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WOMEN IN TRANSPORTATION KellyAnne GALLAGHER TITLE Director of Member Services In 2000, the American Public Trans- portation Association (APTA) had suc- cessfully bid on a contract to manage the Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS) and was looking to hire some- one for the job. Unlike the typical transit candidate, APTA wanted someone with broad, extensive nonprofi t management skills — KellyAnne Gallagher fi t the bill. Until that point, she had spent near- ly her entire career in the management of nonprofi t organizations. Gallagher did work in human and civil rights, launched a political action campaign, management consulted and volun- teered for the Women's Information Network. She also served as COO of the National Council of Individual Inves- tors and was chief of staff and director at the Ronald H. Brown Foundation. "At the time, APTA needed a unique set of skills that they wouldn't normally have had internally," says Gallagher, who is also a certifi ed association exec- utive (CAE). "I happened to have them, and that's what brought me to transit." She joined APTA that year, stepping in as director of association manage- ment services. She oversaw the High Speed Ground Transportation Asso- ciation and the American Transit Ser- vices Council, in addition to WTS. "The job transition and getting to know the board members took a bit of time, but it allowed me to understand the ins and outs of transit — what it means to peoples' lives and how in- dividuals working in this industry can impact millions every day just by the decisions they make," says Gallagher. For WTS, Gallagher grew the number of chapters, the number of individual members and the size of their scholar- ship fund. Together with her team, she overhauled the internal processes of the organization and redesigned its news- ORGANIZATION American Public Transportation Association CITY Washington, D.C. At the high-speed practicum in Los Angeles in February 2010, Gallagher (third from left) brought over practitioners from various countries to speak at the sessions. letter, which went on to win several de- sign awards. "When I completed my term with WTS, I turned back to that board of directors a bigger, stronger and more cohesive organization than that which I had inherited," says Gallagher. In 2006, Gallagher transitioned into the position of director of member ser- vices for APTA. Among a handful of du- ties, she's staff advisor for transit CEOs and has responsibilities for commuter, high-speed, water-borne and intercity rail issues and their related committees. Her team also manages APTA's inter- national program and provides for the needs and interests of APTA's business members and revenue management professionals. "I didn't have a background in tran- sit," says Gallagher. "I came here with the people skills that are essential to building a sense of affi liation for the hundreds of thousands of individual members who make up APTA. I see my primary responsibility is relationship management and focusing on that has served me well." 50 < mETRO mAGAZINE SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2012 In 2010 and 2011 Gallagher spear- headed the international practicums on implementing high-speed rail in the U.S. It was a practical training program, organized in conjunction with the In- ternational Union of Railways, for those who were going to be putting the high-speed rail grant money to work. It focused on everything that goes into planning and executing service for high-speed rail. Gallagher brought over practitioners from Europe and Asia to speak at the sessions, which were held in three cities across the country. Most recently, Gallagher co-chaired the organizing committee for the just- completed 2012 World Congress on High-Speed Rail in Philadelphia. With about 1,000 attendees from 37 differ- ent countries present, it addressed tech- nical and economic issues and held ed- ucational sessions on high-speed rail. She also had a major role in the 2011 World Congress in Beijing. "With APTA, I have been given the freedom to run with new projects," says Gallagher. "The practicum and world congresses are two examples of that." metro-magazine.com