02 Feb RTD’s New Chief Executive Officer Begins
San Joaquin Regional Transit District’s (RTD) new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alex Clifford began Monday, January 31. With 30 years of transit leadership experience, Clifford brings to RTD an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience inclusive of 8 years of policy experience as a city councilman.
“Alex is the right choice to lead RTD to the next level of exemplary performance,” said retiring CEO Gloria G. Salazar.
His active participation and leadership in various organizations—California Transit Association (CTA), Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA), California Association for Coordinated Transportation (CALACT), The Bus Coalition (TBC), Zero Emission Bus Resources Alliance (ZEBRA), and the American Public Transportation
Association (APTA)—will ensure he remains at the forefront of challenges in legislation and funding so that RTD can continue to provide excellent service for the community.
“We as a Board, are excited to see how Alex will continue advancing the vision and mission of RTD and take it to the next level of excellence in transit service,” said Chairman of the Board Michael Restuccia. “His achievements speak for themselves. We are looking forward to working with him.”
“I want to thank the board for the opportunity to work for RTD,” said new CEO Clifford. “I appreciate the fact that RTD is a well-run agency, which has been involved in innovative transit projects. The leadership that came before in Gloria Salazar and Donna DeMartino is incredible. RTD has a dedicated board and a reputation of great employees and I am excited to begin this new journey.”
Clifford joins RTD from serving as CEO of Santa Cruz Metro for the past seven and a half years, where he has helped the organization overcome unprecedented challenges of a $6.3 million structural fiscal deficit and successfully navigated Metro through the COVID-19 pandemic.