Community Transportation

ABOUT

The CTAA Emerging Leaders Academy is designed for transportation system employees who have shown promise as a future leader through their

approach to work tasks and fellow employees
understanding of issues that impact community and public transportation
demonstrated ability to lead
embrace of principled, ethical leadership and service to the community

Those considering participation in the Academy must be committed to pursuing leadership roles within the community transportation field and being of service to their system and the field as a whole. They will also commit to participating in all activities of the Academy.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

The CTAA Emerging Leaders Academy is designed for transportation system employees who have shown promise as a future leader through their

approach to work tasks and fellow employees
understanding of issues that impact community and public transportation
demonstrated ability to lead
embrace of principled, ethical leadership and service to the community

TIME COMMITMENT

Application Deadline: Friday, September 4, 2020
First In-person Training: Monday, November 16 and Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Distance Learning and Project Work: September 2020 – June 2021
Optional D.C. Policy Day: Late February or Early March 2021
Second In-person Training: Sunday, June 13, 2021 (tentative)

WHAT'S YOUR VALUE FROM THE ELA?

Yes, the CTAA Emerging Leaders Academy is a significant time commitment, but prospective students please know that the program is absolutely respectful of your current and ongoing responsibilities at your current transit agency. Being mindful of this, we space out our Leadership Study groups throughout the year and allow ELA students ample time to work on their capstone projects and interact with their mentors as time allows. To-date, none of our ELA graduates has been unable to strike a workable balance between work responsibilities and classwork.

NEW FOR THE 2020-2021 ELA CLASS

In response to requests from current and pass ELA students, we’re pleased to announce that we’ll be adding an optional Washington, DC Transit Advocacy/Policy Field Trip (tentatively scheduled for late February or? early March, 2021) available exclusively to ELA 2020-2021 students. Students choosing to participate will walk the halls of Capitol Hill alongside CTAA Board Members and staff as well as visit with leadership at the Federal Transit Administration, discussing transit policy, funding, regulation and more. CTAA staff will make all of the Hill and Administration meeting reservations for ELA students. Please note that students choosing to take advantage of this option will have to pay for their travel, room and board individually and these costs are not part of the ELA tuition.

QUESTIONS

For questions on the Emerging Leaders Academy contact Charles Dickson at dickson@www.aifuwa.cn or (202) 247-8356.

NOTE: A minimum of 15 participants are required for the Academy to take place.

COST

The tuition for the ELA will be $3,500 per participant. This cost includes all the instruction, distance learning, and registration for EXPOs 2020 and 2021. All travel, meal, lodging, and incidental expenses will be the responsibility of the participant or the participant’s employer.

APPLY

Curriculum

The curriculum for the 2020/2021 CTAA Emerging Leaders Academy will consist of in-person training, webinars, leadership study groups, and a participant-selected project. Participants will be also be paired with mentors to allow for on-going discussion and dialog during the process. Participants will be expected to complete all assignments and participate in discussion groups with fellow participants and mentors.

01??Personal Assessment

Each participant will receive an assessment before the first session of the Academy. This assessment will measure the participant’s leadership style and strengths. Results from the assessment will allow the ELA instructors to tailor course content to meet the needs of the participants.

02??AT EXPO

An Introduction to Community Transportation
Exploration of the concept of leadership and different leadership styles
Lessons from leadership experts
Overview of the ELA process

03??Distance Learning

Creating and imparting a vision
Engaging in strategic thinking
Building strong, cohesive teams
Understanding values and ethics
Communicating effectively and with purpose
Building accountability into the agency’s work
Leadership philosophies
Understanding the current state of community transportation
Identifying and preparing for trends in mobility

04??Leadership Project

Each participant in the ELA will complete a leadership project, which will allow the participant to demonstrate leadership skills, assess and address issues in the field, and contribute to their system. The project process will consist of these phases:

Identifying the issue and garnering agency acceptance of the project
Developing a plan to define and study the issue
Engaging agency staff and people outside the organization to develop possible approaches or solutions
Selecting a course of action and presenting the project to the governing body of the organization
Developing a presentation for the 2020 Community Transportation EXPO

the future of transit

class of 2018-19

Meet the class of 2019

The Emerging Leaders Academy is a year-long academy to develop true leaders in the transit field. From 2018 to 2019, upcoming transit leaders from across the country gained increased understanding of their leadership skills, learned industry trends and became knowledgeable about what it takes to be a leader.

Throughout the year, the participants worked with each other, their mentors and CTAA leaders to develop a project that would demonstrate leadership skills, and assess and address issues in the field that would contribute to their system. Their projects vary in topics, ranging from the accommodation of service animals on-board a transit vehicle to the implementation of a volunteer transportation program.

EXPO 2019 gave this class of ELA participants an opportunity to share their final projects and reports with their fellow participants, as well as EXPO attendees through a poster session. Click through the mentors and participants below to get to know the class of 2018-2019. The subject of the project is listed below each participant’s name.

The Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) and its members believe that mobility is a basic human right. From work and education to life-sustaining health care and human services programs to shopping and visiting with family and friends, mobility directly impacts quality of life.