Three women are under consideration to be the next leader of the Regional Transportation District, as the agency on Aug. 7 announced the finalists to be CEO and general manager.

“We certainly couldn’t have predicted the year we have had, but we are confident that one of these three candidates has what it takes to lead us forward during recovery and beyond,” said RTD Board of Directors Chair Angie Rivera-Malpiede.

Whomever the board selects will be the agency’s first female general manager.

Two of the three finalists hail from the West: Debra Johnson is currently the deputy CEO of Long Beach Transit in southern California. She has worked in public transportation for more than 25 years and has also served at agencies in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles County.

Tina Quigley was most recently the CEO of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. She retired last year after 14 years with the Las Vegas-based transit, planning and traffic management organization. Quigley is also a licensed pilot who first started as a planner at Las Vegas’s McCarran International Airport.

Adelee Le Grand has worked for Transdev North America as a vice president and chief strategy officer. Through a public-private partnership, she assisted the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority with developing a strategic mobility plan. Le Grand held positions with the Georgia Department of Transportation and other local agencies in the state.

After initially receiving a roster of 58 applicants, the executive search committee at RTD created a list of six semifinalists, which narrowed to three on Aug. 7.

There will be opportunities for the public and employees to provide their opinions before the board makes its decision, likely in late August.

RTD’s interim CEO and general manager, Paul J. Ballard, has served since February.

As of 2016, RTD was the 14th-largest transit service in the country based on total passenger trips.

This story is from Colorado Politics, a statewide political and public policy news journal. Used by permission. For more, visit coloradopolitics.com.