Jacksonville, FL — Two Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) employees were honored at the 2022 Industry Awards Gala during The Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) National Meeting and Training Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Greer Johnson Gillis, Senior Vice President of System Development, received the Thomas G. Neusom Founders’ Leadership Award. This is the highest award given by COMTO, and honors transportation executives and policymakers who have made outstanding contributions towards the growth and development of people of color within their organization. It is also reserved for those who demonstrate the same spirit of achievement of COMTO founders.
Gillis joined the JTA in 2020, and leads construction and capital projects while overseeing the maintenance, facilities and system development departments. Gillis is responsible for both internal and external capital projects, including the JTA’s MobilityWorks and MobiltityWorks 2.0 programs, a series of complete street and mobility improvement projects throughout Jacksonville. Her team also led the development of the JTA’s new five-year strategic plan, Mobility Optimization through Vision and Excellence, MOVE2027. Gillis also oversaw the completion of the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla, the Authority’s LEED Gold Certified multimodal mobility hub and administrative headquarters.
Christopher Macklin, JTA Diversity Compliance Specialist, was awarded the Rev. Jerry Moore President’s Leadership Award. This award honors a COMTO Chapter President who demonstrates exceptional leadership within the COMTO organization, whose involvement has left a lasting impact on their local chapter and has demonstrated leadership at a national level. The award winner also exemplifies outstanding skills in developing and managing chapter initiatives and enhances COMTO’s image.
Macklin has served as the COMTO Jacksonville Chapter President since 2018, and has been with JTA since 2013. As the Diversity Compliance Specialist, he processes the certification of Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) applications and the annual recertification process.
About the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA)
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is an independent state agency serving Jacksonville, Florida and Northeast Florida with multi-modal responsibilities. The JTA provides varied mass public transit services, and is a builder of roads, bridges and other infrastructure to enhance mobility in Jacksonville. Public transportation services include BRT and regular bus service, paratransit, the St. Johns River Ferry, Skyway APM, and other mobility and on-demand services in Duval, Clay, Baker, Nassau and St. Johns counties. To learn more, visit www.jtafla.com.
About the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO)
Founded in 1971, the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring full access for minorities in transportation while preparing and positioning leaders for rapidly evolving global opportunities. With 35 chapters in the U.S. and Canada, COMTO is driven by a mission to increase opportunities and maximum participation in the transportation industry for minority individuals, veterans, people with disabilities and certified MWDBE businesses through leadership training, professional development, scholarship and internship funding, political advocacy, partnership building and networking opportunities. For more information, visit www.comtonational.org