CUTA's 2023 Policy Forum in Ottawa

Taylor Bachrach has represented the riding of Skeena-Bulkley Valley since 2019. Prior to entering federal politics, Taylor was a local leader in northwest BC for many years, first as municipal councillor in the Village of Telkwa and as mayor of the Town of Smithers from 2011 to 2019.

Taylor is passionate about standing up for rural communities and giving them the representation in Ottawa they deserve. Taylor is focused on fighting the climate crisis, pursuing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and improving rural services. This means creating good jobs in a just transition and increasing funding for infrastructure like rural internet and transit.

As the NDP’s transport critic, Taylor serves on the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. He has brought forward issues ranging from rail safety to maintaining regional air service in the North.

In December of 2021, Taylor tabled bill C-210, The Right to Vote at 16 Act.

As a former small business owner and community advocate, Taylor understands the challenges facing everyday families in Skeena-Bulkley Valley, where he lives with his wife Michelle and their two daughters. Taylor spends his spare time enjoying the spectacular landscapes of the Northwest, canoeing, skiing and biking.

Kelly Paleczny was recently elected Chair of CUTA. She been with the London Transit Commission for the past 25 years. During her tenure, Kelly has had positions in IT, Finance, and Operations for the Specialized Service, and has held the role of General Manager since 2015. In addition to her role at LTC, Kelly is also a member of the executive committee of the Ontario Public Transit Association.

Renée Amilcar was recently elected Chair of UITP.  Since October 2021, Renée Amilcar has lead a team of more than 3,000 employees as General Manager of the Transit Services Department for the City of Ottawa. Renée has a reputation within the transportation industry as a global leader in sustainability and innovation. She utilises a people-first approach and exhibits a strategic vision that is a commendable model for all service organisations.

Renée is an Industrial Engineer with a degree from École Polytechnique in Montréal, with a Master of Business Administration from Université de Sherbrooke and is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec. Renée’s career in transportation began in 2002 at the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), where she worked to become Executive Director. In 2018, Renée received the Mercuriades Outstanding Woman in Leadership Award from the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec. Since 2010, Renée has been very engaged within UITP where she has risen quickly through the ranks to hold senior board positions.

Marco D’Angelo was appointed President & CEO of the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) in 2018 where he continues to position CUTA as Canada’s voice for public transit and urban mobility.

Over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, Marco consulted with transit systems across the country and tirelessly advocated for emergency support for transit, helping to secure unprecedented emergency operating support to keep transit running.

Under his leadership, CUTA and its membership continue to pursue a net-zero carbon reduction strategy. This includes advocating for transit electrification, including transit in the Green Municipal Fund and by pursuing permanent federal funding for transit to help cities balance budgets and to promote ridership across Canada.

Prior to joining CUTA, Marco served as the Executive Director of the Ontario Traffic Council (OTC) for over a decade. The OTC is the leading industry association representing the traffic management sector in Ontario.

From 2003 to 2006, Marco worked as Director of Public Affairs at CUTA. In this role, he managed national advocacy campaigns to improve the visibility, image and positioning of transit.

Aaron Coon is the Chief of Public Vehicle Standards for The City of Calgary, which oversees all operational safety for Calgary’s transit system and the vehicle-for-hire industry. He is committed is to making sure riders and operators stay safe, contributing to safer public spaces in Calgary.

With over 15 years of public sector and law enforcement experience, Aaron is skilled at melding strategic and operational plans and developing service delivery models that yield results. He uses his strengths in strategic planning, implementing data-driven decision making, and process improvement to build high-performance teams.

His previous leadership roles in public safety include most recently, Assistant Chief of the Alberta Sheriffs branch of the Government of Alberta, where he supported the service model, recruitment and deployment of peace officers stationed across Alberta.

For over 15 years, David Cooper has contributed to numerous transformative transportation initiatives across Canada. David is the principal and founder of Leading Mobility Consulting. David has worked on complex and innovative transit projects across Canada ranging from transit feasibility studies for communities exploring public transit to the development and construction of rapid transit projects in Canada’s largest cities.

David recently authored the Canadian Urban Transit Association’s COVID-19 National Recovery Strategy, a foundational plan which has helped to obtain emergency operational funding to maintain transit service during the acute stage of the pandemic and to secure long term capital funding to position public transit at the centre of economic recovery. David recently co-authored Canada’s first national transit study on how women travel on public transit and he is currently supporting several projects on the nexus of housing supply, affordability and public transit.

David firmly believes in supporting and facilitating success for new community builders. Through his work teaching as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Calgary, University of Alberta, University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University, he instructs future planners on transportation policy, planning processes and public consultation.

David’s contributions to city building and transportation have been nationally recognized. He was the recipient of the ‘President’s Award for Young Planner of the Year’ granted by the Canadian Institute of Planners, the ‘Individual Leadership Award’ from the Canadian Urban Transit Association, and received Mass Transit’s ‘Top 40 Under 40 Award’ in North America.

Julianna (Julie) Charchun has more than a decade of experience working in city hall, including 8 years as Chief of Staff to the mayor of Edmonton, and several more as a public servant focused on intergovernmental relations and municipal governance. She has a solid track-record of providing thoughtful strategic advice to elected officials and senior public administrators in a number of capacities including government relations and advocacy, stakeholder relations, communications, election campaigns, public relations and issues management. Julie has led and been intimately involved in negotiating with provincial and federal governments for policy changes and critical funding programs on behalf of cities and citizens across Canada including a new fiscal framework in Alberta (city charter), and hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in the build-out of Edmonton’s LRT network.

Alain Mercier worked over 40 years in the public transportation field both in the private and public sectors in Canada, the U.S. and at the international level. His career included the Voyageur Group, Via Rail, ALSTOM USA, Rheinmettal AG, OC Transpo and the RTC in Quebec City. He has served on various boards promoting public transportation such as CUTA, UITP, l’association des transports urbain du Quebec (ATUQ)  and other for-profit organizations. He is currently serves as Past-Chair of CUTA and is a Board member of Capitale Mobilité, whose mandate is to commercialize RTC’s assets such as property development and to operate alternative mobility solutions such as an all-electric  shared-bike system “aVélo” and a MaaS solution for the Quebec region.

Simon Minelli leads the Canadian Urban Transit Agency’s efforts to support transit in Canada from an industry perspective by providing training, learning events, data services, and topical research into top of mind industry topics. Simon has spent his career understanding issues critical to the transit industry across North America, using this knowledge to develop innovative and effective solutions. Research has often been a critical component in this, including qualitative and quantitative research into areas such as connected and autonomous vehicles, regional planning analysis, regulations and standards.  

Over the course of his career, Simon has had the opportunity to meet with individuals at all levels of transit systems from across North America to understand the challenges they face day-to-day. He is proud to be a member of an industry that provides millions of Canadian with access to jobs and services in a sustainable and enriching way. 

Sarah Ross is Vice-President of Transportation Planning and Policy and is responsible for supporting senior leadership with the development of long-term policies, plans, solutions, guidelines, and analytics for the enterprise. Sarah is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in planning and research. Since joining TransLink in 2004, she has served in a variety of planning roles, most recently as the Director of System Planning since 2016.

Recently, Sarah has been influential in guiding the development of TransLink’s strategic plans, including Transport 2050 and the 10-year Investment Plan. She has also led the important work of improving transit expansion strategies, advancing bus priority measures around the region, implementing RapidBus corridors, modernizing HandyDART, and improving accessibility of the conventional system. She is passionate about further developing sustainable transportation to ensure equitable access to the services and activities that are integral to our customer’s daily lives.

Sarah is a Registered Professional Planner and a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners and holds degrees from McGill University (BA Sociology), University of Toronto (MA Sociology) and University of British Columbia (MA Planning). Sarah loves the outdoors and coaches cross-country skiing.

Carrie is the Branch Manager of Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) in the City of Edmonton, overseeing the delivery of conventional bus, on demand, LRT and paratransit service. She is passionate about public transit and its role in creating vibrant, healthy, climate resilient cities and is the first woman to be at the helm of ETS in its history. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and has been working in public transit for the past 11 years.

Ray Sullivan is Executive Director of the Canadian Housing & Renewal Association (CHRA). CHRA is a membership-based association that leads and provokes system-wide action toward the right to housing for all by serving as the national voice of the community housing sector, and creating the conditions for community housing providers to achieve their goals. Ray has worked in the community housing sector since 1999, serving on many boards, working groups and steering committees at the local, provincial and national level. Ray served as Executive Director of Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC), a dynamic mixed-income private non-profit landlord, and chaired the board of Cahdco, an innovative non-profit development corporation. While at CCOC, he also founded the Ottawa Community Land Trust, where he remains active as a volunteer. Ray is proud to have begun his career in community housing as a tenant, and remains committed to non-profit and co-operative housing as a tool for social and economic justice.

Sabrina is Director of Real Estate Development at TransLink with over 20 years of experience focusing on where development and transit come together to create vibrant people-places. With an urban planning background, she has contributed to city building from aspects of planning, policy, design, project delivery, development, operations and maintenance with both the public and private sector, achieving transformational results. Sabrina has led on notable programs and mega-infrastructure projects such Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx’s Transit Expansion and Transit Oriented Communities program. She is currently leading the real estate development department at TransLink, where she is responsible for leveraging agency owned lands to deliver transit-oriented, mixed-use development projects, with new housing being a major component. Sabrina is passionate about developing sustainable communities for future generations.

Alexandrine Gauvin joined Nova Bus in 2021. She has more than 15 years of experience in communications in various industries, member-based organizations, public trading companies and the private sector, both in Europe and in North America. In her current role, she supports the communication and public affairs efforts of Nova Bus, and is passionate about the role of public transit in supporting the reduction of GHG emissions, as well as the transition to electromobility in the transportation sector.

Dr. Mike Moffatt is the Senior Director of Policy and Innovation at the Smart Prosperity Institute and an Assistant Professor in the Business, Economics and Public Policy group at Ivey Business School, Western University. Mike’s research at SPI focuses on the intersection of regional economic development, building child-friendly, climate-friendly housing and communities, and clean innovation. In 2017, Mike was the Chief Innovation Fellow for the Government of Canada, advising Deputy Ministers on innovation policy and emerging trends. He has also previously held the titles of Director (Interim) of the Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management, Directory of Policy at Canada 2020, and Chief Economist for the Mowat Centre at the University of Toronto. Mike has worked with politicians and policymakers of all political stripes in several countries to craft more effective public policy. From 2013 to 2015, Mike served as an economic advisor to Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. Mike holds a Ph.D. in Management Science from Ivey Business School and an M.A. in Economics from the University of Rochester. Outside of his clean economy work at SPI, Mike is a disability-rights activist.