* Press release…

Governor JB Pritzker appointed Bashir Qaasim, Nedra Sims Fears, Nirali Shah, Rosa Ortiz, and Vanessa Uribe to serve on the newly established Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) Board. The Governor also reappointed Neema Jha to serve on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Board. All appointments are subject to approval by the Illinois State Senate. ​

“The newly created NITA Board is charged with delivering transformative reform and investments for our public transit system that serves more than 1.3 million daily riders,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “My board members will play a critical role in modernizing Illinois’ transit systems so we can continue to strengthen operations, make necessary upgrades, and better connect communities across our state. I am proud to appoint highly qualified, dedicated Illinoisans who will help advance this important work.” […]

The Governor’s appointees to the NITA and other transit boards are as follows:

Bashir Qaasim (NITA, Metra) is Vice President at The Whole Group where he advises large organizations through transformation, with a focus on integrating fragmented technology systems. He previously held senior roles at Aforza and Accenture advising on technology, customer success, and organizational strategy. Qaasim earned a bachelor’s degree from the Computing and Digital Media school at DePaul University and serves on the NAMI Chicago Board of Directors. Qaasim will also serve on the Metra Board.

Nedra Sims Fears (NITA, CTA) is the Executive Director of The Greater Chatham Initiative, where she leads efforts to promote neighborhood investment and economic growth on Chicago’s South Side. She previously worked in mortgage banking and community development finance with Fannie Mae, the City of Chicago, and the Community Investment Corporation. Fears holds an MBA from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in interior architecture from Cornell University. She was also a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and previously served on the Metropolitan Planning Council Board. Fears will also serve on the CTA Board.

Nirali Shah (NITA) is Senior Director of Procurement and Culture, Impact, and Opportunity at the Obama Foundation, where she oversaw procurement for several aspects of the construction of the Obama Presidential Center. She previously served as Director of Procurement at McDermott Will & Schulte and held procurement, contract administration, and compliance positions at the CTA. Shah earned her law degree from Marquette University Law School and bachelor’s degree in psychology and speech communications from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Rosa Ortiz (NITA, Pace) is an urban planner and the principal and founder of 3e. Studio. She previously served as Managing Deputy Commissioner for the City of Chicago Department of Housing and held leadership positions with Enterprise Community Partners, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, and the Hispanic Housing Development Corporation. Ortiz holds a master’s degree in urban planning and policy and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Illinois Chicago. She has served on the CTA Board since 2021. In this appointment, she will serve on the Pace Board as well as the NITA Board.

Vanessa Uribe (NITA) is Associate Vice President for People and Operations at The Chicago Community Trust. She previously served as Chief Deputy in the Illinois Secretary of State’s Executive Office and as Chief of Staff and Deputy Director of the Office of Economic Equity and Empowerment at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). Uribe also held economic development and policy roles with Cook County and UnidosUS. She earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Illinois Chicago and is a graduate of the University of Chicago’s Civic Leadership Academy.

Neema Jha (CTA) is a Director at Charles River Associates (CRA), where she leads the firm’s practice advising large organizations on technology infrastructure modernization. She previously served as a Senior Practice Leader at AWS Professional Services and as Director of Technology, Strategy, and Management at Tribune Media Company. She has served on the CTA Board since 2022.

* The Tribune…

The governor, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have now appointed five members each to the new NITA board. Preckwinkle and Johnson’s appointees were approved by the County Board and Chicago City Council respectively. The other five NITA board members are collar county appointees. […]

Pritzker’s choice of CTA board appointees, Fears and Jha, means new members on the agency’s board will outnumber reappointed members by one. Johnson, not without some pushback, appointed two repeat members to the board — Lester Barclay, an attorney and the board’s current chair, and Michael Eaddy, a pastor — along with Oswaldo Alvarez, who is new to the CTA board but currently serves on the board of the RTA. Both of Preckwinkle’s CTA appointees, Tom Kotarac and Ann Kalayil, are new to the CTA board, although Kotarac currently serves on the RTA board.

The new CTA board members will have some authority to approve a permanent president for the CTA, which has been led for a year and a half by an acting president, Nora Leerhsen.

* Related…

* Press release | Mayor Brandon Johnson Announces Chicago’s Appointments to the NITA and Transit Agency Board of Directors: Oswaldo Alvarez currently serves on the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) Board of Directors. A public policy and nonprofit leader with extensive experience in workforce development and statewide civic initiatives, Alvarez is Executive Director of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation, where he led statewide policy strategy and coalition-building efforts. He also served as Illinois’ Statewide Census Director for the 2020 Census, managing a $47 million operation and coordinating more than 400 community organizations. A Chicago native and fluent Spanish speaker, Alvarez earned his master’s in social policy from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s in economics and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

* Press release | Lake County Appoints Gary Gordon to NITA Board of Directors: Gary Gordon has been appointed to represent Lake County on the Board of Directors for the newly created Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA), a role that will help shape how residents across the region get to work, school and other essential services. […] Gary Gordon is the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of the Shedd Aquarium and currently serves as Lake County’s representative on Metra’s Board of Directors.

* Forest Park Review | Hoskins appointed to new transit board: Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins has been appointed to a new board that will oversee upcoming transit reform in the Chicago area. […] For years, Hoskins has advocated for more resources at the end of the CTA Blue Line and Green Line in Forest Park and been in touch with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office about the village’s challenges near those locations. This year, Hoskins applied for the NITA board and interviewed with Preckwinkle and her team, where he discussed how Forest Park is impacted by local transit, his career as an attorney and his background in social services and mental health.

* Daily Herald | Who’s in and who’s out at NITA as new transit force takes shape: The 20 NITA directors, 17 of whom will have dual appointments to either the CTA, Metra or Pace boards, are expected to vote on a chair at their first meeting in September. Director salaries range from $15,000 to $25,000, depending on whether they serve on one or two boards.

Thoughts?