Mass Transit - 28

Eric Florip joined C-TRAN

Eric Florip
Public Affairs
Coordinator,
C-TRAN

in November 2015 following
years as a newspaper reporter.
He made an immediate
impact on the agency
through his video production
and social media work
that have upped C-TRAN's
visibility in the community.
Additionally, Florip's own
environmental commitment
has helped propel C-TRAN's
approach to sustainability.
Florip is self-trained in video
production, but his efforts have
produced C-TRAN training
and orientation videos, public
service announcements, as
well as information videos
detailing service changes
and a 30-second ad that
resulted in a 25-percent
increase in job applications.
Florip's nomination contained a
section called "Testimonials to
Eric's Awesomeness," in which
Human Resources Manager
Jenapher Dues said, "Eric has
managed to bring C-TRAN
into the age of social media."

"Be an example and recognize the influence
you can have on other people-even if
you're not in a position of leadership."
He was instrumental in creating
the agency's blog, "Transit
Matters," which offers an inside
look at the agency. Florip also
began live tweeting C-TRAN
Board of Directors meetings,
which developed a following
all its own and has promoted
agency transparency and
offered stakeholders another
option of staying informed
about agency happenings.
Florip helped establish
C-TRAN's Green Team in 2017,
which works internally and
externally to remind people
about the importance of
conservation, recycling and
Earth-friendly activities. Among
the many accomplishments

of the group is the recently
launched recycling programs
for K-Cups used in agency
coffee machines and
cigarette butts collected from
receptacles at C-TRAN bus
stops. The work Florip has
performed on the Green Team
inspired a regional program at
the Washington Department of
Transportation. In November
2019, following months of
preparation and research, Florip
and the Green Team learned
they were successful in having
C-TRAN certified as a "Green
Business" in Clark County,
Wash. An accomplishment
Florip counts among his top
achievements thus far.

Fact: Each holiday season, Florip and Superintendent of
Organizational Development and Training Jim Quintana take to
C-TRAN's halls, playing guitar and singing carols for the staff.
MassTransitmag.com/21147595

Alisha Garrett joined

Alisha
Garrett
Director of
Culture and Talent
Development
Utah Transit
Authority

28 |

the Utah Transit Authority
in 2012 as a business and
quality analyst for the
authority's largest bus division
where she took a handson approach in process
improvements that resulted in
improved working conditions,
enhanced customer
experience and increased
operational efficiency.
Garrett possesses a potent
combination of technical
skill, understanding of
complex information and
the ability to translate and
apply that information into
data-driven results. Her work
with data processes and
implementing lean initiatives
has delivered real and
measurable results to UTA
included improving operator
wage accuracy by 16 percent,
using an algorithm to analyze
historical and projected
budgeted miles and hours
that improved budget metric
accuracy by 83 percent
and a series of continuous

Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | JULY/AUGUST 2020

"I love having the opportunity to help
people define, discover and exceed their
untapped potential. There is nothing more
fulfilling than seeing someone succeed."
improvement events that
saved UTA $3 million in
operating expenditures.
Garrett was selected to be
part of UTA's inaugural LEAN
Champion Team where
she gained the trust of
the authority's top leaders
who sought her expertise
on executive-level analysis
and leadership initiatives.
Her work on the LEAN
Champion Team led to
broad UTA culture change
and she was selected to
lead the authority's new
Continuous Improvement
Department before
advancing to her current
role as director of Culture

and Talent Development.
She points to the
development of the culture
model, "UTA Way," as one of
her top accomplishments. It
provided the foundation on
which UTA's culture is built
and increased employee
engagement, helped the
authority enhance the
customer experience, as well
as improve the authority's
effectiveness and efficiency.
Garrett has shared The
UTA Way and other cultural
best practices with King
County Metro, LA Metro,
New Jersey Transit and
Regional Transportation
District of Denver.

Fact: Garrett says she has mad forklift driving skills.
MassTransitmag.com/21147589
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