National RTAP

Karen Bio

Assistant Director

National RTAP
5 Wheeling Avenue
Woburn, MA 01801
888-589-6821
781-404-5023 direct

Karen joined the National Rural Transit Assistance Program team as a Project Manager for the Community Rides Grant Program in 2021, which supported projects that developed or strengthened transportation partnerships that improve the social determinants of health in rural and tribal communities. Projects were focused on increasing access to critical needs like employment, healthcare, education, healthy food, or social services and building the capacity of transit programs.

Karen has been the Director of Neponset Valley Transportation Management Association since 2013, a suburban public/private partnership promoting sustainable commute options. Karen has worked to promote collaboration among TMA members and to establish first- and last-mile shuttle connections to transit stations. She has secured grants for innovative transit projects throughout her tenure, including the MassDOT Workforce Transportation Grant, Community Connections Grant, and MassDOT TMA Grant. Karen successfully launched forums focused on Transportation Gaps and Unmet Needs in the Neponset Valley region. She established the Neponset Valley Regional Coordinating Council (NVRCC) through these forums in 2015. The NVRCC is part of a statewide initiative to increase and support community and paratransit transportation services. She participated in creating a Partnership Toolkit to assist members with meeting transportation needs. In addition, Karen worked with regional stakeholders from the public and private sectors to start the Suburban Mobility Working Group (SMWG) in 2018. This group takes a multi-modal approach to address infrastructure improvements and mobility challenges in the Neponset Valley region and develop innovative solutions incorporating realistic transportation needs for all communities.

Karen has previous experience managing business operations for a retained executive search firm specializing in recruiting Board and C-level executives in the technology industry. She also held a key role at CTC Communications, a public telecommunications company, as Director of Corporate events and the CEO's Corporate staff member. Karen has a BS degree in Marketing from Roger Williams University.

National RTAP offers one-stop shopping for rural and tribal transit technical assistance products and services. Call, email, or chat with us and if we can’t help with your request, we’ll connect you with someone who can!

" National RTAP offers one-stop shopping for rural and tribal transit technical assistance products and services. Call, email, or chat with us and if we can’t help with your request, we’ll connect you with someone who can! "

Robin Phillips, Executive Director
" You go above and beyond and I wanted to let you know that I appreciate it so much and always enjoy my time with you. The presentations give me so much to bring back to my agency and my subrecipients. "

Amy Rast, Public Transit Coordinator Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans)
" I always used the CASE (Copy And Steal Everything) method to develop training materials until I discovered RTAP. They give it to you for free. Use it! "

John Filippone, former National RTAP Review Board Chair
" National RTAP provides an essential service to rural and small transit agencies. The products are provided at no cost and help agencies maximize their resources and ensure that their employees are trained in all aspects of passenger service. "

Dan Harrigan, Former National RTAP Review Board Chair
" We were able to deploy online trip planning for Glasgow Transit in less than
90 days using GTFS Builder. Trip planning information displays in a riders'
native language, which supports gencies in travel training and meeting Title VI
mandates. "

Tyler Graham, Regional Transportation Planner Barren River Area Development District
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" Having a tool like GTFS Builder is really light years ahead of what it used to be at one time in terms of how fast you can put everything together. Our university students really can't imagine transit without it, so I think it's very important for us in terms of attracting that particular demographic. "

Michael Lachman, Transportation Services Manager HAPCAP - Athens Transit
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" In the past we used proprietary database software that was very challenging, very murky, and hard to update. GTFS Builder is a great opportunity to make this more user-friendly, more readily updatable and it
would enable us to show how to create a GTFS to more of the staff. "

Jaime McKay, Former Manager of Direct Services Center for Mobility Equity
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" Collaboration is a buzz word these days in the industry. On behalf of our Tribal segment, I appreciate RTAP for making Tribes a partner in industry opportunities. The organization goes over and beyond reaching partners one would not expect in a busy industry such as public transportation. Thank you for your tireless efforts! "

Franklin Akoneto, Comanche Nation
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"We are so very thankful for all your transportation training materials. Your resources are as valuable as gold!"

Holly Walton, Transportation Assistant Manager, Curative Connections

A program of the Federal Transit Administration administered by the Neponset Valley TMA

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Assistant Director

National RTAP offers one-stop shopping for rural and tribal transit technical assistance products and services. Call, email, or chat with us and if we can’t help with your request, we’ll connect you with someone who can!

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