2026 Summit Speaker Bios - Publish - Flipbook - Page 9
Ursula Barrera-Richards, JD, CHRO, Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority
Ursula Barrera-Richards, J.D. is the Chief Human Resources Ofûcer at the Toledo Area Transit Authority
(TARTA). With nearly two decades of public sector experience, Ms. Barrera-Richards is a passionate strategic
change agent with a goal of elevating organizations and cultures. She specializes in public sector labor
relations and creating innovative ways to solve problems by employing her legal, labor, public relations,
public policy, and human resource expertise.
Prior to joining TARTA she spent nearly a decade in behavioral healthcare administration at the Ohio
Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services at NOPH, then at Zepf Center as the Chief Human
Resources and Compliance Ofûcer. While at Zepf Center, she promoted a culture of quality improvement,
trauma-informed care and employee engagement for a staff of nearly 500 at 16 sites. She began her career
as a congressional aide to the Honorable Marcy Kaptur in Washington, D.C. Prior to returning to Toledo in
2011, she worked in various capacities for the State of Ohio, including the Ohio Legislature as an aide to
Senator Teresa Fedor, where she was instrumental in crafting, drafting and building networks to support
Sub. SB 235 3 legislation making human trafûcking a stand-alone felony.
Ms. Barrera-Richards studied labor policy at the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs and went on to serve
clerkships at the United Autoworkers International Union in Detroit, Michigan and the Ohio State Troopers
Union in Columbus, Ohio. After graduating from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, she
served a clerkship at the Ohio Attorney General’s Ofûce in the Employment Law Section.
Ms. Barrera-Richards, a Toledo Public School graduate of Bowsher High School, received her
undergraduate education at the University of Toledo on a Toledo EXCEL scholarship. In 2024, she was
appointed to her 3rd term as a WGTE Public Media’s Board of Directors; her ûrst term on the One Ohio
Recovery Foundation and the Toledo Public Schools Foundation and her second term as the Chair of the
Lucas County Democratic Central Committee.
Veronica Vanterpool, SVP, Americas Transit Lead, AECOM (former
Acting Administrator, FTA)
Veronica Vanterpool is a nationally recognized transportation leader with
over two decades of experience in public transit, policy and innovation.
She currently serves as AECOM’s Americas Transit Lead, SVP for the US
and Canada, where she oversees major transit projects across North
America and drives strategic growth. Immediately prior to joining AECOM,
Veronica was Acting Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration
reporting to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
During her tenure at FTA, she established the agency’s ûrst Data Ofûce,
the second such Ofûce within the USDOT. She was also selected as part of
the ûrst cohort of President Biden’s Presidential Leadership Workshop.
Prior to joining FTA, Veronica was the ûrst Chief Innovation Ofûcer in
Delaware launching marquis projects such as automated transit shuttles
and on-demand, microtransit serving rural Delaware. Veronica started her
transportation career in advocacy in NYC advancing equity across all
modes of mobility. She also served as a board member of the New York
Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the nation’s largest transportation network, for several years. She is a
native New Yorker, born and raised in the Bronx. Veronica is active in many organizations including: WTS
[2024 Women of the Year Awardee], Conference of Minority Transportation Ofûcials [2024 Greater New York
Chapter Awardee / 2023 Women Who Move the Nation Awardee] and LIT. She is on the Board of Directors
[Executive Committee] for the American Public Transit Association and COMTO International and is an
Emeritus Board Member of the Bronx River Alliance.
