Board of Directors

Mr. Allen serves as the Director of Government Affairs & Community Relations for RouteMatch Software where his main responsibility includes building relationships with federal, state, and provincial governmental agencies.

Mr. Allen has been actively involved in the public and human service transportation industry for over 26 years, including various industry positions such as university transit director, state transportation consultant, assistant and general manager, senior transit planner, and Acting Transit Director for the City of Raleigh, NC.  Mr. Allen also previously worked for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) administering the rural transit and coordination planning program.  Mr. Allen has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Northern Illinois University.

Mr. Allen is a former appointed Board Member of the Raleigh Transit Authority from 2005-2007, awarded President’s Awards from the North Carolina Public Transportation Association (NCPTA) and the Georgia Transit Association (GTA).  Mr. Allen is a former NCPTA Vice President, Secretary, and Board Member; and a past Board Member of the GTA.  Mr. Allen currently serves as NCPTA Legislative Committee Co-Chairperson and List Serv Co-Administrator; and is a current member of American Public Transportation Association committees, ITS America’s Passenger Transportation Systems and Services (PTSS) Committee; and the Canadian Urban Transit Association’s Technical Services Committee.

Randy Cantor is the Director of Carteret County Area Transportation System. He has over 20 years of progressively responsible experience within the public transportation industry. Through various opportunities Mr. Cantor has served in multiple positions offering him the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in all operational aspects of providing an efficient and effective service to the public.  He has significant experience in the planning, funding, fixed route and paratransit operations.

Bill has been the Transportation Director for Apple Country Transportation since June 2004. Bill is a native of Western North Carolina and has been in the Transportation Industry for over 34 years in various capacities Safety and Personnel Director, owning and operating a Transportation Brokerage business, and leading a fleet management of a large grocery chain. In 2004-2005 we were providing fixed route service and were receiving funds from NCDOT. Henderson County is in the French Broad River MPO. In 2006 we applied and received a contract to operate Henderson County’s 5307 Fixed Route and Paratransit service. We are now in our 14^th year of providing this service and in our 3^rd contact ending in 2022. Apple Country Transportation is the designated transportation provider for 5311 funds in Henderson County.

I have a BS Degree in Management from UNC-Asheville. I am a member of the Hendersonville Rotary Club and a Paul Harris fellow and have served on their Board of Directors.

I am married to Ann a retired school counselor and have one daughter Rachel. We enjoy hiking, biking, and travelling.

Bob Davis is the Executive Director of Transportation Administration of Cleveland County (TACC). He has 26 years of experience working in Mental Health and Adult Services.  He has been the Executive Director of three non-profit agencies and served in leadership roles as a board member and as board chairs.  He served on three Transportation Advisory Boards prior to beginning work with TACC in July of 2010.  He was founder of the Youth Assistance Program of Cleveland County which is a mentor program for troubled youth.  He has directed several camps for youth with disabilities and has coached basketball at several levels for over 28 years.  He was a member of two high school state champion basketball teams and has coached several other championship teams.

Bob has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Work from Limestone College.  Bob is married to Wendi, has 2 sons, Hobie 17 & Cutter 15 and a daughter Whitney that died of SIDS in 1997.  Bob enjoys sailing, camping and time with his family.

Neal Davis is the Executive Director of Community and Senior Services of Johnston County, Inc. (CSS) since 2010. CSS operates the Johnston County Area Transit System (JCATS). He has over 40 years of radio and television business development experience, including station ownership and systems engineering.

Mr. Davis is an Army veteran and holds an Associate Degree from Pitt Community College. He has served as Executive in Residence in NC State University’s Technology Education Commercialization Program. He is a graduate of NCDOT’s Transportation Leadership Development Program. JCATS is a recipient of the NCPTA Safety Award in 2016 and an NCDOT Performance Award in 2017.

He is married and has three adult children. He is an active Rotarian and a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International. Lifelong hobbies include genealogy, aviation, and street rods.

Kristal Ford has been the Transportation Manager for Lincoln County since 2013. Prior to this, she had experience in many facets relevant to the transportation industry.  She has worked for non-profits, healthcare companies and wholesale distributors. She has done everything from grant writing to logistics and fleet management, and has managed a staff of more than 90 employees.

Kristal has a Bachelor of Science degree from the Pennsylvania State University. She also graduated from the Transportation Leadership Development Program and is NIMS certified.

Kerry Giles is the Transit and EMS Director for Rutherford County.  She has been involved with public transportation for the past seven years and has implemented numerous efficiency changes within her organizations.  Ms. Giles also has twenty years experience in the field of marketing and also spent ten years in the area of economic and community development.

Ms. Giles holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in both Business Administration and Communications.  She was awarded the NCDOT Western Division Director’s award in 2013 for her contributions to public transportation.  In 2015, she was a NACO Excellence in Innovation award winner for the implementation of a transportation shuttle system to local food pantries to create access to food. She serves as a board member and officer of the RHI Legacy Foundation which distributes one million dollars in grants annually for the health and wellness of citizens in Rutherford County.  She is also a 2008 graduate of Leadership North Carolina.

Rodney has been employed with the City of Salisbury for over 20 years, and in the business of providing public transportation for 12 years.  He earned a B. S. degree in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina and a Master degree in Public administration from Troy State University.

Rodney is currently serving as Transit Director.  He began his career in Parks and Recreation before moving to the Transit Department as a Manager and now as Director.  Each of these job changes was a move to a higher, more challenging position.  Rodney has many strong leadership qualities.  He leads by example with his hard work and willingness to be a great team player.  He is committed to his profession, the City, and team members.  He is honest and always has a very positive attitude. Rodney is always looking to improve others around him and has a tremendous work ethic.  His ability to lead and motivate resulted in his Team winning the 2015 North Carolina Department of Transportation Public Transportation Division Performance Excellence Award, First Place.

He has attended several programs that promote leadership and expand his knowledge of municipal government.  He has attended the Transportation Leadership Development Program at North Carolina State University, Building Relationships with Public Officials at All Levels at North Carolina State University, Leading, Educating, and Developing (LEAD) Program at University of Virginia, Municipal and Administrative Course at University of North Carolina, and the City’s own leadership course, the City Manager’s Leadership Academy.

Richard M. Jones, Jr. is the Transportation Director for the Davidson County Transportation System.  Mr. Jones joined the Transportation department in July 2016 becoming Transportation Manager in late 2017.  Mr. Jones was appointed the newly created Transportation Director in January 2019.   Prior to joining Davidson County, Mr. Jones worked 30 years in the Hospitality Industry.  Mr. Jones and his wife owned and operated their own restaurant prior to joining Davidson County.

Mr. Jones has a Bachelor of Business Administration from James Madison University.  Mr. Jones serves as Stated Clerk of Session for his church.

Kristen Joyner is Founder and President of KJ Backpack, LLC, promoting responsible leadership by connecting exceptional and passionate trainers to transit professionals, whereby creating a responsible workforce for the safety and benefit of the traveling public. Kristen’s expertise includes over twenty years in the public transit sector, energetically leading a multi-state transit association, providing administrative public transportation experience and delivering engaging leadership development training.   She initiated the Operation Veterans in Public Transportation (OVIPT) program to promote jobs for veterans in transit and created the Accessible Meeting Guide to make events more inclusive for people with disabilities.

Ms. Joyner is a member of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation’s Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. She serves as the Region 6 Representative on the CTAA Board of Directors, Chairs the Legislative Committee and is a member of the Training Committee. She is currently Chair of the APTA Access Sub-Committee on Technology and Training.

Kyle Laird is the Mobility & Systems Planner at the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART).  He joined PART after completing an internship with the Economic Evaluation Unit of the European Railway Agency in Valenciennes, France, and has worked at PART for nine years.  At PART, Kyle analyzes transit service data and Piedmont Triad development trends in order to better plan and provide regional transit for the area’s residents.  As well as being a board member, Kyle currently serves NCPTA as the Co-chair of the Strategic Planning Committee.  He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.  Over the years, Kyle has earned degrees in Photojournalism, Economics and Geography

Megan Matheny has been with the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority since June of 2010 and has served as the Deputy Director since March 2018.  Megan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.  Megan was enlisted by the Authority to establish and manage a nonprofit corporation called the Making Waves Foundation and has served in both an operational and planning capacity during her tenure with the Authority.  Megan has a passion for philanthropy and public service and is an active volunteer in the local community.

Doug Middleton currently serves as the General Manager of GoDurham Fixed Route Bus Operations since August 2017.  With 30 years in the transit industry, and under his leadership, transit organizations have improved performance and reduced operational costs by implementing industry best practices and standards that reform processes and improve efficiency and effectiveness.

Mr. Middleton is married to his wife of 28 years and has two adult children. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in business Administration from California Baptist University, Riverside and a Master’s in Public Administration from California State University, Long Beach.

Tyffany Neal is the Assistant Transit Director for the City of Fayetteville’s Transit Department (Fayetteville Area System of Transit (FAST)).  She joined FAST in 2017 after leaving the transit industry’s private sector.  She has over thirteen (13) years of transit experience in the areas of operations, safety & training and compliance.  Ms. Neal has worked at multiple transit systems within the Carolinas and has also worked in the DMV area.  Prior to joining the transit industry, Ms. Neal worked in the speech pathology and audiology field for a number of years.

Ms. Neal currently holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology from South Carolina State University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Strayer University.  She is a graduate of APTA’s Early Career Program and NCDOT’s Transportation Leadership Development Program.  She is also involved with a number of civic and professional organizations to include being an active member of NCPTA, CTAA, WTS and COMTO.

Ms. Neal is married and has one daughter.

Nick Pittman is the Transit Planning Manager for Chapel Hill Transit.  As a 2005 Graduate of East Carolina University, he got his start as a transit operator while completing his degree in Information and Computer Technology.  During his 13 years at Chapel Hill Transit, he has held many positions including Safety and Training Coordinator and Operations Manager of Fixed Route and now focusing on Planning, Safety, Training and Development.  He has also been an active member of the NCPTA Roadeo committee for over 12 years including many as Roadeo Chairman.

Nick is a member of two local soccer organizations, serving as President in one and a Board of Director in the other.  In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Ashley and 2 very active boys, Ryan and Caleb.

Kelly Walker is the Transportation Director for Craven County Rural Transit System (CARTS).  She joined the CARTS team in January 2006 as the Transportation Coordinator and was promoted to Transportation Director in 2015.  Ms. Walker’s experience at CARTS includes playing an important role in the transition from a regional, rural system to also a small urban system beginning in September 2015.

Ms. Walker has an AAS in Business Administration Operations Management and a Certificate for Business Administration Operations Management Total Quality Management.  Her education also includes completion of classes through the Transit Safety Institute, National Transit Institute, National Safety Council, and the Disability Awareness Council.  She was awarded the North Carolina Department of Transportation Division Recognition Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public Transportation in 2014; holds a Transit Safety and Security Certification (Transit Bus Program) from the Transportation Safety Institute and Certified Safety and Security Director from the World Safety Organization; and presented “Training Challenges for Small Transit Agencies” at the 2014 NTI Transit Trainers’ Workshop.

Tawanna Williams is the Transportation Director for the Regional Coordinated Area Transportation Services (RCATS) serving both Montgomery and Randolph County.  She has been in public transportation for over 14 years working as Transportation Manager for Moore County Transportation for 7 years and prior to fulfilling her current role served as Transportation Coordinator for RCATS Transportation for 7 years. She has been responsible for the planning and development of effective and efficient community transportation.

She currently serves on the NC Public Transportation Association Board and loves to be of assistance whenever the opportunity is presented. She is also very active in her church and reaching out to the community.

Tawanna is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania so she is very familiar with urban transit (SEPTA) as well.  She has a Master’s Degree in Theology and Biblical Studies from NC College of Theology.  She loves people and enjoys being a part of helping individuals maintain their health and independence.

Irma has been working in public transportation for over 24 years. She began her career in 1995 with the Greensboro Transit Authority as a Paratransit Operator transporting passengers with special needs, older adults and the general public focusing on safety and timeliness. She quickly developed a passion for helping others and wanted to learn more about other transit agency functions.

She received training in trip reservations, trip scheduling and dispatching. Later Irma was promoted to supervisor where she excelled at helping other operators be safe and timely while transporting passengers.

In 2001 Irma moved from paratransit to community transportation and started working at Guilford County Transportation and Mobility Services. During her 18 years with Guilford County she has performed every job and task imaginable in the world of community transportation. Over the years she has been active in the planning committee for the NCPTA Annual Conference, PTCOG Commission on Aging, City of Greensboro TAC Committee, and Cone Health Foundation GCCN.