First Friday - Keith Parker - General Manager/CEO, MARTA
Name:
First Friday - Keith Parker - General Manager/CEO, MARTA
Date:
June 5, 2015
Time:
7:30 AM - 9:00 AM EDT
Registration:
Register Now
Event Description:
MARTA is Smarta!
Predictions by the Atlanta Regional Commission are that truck traffic in the Atlanta Metro Highways will increase exponentially once the Savannah Harbor work is completed in 2018. Since the Port of Savannah is already the 4th largest container port in the US and the largest on the East Coast, we can only imagine the impact our our daily commutes through the Atlanta Metro area. Come hear what MARTA has been doing to prepare for that future. Our featured speaker for June will be MARTA CEO Keith Parker.
Highlights of Mr. Parker's talk will include:
- Details of the highlights of 2014 - A Banner Year for Marta!
- The future of Transit - At a Crossroads
- Marta's Vision for the future - How to keep transit at the decision making table and a part of the conversation
KEITH T. PARKER, AICPGeneral Manager/CEO, MARTA
Keith T. Parker, AICP, is the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), the nation’s 9th largest transit system which includes heavy rail, bus and paratransit services. MARTA provides over 400,000 passenger boardings a day. Parker took the helm of MARTA on Dec. 10, 2012. Under his leadership, the Authority is focused on working with employees, customers, transit stakeholders and the community to provide safe, efficient, and high quality transit services to the Atlanta region.
Parker’s career has included public and private sector experiences in diverse communities around the country, including Virginia, California, Washington State, North Carolina and Texas. Most recently, Parker served as CEO for transit systems in San Antonio (the nation’s seventh largest city) and Charlotte. In both cities, the transit systems utilized public involvement and technological innovations to dramatically improve the overall public transit experience. Under Parker’s leadership, San Antonio and Charlotte transit systems enjoyed some of the highest ridership increases in the country, while maintaining some of the lowest costs. The transit agencies won numerous local, state, and national awards in areas such as safety, maintenance, environmental innovations, and overall excellence. Parker won Texas CEO of the year awards in 2011 and 2012. Since arriving in Atlanta, Parker was recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential Georgians” by Georgia Trend and was selected as 2013 Transit Manager of the Year by the Georgia Transit Association.
In Oct. 2014, METRO Magazine listed Parker as one of the twenty “Most Influential People of the Decade,” recognizing his ability to transform agency efficiencies and cost-effectiveness and engender a culture of innovation in diverse environments.
Consistently active in civic and charitable organizations, Parker serves on notable national and local Boards of Directors including the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, the Transportation Cooperative Research Board, the American Public Transportation Association, and the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Parker holds a MBA from the University of Richmond, as well as a Master of Urban and Regional Planning and a BA in Political Science from Virginia Commonwealth University. He also holds professional certification with the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). Parker is married to his college sweetheart, Dawn, and they are the proud parents of two daughters and a son.
First Friday breakfast is an opportunity to hear national, regional and local thought leaders present a topic of interest to the Southwest Gwinnett County business community.
