COTA Welcomes New Leadership, Members to Board
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) Board of Trustees elected Craig. P. Treneff as chair Wednesday while also swearing in two new members, Jennifer Gallagher and Julie Sloat during the board’s annual meeting. Treneff is an attorney at Treneff Cozza Law LLC, and has been an elected member of the Westerville City Council since 2004, where he has served as Mayor and Chair, and is the current the vice chair. He also served as vice chair of the COTA Board of Trustees.
“I am looking forward to working with the COTA Board of Trustees and President/CEO Joanna M. Pinkerton to further the COTA mission of moving every life forward in these challenging times,” Treneff said. “COTA will continue to innovate and reimagine transit in Central Ohio while delivering essential service to our community. We have an outstanding Board and staff to meet today’s challenges and envision tomorrow’s mobility opportunities.”
Trustees also elected Dr. Marlon Moore, Senior Vice President/Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Huntington National Bank, vice chair of the board. Dr. Moore was appointed to COTA’s board in February 2018.
Treneff replaces Trudy A. Bartley, associate vice president for local government and community relations at The Ohio State University. In March 2019, the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials honored Bartley as one of its Women Who Move the Nation for her contributions to the mobility industry. Bartley served as board chair for two years and will remain a member of the COTA Board of Trustees.
“I am eternally grateful to Trudy for her leadership. Together, we have renewed and advanced COTA’s mission, delivered essential transportation service during a global pandemic, and introduced new mobility innovations that benefit our customers and our communities in Central Ohio,” said COTA President/CEO Joanna M. Pinkerton. “I am excited about what COTA can further achieve under the direction of our new board chair, Craig Treneff, and from the contributions and perspectives from our new members Jennifer Gallagher and Julie Sloat.”
Gallagher has been director of the Columbus Department of Public Service since 2016. Under her leadership, the department won the U.S. Department of Transportation Smart City Challenge four years ago. Gallagher previously served as deputy director of the department and worked in transportation for the State of Ohio and Franklin County throughout her career. She was appointed to the COTA Board by the City of Columbus.
“It is an honor to join the Board of Trustees as COTA is leading the conversation about mobility innovations in Central Ohio,” Gallagher said. “I have focused my professional career around transportation, and I am excited to share my experience and perspective to COTA at such a transformational time.”
Sloat is senior vice president for treasury and risk at American Electric Power, where she is responsible for all elements of the treasury function. Prior to that, she served as president and CEO of AEP Ohio and served in key leadership positions throughout her career at AEP Ohio, Tween Brands Inc., and Bank One (now part of JPMorgan & Chase).
“I am eager to serve an organization that has a long history of removing barriers and social disadvantages for the communities it serves,” Sloat said. “I look forward to working with the COTA leadership team from a position of strength as they place people at the center of their strategy, mission, and service development.”
Gallagher and Sloat replace outgoing board members Jean Carter Ryan and Gina Ormond, whose terms recently expired.
