Executive Leadership

Robert Ruzinsky - Chief Executive Officer
4 S. Main Street Dayton, OH 45402
Email: @email

Ruzinsky is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a dual focus on accounting and marketing and holds an active CPA License. Ruzinsky began his career with RTA in 1987 in the agency's accounting group and quickly moved up through the department holding various positions including senior accountant, accounting supervisor, HR manager, controller, capital controller, chief capital officer, deputy CEO and currently CEO.

In his role as CEO, Ruzinsky has the responsibility of RTA’s day-to-day departmental functions. This includes all activities in each of the three primary work groups: operations, finance, and customer & business development.

As RTA’s chief capital officer, Ruzinsky led the ongoing effort on the replacement/rebuilding of RTA's physical assets, including buses, real estate holdings and leased properties. RTA boasts one of the newest bus fleets in the nation and has successfully completed or is in the process of renovating all its facilities and rebuilding its extensive electric bus power system infrastructure. Many of these multi-years, multi-million-dollar projects have been funded in part by competitive grants Ruzinsky has secured for RTA.

Ruzinsky led the efforts behind RTA’s four consecutive Federal Transit Administration Triennial Reviews with zero deficiencies found in each. In the Spring of 2019, the Ohio Public Transit Association recognized his accomplishments through its Leonard Ronis Award as Transit Professional of the Year in Ohio.

Ruzinsky, a Dayton supporter for more than 25 years, has served in several leadership roles with many local community groups including chair of the city of Dayton Landmark Commission, president of Preservation Dayton and one of the founders of Rebuilding Together Dayton. An avid champion of historic preservation, Ruzinsky has chaired the McPherson Town Neighborhood Development Corporation and has restored dozens of homes in Dayton’s historic districts.

Roland Caldwell – Chief Transportation Officer

Roland Caldwell joined the Greater Dayton RTA in 2018 as Director of Transportation, bringing 30 years of leadership and a successful track record in overseeing transportation operations for a large scale transit organization.  Roland has since been named Chief Transportation Officer. As the Chief Transportation Officer, Roland is responsible for all aspects of service delivery including Fixed Route Operations, Connect Operations, Dispatch, Street Operations, Performance Management and the Customer experience.

Serving many years in the financial services industry for Discover Financial Services, Roland established a reputation for building strong partnerships across diverse business divisions to deliver the strategic vision and the corporate objectives.  Since entering the transportation industry in 2009, Roland has continued to lead, serving in various leadership and management roles with the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) where he was instrumental in the Authority’s multi-year Transit Redesign project.  Throughout his career Roland has developed and led high performing teams, always focused on achieving excellence and maintaining the highest standards of quality. 

A member of the Dayton community, Roland is active in local arts and culture and serves on the Board of Directors for the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. He is a member of the American Public Transportation Association, a graduate of COTA’s Leaders of the Future Program, has been selected to represent RTA as part of the Black Leadership Development Program Class 2020 and is a proud veteran of the United States Air Force. 

 

Daron Brown – Chief Maintenance Officer

Daron Brown is the Chief Maintenance Officer for the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (RTA).  Brown has more than 30 years of Fleet and Facilities transit maintenance experience.  In May of 2016, Brown joined the RTA as the Deputy Chief Maintenance Officer.  In July of 2017, he was promoted to Director of Maintenance and has since been promoted again to Chief maintenance Officer. He is responsible for the day-to-day Operations of Maintenance which encompasses Fleet Maintenance, Buildings and Grounds (Facilities), Electrical Infrastructure, Inventory/Storeroom, Warranty, Quality Control, Capital Planning, and Operating Budgets for 13 Cost Centers within the RTA.  Brown has played a key leadership role in increasing RTA’s Miles between Mechanical Road Calls by more than 50% over 2015’s numbers, with improved Preventive Maintenance (PM) plans, focusing on top 5 road call failures, targeted campaigns, engine replacements and fleet modernization.

Brown started his transit career in 1986 with the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) where he held various positions throughout the organization.  Those roles included, Diesel Mechanic, Fleet Supervisor, Facilities Supervisor, Facilities Manager, Fleet Manager and QA Manager/Maintenance Superintendent.  In 2010, he was appointed Assistant Director of Fleet and Facilities where he was responsible for the Fleet and Facilities Maintenance PM Program, Major Repair shops, Quality Assurance, Warranty, Training, Capital Planning, Operating Budgets as well as other key personnel support functions.  Brown played an important role in increasing SORTA’s Mean Distance between Mechanical Failures from about 3,600 miles in 2013 to over 6,300 miles in early 2016.

Brown attended Northern Kentucky University where he majored in Mathematics with a minor is Business Administration and was selected to Who’s Who Among America’s Colleges and Universities.

(Connect Services, Link Bike Share, Community Relations, Call Center, Bus Scheduling and Planning, Route Amenity Requests and Information)

Brandon Policicchio - Chief Customer & Business Development Officer
4 S. Main Street Dayton, OH 45402
Email: @email

As Chief Customer and Business Development Officer, Brandon Policicchio leads the development, implementation and analysis of all marketing, communications, community relations, succession planning, customer service, ridership, fixed route and paratransit service planning and scheduling efforts of the RTA. Under his leadership, the Customer and Business Development team’s focus is on fostering positive and progressive relationships with RTA employees, customers, area agencies, governments and businesses organizations. His team also focuses on the delivery of RTA’s mobility coordination vision, ensuring the delivery of seamless, accessible, customer-focused services for the region.

Brandon has taken the lead on many projects to expand and improve service quality, including on-time performance improvements in both fixed route and paratransit services. His efforts have resulted in more reliable and accessible services for customers while increasing productivity and reducing operating costs. 

In 2015, Brandon volunteered to manage RTA’s overhaul of its Intelligent Transportation Systems infrastructure; a two-year, $13 million investment to upgrade vehicle and dispatching technologies, communications and safety systems as well as implementation of new customer amenities. These amenities included real-time bus operating information, and automated customer calling for paratransit services.

Brandon joined RTA in October 2012 as Deputy Chief Operations Officer after serving as a Transportation Supervisor with the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) in Columbus, Ohio. He began working in transportation in 2006 as a student bus operator at The Ohio State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. He later was promoted to Transportation Training and Operations Supervisor for The Ohio State University Campus Area Bus Service before joining COTA in 2009.

Brandon represents the RTA on the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) mobility management committee, as well as on several Ohio Public Transportation Association (OPTA) committees: membership, planning and paratransit. He is a 2018 Leadership APTA graduate, a member of RTA’s 2020 Leadership Group, Graduate Member of the COTA William J. Lhota Leaders of the Future program and in 2016, Mass Transit magazine selected him as one of the Top 40 Under 40 transportation industry leaders.

Mary Stanforth – Chief Financial Officer

Mary Stanforth has 23 years of experience in public transportation.  As Chief Financial Officer of the Greater Dayton RTA, Mary manages and administers the Accounting, Finance, Management Information Systems and Procurement departments.  Mary also serves as Secretary/Treasurer to the RTA Board of Trustees, performing all statutory duties as required. 

Stanforth holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from the Wright State University with a focus on Accountancy and maintains an active CPA License.  Stanforth began her career at Ernst & Young as a tax professional and subsequently changed career paths after accepting a position at RTA.  Over the past 23 years Mary has worked up through the ranks at RTA, holding the positions of Accounting Supervisor, Controller, Assistant Director of Administrative Services and Chief Financial Officer. 

Stanforth has served as Treasurer for the Greater Dayton YWCA and Sycamore Creek Country Club Ladies Golf Association.  Mary currently serves as a Booster Club Representative for the Centerville Schools Girls Volleyball Program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Stevens – Chief Labor Relations Officer

Bob Stevens has worked for the RTA since 1991 and brings to his current role decades of experience and knowledge of labor contracts, and extensive interaction with employees to address labor issues.

A U.S. Army Combat Engineer veteran, Stevens started his career at RTA as a bus driver and was a vehicle maintenance mechanic holding an ASE Master Technician certification, prior to joining the human resources team. Stevens holds several certifications from the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association (NPELRA), the Ohio State Employment Relations Board (SERB), and brings experience from labor unions having served on the Executive Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1385 for 20 years.

Stevens was named Director of Labor Relations in 2018 and Chief Labor Relations Officer in 2023.

In this role he is responsible for the management of all labor-related activities within the various bargaining units.  He plans, directs, coordinates, and implements labor relations investigations and settlements.  He also serves as the liaison with any external agencies concerned with labor relations, including SERB, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).