WeDriveU Kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month with LIT

WeDriveU and our friends from Latinos In Transit kicked-off Hispanic Heritage Month at LIT’s 2024 Leadership Summit & Leadership Academy Graduation on Fri, Sept. 13th in Portland, Oregon.

Congrats to our graduates in the Leading in Middle Management track: Cristina Hallner (Dir. Marketing), Ruben Ledesma (General Manager) and Brian Ramirez (Asst. General Manager).

Cristina and Ruben presented with “The Paratransit Transformers” project team representing Access, SunLine and WSP. Brian presented with the “Toto Transito Solutions” project team alongside graduates from HNTB, Foothill Transit, Keolis, SunLine, Houston-Galveston Area Council and MBTA.

Ruben shared “I decided to participate in the LIT Leadership Academy because I wanted to learn more about the broader world of transit, share the knowledge I learned with my team and enhance operations based on the lessons learned from experienced industry leaders. The value is immeasurable. It was great to partner with individuals from across the industry who contributed different perspectives as a result of their role and geographical region. Setting a positive example for others is important, and I do hope to inspire others to continue to push themselves forward and achieve their personal and professional goals. Inspiration takes on many forms and can result in one’s merits, actions, and results.”

Brian said, “I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have participated in the Latinos in Transit Leadership Summit. I am thankful to WeDriveU’s leadership for supporting this work; the opportunity to learn more about the transportation industry and hear from industry experts was amazing! I especially enjoyed attending the various panels and hearing from Latino executives throughout the country. I’m proud to have been a part of this program and hope to continue contributing to the advancement of diversity and inclusivity. Looking forward to seeing next year’s cohort succeed!”

Supporting Future Transit Leaders

We also cheered 10 scholarship recipients such as University of Washington graduate student Zachary Perez, who earned $2,500 towards his Master’s in Sustainable Transportation from the North American Transit Alliance, an organization we actively support.

Celebrating Latino Heritage

Our favorite memories were the team presentations, our Portland adventures on TriMet, and our General Counsel Jose Valera taking the stage expressing pride in his Latino heritage, highlighting the importance of allies for communities of color, and reaffirming for the honorees, “you belong here.”

Partnership with Latinos in Transit

We’re grateful to Herold Humphrey, Elizabeth Carter, our VP of BD and LIT Board Member Rick Pulido, and all of LIT’s BOD and volunteers who put on a Summit full of opportunity and a sense of familia. We also thank LIT’s Executive Dir. Christina Villarreal for leading the Academy and inspiring many.

We’ve been on a remarkable journey with LIT since the days when WeDriveU was known as National Express Transit. Today, on behalf of our 5,500 U.S. team members celebrating our third set of LITLA grads, we salute the class of 2024.

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