COTA Welcomes Chief LinkUs Program Officer and New CFO
The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) has announced new members of its leadership team, who will be instrumental in advancing the LinkUS mobility initiative. Dorinda McCombs will join COTA as its Chief LinkUS Program Officer. McCombs will be responsible for strategic planning, project implementation, performance evaluation, policy development, and executive oversight of the LinkUS project team. Earl Jackson will serve COTA as Chief Financial Officer, assuming responsibility for financial strategy, accounting, procurement, and financial strategic planning initiatives.
“As this community makes measurable progress on LinkUS, we need to have the best people in place to maintain our momentum and keep faith with the voters,” said COTA President/CEO Monica Tellez-Fowler. “Dorinda and Earl have the experience and the expertise to support LinkUS and COTA at this pivotal moment.”
McCombs is associate vice president at HNTB Corporation, where she has worked for more than two years. Prior to that, she was Chief Capital Planning and Project Delivery Officer for the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority in Alabama, where she helped implement Bus Rapid Transit. She also has served as Senior Director of Capital Programming for the Metropolitan Rapid Transit Authority in Atlanta. McCombs is the former CEO of MONTCORP, LLC, and held leadership roles for Penial Solutions, LLC, the City of Atlanta, Booz Allen Hamilton, the City of Carlsbad, and California State University San Marcos. She will begin as Chief LinkUS Program Officer on Sept. 2.
“LinkUS is about shaping a future where every resident has access to opportunity, mobility, and a higher quality of life, and I have seen firsthand how transformative transit modernization can be for communities,” McCombs said. “I’m excited to work alongside COTA’s talented team and our partners to deliver on that vision.”
Jackson is Chief Financial Officer for the City and County of Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, where he manages a team of 130 and an annual budget of $850 million. Jackson’s career in financial management and planning includes a leadership role at the Chicago Transit Authority, the second largest transit agency in the country, where he oversaw budget development, oversight, and financial planning of more than $775 million in annual operating expenses.
He also served in leadership roles at BNSF Railway, the New York State MTA, and Bank of America. Jackson will join COTA Sept. 15.
“COTA is entering an era of unprecedented opportunity for growth and impact,” Jackson said. “I look forward to ensuring that our financial strategies and resources are aligned to deliver the transformative results that LinkUS and our community deserve.”
