Transit agencies across the country are experiencing rapid change and innovation. In this Innovation Exchange, members of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Office of Strategic Initiatives will discuss how they manage change and implement business transformation at their agency. Since its inception in 2017, Strategic Initiatives has worked with departments across the organization to improve WMATA’s operations. Under the direction of the Executive Vice President of Strategy, Planning and Program Management, the team collaborates to improve safety, delivery, and efficiency by testing new approaches and implementing solutions that benefit operations and the customer. From refining overnight track access processes to building a document repository system with a governance features, Strategic Initiatives is tackling some of the most difficult challenges in transit operations. Team members will explain how they have established themselves in the organization, and the key lessons they’ve learned for successful implementation of projects and change.
Speakers:
Jayme Johnson, Director, Strategic Initiatives, WMATA
Elissa McDade, Senior Program Manager, Strategic Initiatives, WMATA
Watch the Recording:
WMATA’s Office of Strategic Initiatives is a unique group of individuals implementing strategic change and business improvement, and they hail from industries beyond transit – navy, consulting, police, technology, entertainment and more. Strategic Initiatives leadership consists of Jayme Johnson, Elissa McDade and Kevin Coyne. Jayme Johnson has been Director of Strategic Initiatives since 2017, which followed a year as a management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton and ten years as a police inspector in London’s Metropolitan Police. Elissa McDade is a Senior Program Manager and has been with WMATA since 2017. Prior to WMATA, Elissa worked as a Community Planner at the Federal Transit Administration, Director of Client Engagement for a small software firm, Project Management Consultant in Home Entertainment, and worked in the local and regional government in San Luis Obispo, CA. Kevin Coyne is a Senior Operations Advisor to the COO. Prior to WMATA, Kevin served as a Naval Officer for over 20 years and worked as a Senior Operations Manager at Amazon.
