Leann Caver will be C-Tran’s next chief executive officer, the agency’s board of directors decided in a unanimous vote Monday.
Currently the agency’s deputy chief executive officer, Caver started her transit career as a bus driver. She will officially take the wheel at the agency March 1.
Caver will replace Shawn Donaghy, who was recently appointed CEO of the North County Transit District in San Diego County, Calif.
“C-Tran is an incredible agency with an amazing team, and I’m excited for the opportunity to serve Southwest Washington in this new role,” Caver said in a news release. “We have accomplished a lot together already, and I know there’s an even brighter future ahead.”
Caver has been with C-Tran’s operations team since 2021, after spending 17 years at TriMet in Oregon.
Caver took a nontraditional path to the transit agency’s top job. She started at TriMet as a bus operator before becoming a bus dispatcher. She moved to management seven years ago and joined C-Tran in 2021.
“It’s very surreal,” Caver told The Columbian. “When I entered the transportation world, I didn’t realize what there was to offer. I was a single parent at the time, just looking for a job to take care of me and my two daughters. It has given me lots of opportunities in life.”
Caver will juggle big initiatives and projects already underway:
- Two future Vine corridors on Highway 99 and East Fourth Plain/162nd Avenue.
- A comprehensive update to C-Tran’s long-range plan.
- The Interstate Bridge Replacement Program, of which C-Tran is one of eight partner agencies.
“C-Tran is already an award-winning agency, and I’m confident that Leann is the right person to continue that momentum and build on the success that we’ve achieved,” C-Tran board chair and Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle said. “We’re very fortunate to have someone of Leann’s caliber ready to step in.”
