State of the OTA - Upcoming OTA Projects Leveraging Creative Partnerships Tuesday, May 24th - 8:30 - 9:45 AM - Room: OK GH Andrea Ball, Executive Director Andrea Ball is the executive director of the Oklahoma Transit Association. She has over 20 years of experience in managing trade associations, non-profits, and foundations. Andrea is an experienced national trade association executive, public affairs consultant, convention planner, and communications director. Andrea has lectured nationally on business communications, volunteer leadership, board development, and communications strategy. She was recognized in 2009 by the State Journal as a Generation Next winner, which highlighted "40 under 40" outstanding business leaders. Andrea was awarded two "Stars of the Industry" awards for tourism marketing and public relations. In 2016, she addressed the United Nations on the digital divide and women. She has also been published nationally on a myriad of topics. Andrea previously founded her management consulting company in 2007 in Washington, DC, and has served nationally as the director of several national trade associations with a concentration in agriculture, manufacturing, veterinary medicine, and the legal field. Kristen Joyner, Founder and President, KJ Backpack, LLC As the Executive Director of SWTA (a regional association covering Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas), Kristen Joyner brings energy, creativity and a diverse background that includes administrative public transportation work for Rock Region Metro. She has developed and delivered training programs, workshops and conferences for the transit industry, promoting strong transit workforce development and communication across the transportation sector. When it comes to human trafficking, she has provided awareness training to over 1,000 public transportation employees across the U.S., and presented on the topic at national trade associations, state associations, and at various other platforms.
Melissa Blanton, JD, Assistant Attorney General; Chief, Victim Services Unit, Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General. Melissa earned a JD from the University of Tulsa College of Law Doctor of Law (J.D.)International and Comparative Law. Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) English / Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) French.
Olivia Hook, Transportation Coordinator at Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Working in the Office of Transit, she is responsible for overseeing the Mobility Management Program that provides mobility solutions for OK residents, HST Coordinated Plan management and the Regions Pilot Project. After spending nearly a decade working in marketing, Olivia knows what truly drives conversations, enhances coordination and improved communication. Prior to that she drove commercial semi-truck over the road and has traveled through almost every state in the contiguous 48 states with the exception of Rhode Island and Maine. Olivia holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Franklin University and resides with her husband and three beautiful dogs. Kendra Sue McGeady has served as director of transit for Pelivan Transit and Northeast Oklahoma Tribal Transit Consortium, owned and operated by Grand Gateway Economic Development Association, since 2016. The system, located in northeast Oklahoma, operates in seven counties and provides transit services for the general public as well as the Cherokee, Peoria, Ottawa, Quapaw, Modoc, Miami, Shawnee, Eastern Shawnee, Wyandotte and Seneca Cayuga tribes. Kendra is past president of the Vinita Rotary Club and serves as Chairwoman of the Cherokee Phoenix Editorial Board of Directors. She also serves on the Oklahoma Transit Association Advocacy Committee. Kendra is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. Dr. Marilyn Dillon, EMBARK Marilyn Dillon was selected as the Mobility Management Administrator for EMBARK in April 2016. She began her career with the City of Oklahoma City in 1989 as a technician with the Oklahoma City Police Department’s Laboratory Services Division. In 1998, Dillon entered private sector employment specializing in laboratory operations, sales, and transportation logistics across a five-state region. Dillon returned to the City of Oklahoma City in 2012 as a Budget Analyst and was promoted to Audit Manager in 2013. She earned a Bachelor of Science from Oklahoma City University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Colorado State University. Marilyn holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership and Management from Northcentral University. She is a member of the Mayor’s Committee on Disability Concerns, the Oklahoma City Health Community Collaborative, and serves on the Community Advisory Council for NewView Oklahoma. Kendra McGeady, Grand Gateway Transit
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