The FDOT Transit Office is excited to host the Transit Immersion Leadership Experience (TILE) and is a 12-month program. The FDOT identified a gap in both FDOT and transit agency hands-on experience in our current workforce. The Transit Immersion Leadership Experience (TILE) provides FDOT and emerging transit agency leaders the opportunity to gain valuable experience and knowledge associated with how their partner agencies work.
Participants in TILE will:
- Develop as future industry leaders,
- Improve their big picture transit perspective,
- Share best practices and foster innovation,
- Develop their own peer-network for collaboration,
- Improve their career skills, including leadership capability, and
- Solve high priority agency defined business problems.
Host Agencies
An integral part of the program’s success is the host properties that allow the TILE participants to visit for a week long site visit. TILE has been able to visit the following agencies:
- Broward County Transit (BCT)
- Calhoun County Senior Citizens Association, Inc.
- Collier Area Transit (CAT)
- Florida Department of Transportation – Central Office
- Florida Department of Transportation – District 1
- Palm Tran
- Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA)
- Hendry County BOCC
- Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA)
- Lee County Transit (LeeTran)
- Liberty County Transit
- LYNX, Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority
- Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works
- Senior Resource Association – GoLine/Indian River Transit
- South Florida Regional Transportation Authority – Tri Rail
- St Lucie County – Area Regional Transit (ART)
- StarMetro
TILE Graduates
Cohort 1 (2023)
Cohort 2 (2024)
- Amanda Woods, Special Projects Coordinator, Palm Tran
- Frisco Weaver, Maintenance Supervisor, Jacksonville Transportation Authority
- Kim Dubuc, Mobility Service Coordinator, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority
- Joe Storey, Facilities Manager, Senior Resource Association (SRA)
- Lina Aragon, Manager of Equal Opportunity – EEO Officer, Palm Tran
- Tony Brandin, Transit Operations Manager, FDOT
- Katie Efrece, Contract/Grant Administrator Senior, Broward County
Cohort 3 (2025)
- Brooke Peters Samman, Service Planning & Scheduling Manager, Palm Tran
- Cody Wirth, Transit Supervisor I, Citrus County Transit
- Dave Newell, Transit Coordinator, Florida DOT – District 7
- Michael Baker, Training Specialist, Jacksonville Transportation Authority
- Otis Jackson-X, Transit Instructor, Broward County Transit
- Sabrina Swoy, Projects & Grants Coordinator, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority
Pictured with Erin Schepers and Tony Brandin, FDOT
Cohort 4 (2026)
- Doug Steiger, Assistant Director, Pasco County Public Transportation (GoPasco)
- Robert DuTremble, Director Vehicle Maintenance, Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA)
- Liz Soriano, Transit Project Manager, Collier Area Transit (CAT)
- Charles Abbatantuono, Senior Strategic Planner, LYNX
- Sandra Stanley, Superintendent Bus Operations, Miami-Dade DTPW
- Maria DeJesus, Passenger Operations Specialist, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)
- Rachael Cappolla, Executive Assistant/Records Manager, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA)
- Candice Kennon, Administrator, Suwannee Valley Transit Authority (SVTA)