTCP) credential from the ADA National Network – making him the first person in the agency to receive this distinguished certification.

Read more on the Hub

There is only a week left to take the 2025 Employee Survey! By making time to share their thoughts, employees can make a direct impact on their work experience at the agency. The survey takes 5-10 minutes to complete.

Take the 2025 Employee Survey

K-9 teams from across the region train at Elati

On April 30, the team at Elati welcomed some unusual visitors: eight trained police dogs and their handlers. For four hours that day, the K-9 teams took a run of the facility to search for substances placed in lockers and offices inside the building and on trains in the yard. The training exercise provided the animals with new experiences, such as walking track ballast and the inside of a rail car, to prepare them to navigate potential conditions and environments in which they might work. Beyond RTD-PD, attending agencies included sheriff’s offices in Adams, Arapahoe, Denver and Jefferson counties, as well as U.S. Mint Police in Denver. All the K-9s have been trained to detect explosives.

The exercise is the second time K-9 teams have come to Elati to train – but the first time they could work outside. During a smaller initial visit on Feb. 19, 20-degree weather led four handler teams to practice indoors in the shop. Last week’s visit was led by Light Rail Transportation Operations Manager Matt Alonzo and Transit Police Officer Keith Cambra, a handler to Koa, a Belgian Malinois. RTD-PD is part of the Front Range Explosives Detection K-9 Group, a collection of local agencies that have police dogs and train weekly. Other agencies have expressed interest in replicating and expanding the exercise. Local SWAT teams already coordinate with Light Rail Maintenance supervisors to conduct training on trains.

“It was just a great activity all the way around, and we've talked about what they want to see next,” Alonzo said. That could be hosting another exercise in a different manner, for example, or enabling a K-9 team to board a train while in service at a station. These visits, he noted, “create bigger collaboration for the safety of our system.”

Every day across the Denver metro area, RTD employees are making lives better through connections. The agency is proud to spotlight our exceptional workforce who go above and beyond in their roles and embody RTD’s core values. Join us in celebrating colleagues who personify the values of passion, respect, diversity, trustworthiness, collaboration and ownership.

Several Customer Care employees help customer with FlexRide pickup

The FlexRide driver wasn't reading the manifest correctly and refused to pick up a customer at the specified location. I had to call several times to resolve the issue. It was a very bad situation. I wanted to commend several agents and a supervisor in Customer Care who assisted us that day.

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Bus operator returns groceries to customer who left them on bus

Jhonny Jeanty was so wonderful. I forgot my wallet. I had to go back into King Soopers and I forgot my groceries on the bus. The bus driver called dispatch, and they had Jhonny bring back my groceries. I am very thankful.

> Read more <

May’s Operator of the Month is Leann Neverdahl from Platte Division. Neverdahl was selected after rendering assistance to a customer who had fallen due to a medical issue. She reported the incident to dispatch and remained with the customer in the snowy weather until emergency services arrived. Neverdahl went to great lengths to aid the customer, such as contacting her husband to get medical information and relaying it to first responders.

“Leann exemplifies what it means to be a leader in mobility and a true ambassador of RTD’s commitment to customer excellence,” Assistant Manager of Platte Division Kalee Wallace said.

Meet Leann

Sergio Rubio

Dispatcher (formerly Bus Operator)

Jim Burch

LRT Field Supervisor (formerly Train Operator)

Ernest Garcia

Street Supervisor (formerly Bus Operator)

Peyton Paxton

Supervisor, Service and Cleaning (formerly Parts Clerk)

Anthony Benedict

Lead Street Supervisor (formerly Street Supervisor)

Mckenzie Glick

LRT Field Supervisor (formerly Training Instructor)

Kibrom Hagos

Street Supervisor (formerly Bus Operator)

Alejandro Silva

Lead Division Supervisor (formerly Division Supervisor)

Eugene Fuller

Talent Acquisition Partner (formerly Business Employment Coordinator)

Zachary Bales

Supervisor, Revenue Systems (formerly Electronic Technician, Revenue Systems)

Dee Garcia

Transit Police Officer (formerly Bus Operator)

Any employees interested in similar opportunities in the future should visit RTD's Careers page.

Youth on Transportation: Learn the signs. Take action. Make a difference.

CONTENT WARNING: This story contains sensitive subject matter that some individuals may find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.

As part of Youth on Transportation Safety Month, RTD is continuing efforts to educate customers, employees and community members about the warning signs of human trafficking and how to report suspicious activity. Human trafficking is a severe form of exploitation of another person involving force, fraud or coercion for labor or sex. Safe House Project estimates that there are more than 5,400 victims of human trafficking in Colorado annually.

Recognizing Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking occurs when individuals are made to perform commercial sex through the use of force, fraud or coercion. Any child under 18 who is involved in commercial sex is legally a victim of trafficking, regardless of whether there is a third party involved.

Recognizing Labor Trafficking

Labor trafficking includes situations where men, women and children are forced to work through threats and/or violence. Keeping victims isolated—physically or emotionally—is a key method of control in most labor trafficking situations. But that does not mean you don't cross paths with someone who is experiencing trafficking.

Visit National Human Trafficking Hotline to learn more about recognizing the signs of human trafficking. RTD employees are also encouraged to complete Truckers Against Trafficking’s half-hour transit training course, which is specifically designed to help transit professionals recognize and report suspected trafficking. Click here to enroll in the course.

Get involved with Community Engagement at events this month

RTD’s Community Engagement team is looking for volunteers to assist with several youth outreach events across the metro area in May, such as a college student customer appreciation event, a multilingual education resource fair, an end-of-the-school-year celebration and a touch-a-truck event. Click the link below to learn more and to sign up for the events.