Executive Leadership

Alex Z. Wiggins, a veteran of the United States Army, Air Force Reserve and the Seattle Police Department, was appointed CEO of the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority in July 2019. His transportation experience includes service as the City of Seattle’s strategic advisor for light rail, chief of staff for the Seattle Department of Transportation, chief administrative officer at the North County Transit District in San Diego County, and deputy executive director at Metra Commuter Rail in Chicago. Prior to taking the helm of the New Orleans RTA, Alex served as chief of LA Metro’s System Security & Law Enforcement Division.

Katherine Bush Felton serves as the chief of staff for the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority. Katherine brings 15 years of public sector experience, including time at the White House during the Obama Administration, the office of U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-15) and various departments within the City of Seattle where she most recently served as the director of communications for the Mayor’s Office.

Lona Hankins serves as the Authority’s chief of infrastructure and long-term planning. Lona oversees the development and execution of capital assets and the implementation of infrastructure improvement projects across all modes of the Authority’s transit operations and administration. In her over 30 years of work experience in the industrial and public sector, Lona has spearheaded the rebuilding of New Orleans schools during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Previously serving as the director of major capital projects for the Recovery School District (RSD), Lona completed over $2.0 billion in projects across 40 school campuses for the children of New Orleans.

Mark Major serves as the deputy CEO of finance and administration. With over 30 years of financial and transit management experience, Mark has been a key player is the agency’s overall success both pre- and post-Hurricane Katrina. From 1984 to 2012 Major served in the capacity of chairman or vice chairman of the TMSEL Defined Benefit Retirement Income Plan. Major began his transportation career in August 1983 as an investment analyst with the agency.

Darwyn Anderson serves as the chief human resources officer for the RTA. Darwyn joins the RTA with over 25 years of human resources experience, including his tenure as both the deputy personnel director and the acting personnel director for the City of Seattle. Darwyn also served as the human resources director/labor relations manager for the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation and as the safety, health, and wellness director for Seattle City Light—a publicly managed utility.

Gerard Guter serves as the interim chief operating officer for the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority. Gerard brings over 40 years of experience in transit management; with 39 of those years being with RTA. From his start with the Authority as an operator in 1979, he rose through the ranks holding various positions in the Operations Division. Gerard's comprehensive knowledge of best practices and federal regulations for transit safety, particularly in Safety Management Systems (SMS), emergency management, and accident investigations bring a wealth of knowledge about transit in New Orleans. For over 10 years, he oversaw New Orleans’ emergency evacuation responses and accident investigations. Gerard brings unmatched expertise in planning and operating transit services, particularly special events in New Orleans. For over a decade, he has coordinated transit for all New Orleans special events. He has developed strong connections with City officials, community leaders, and other stakeholders to implement special event plans.

Detrich has been with the RTA for five years starting in 2016 as the Director of Human Resources with Transdev Services then transitioning to Deputy Chief of HR & Employee Relations directly with the RTA on December 20, 2020. Prior to working at the RTA, she was the Director of Community Development for Jefferson Parish where she administered millions of dollars in HUD funding in the form of CDBG, HOME, ESG and D-CDBG grants utilized within the low-to-moderate income communities of Jefferson Parish. She has extensive experience with compliance audits on the State and Federal levels. Mrs. Hebert Johnson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting in 1995 from Dillard University, a Juris Doctorate from Southern University Law Center, and a Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resource Management from the University of New Orleans. She is licensed to practice law in both Louisiana and Texas. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and in her spare time, enjoys spending time with family, traveling, reading, and shopping.

Robert Hickman is the Regional Transit Authority’s chief security officer. Robert leads all transit security and emergency preparedness operations which includes the daily security of the system’s bus network, streetcar service and RTA facilities. Robert began his tenure with RTA in December 2011 as the police commander of the New Orleans Police Department’s Transit Police.

Gizelle Johnson-Banks is the chief financial officer, bringing over 19 years of financial management, reporting and facility operations experience to the RTA. Prior to joining the RTA, Ms. Johnson-Banks served as the chief financial officer for FirstLine Charter School Network, managing a $50 million budget and six school networks. Gizelle was responsible for strategic financial planning and analysis, business modeling, implementation of new systems and the reorganization of the finance and accounting departments.

Jose Ruiz-Garcia serves as the chief marine officer and leads ferry operations for the RTA. 

Jose brings over 25 years of maritime industry, general law, and shoreside management experience. Prior to joining the RTA, Ruiz served as the executive director of the Puerto Rico Maritime Transport Authority, where he managed the day-to-day operations within the San Juan Harbor and Puerto Rico’s municipal islands, by supervising a ferry passenger and cargo transit service with an annual ridership of over 1.5 million riders. 

Mike brings more than 20 years of experience in transit safety, operations, regulatory compliance, and project management. Prior to joining RTA, Mike served as a contractor to the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Office of Transit Safety and Oversight, where he was responsible for developing regulations, standards, technical guidance, tools, and training for the transit safety community (i.e., transit agencies, State Departments of Transportation, State Safety Oversight Agencies, and consultants). Prior to the Federal contractor role, he held operations and safety positions at several transit properties, including: the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA); Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC), Richmond, VA; and University Transit Service (UTS), Charlottesville, VA. Mike holds Transit Safety and Security Program (TSSP) certificates from the U.S. Department of Transportation in both rail and bus transit and is certified under the FTA's Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program (PTSCTP) for rail.