Mass Transit magazine features agency profiles, industry trends, management tips and new product information.
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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit | 41 Alaina Griswold Maciá CEO MTM and Ride Right Mer lin Maley AIA, LEED AP BD&C;, NCARB Associate Principal Western Region Transit Director RNL Design ALAINA MACIÁ recognized the importance and service expansion opportunities of managing non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) beneft for health plans and government entities and in 1995, established MTM. Leveraging the company's strengths in developing solutions for connecting community resources, she has led the charge in creating diver- sifed product oferings in the public transit realm, including travel training, functional as- sessments for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) para- transit eligibility, and ADA paratransit brokerage. Each of these services pro- vides fresh approaches for achieving MTM's vision of communities without barriers. Maciá also spearheaded the founding of Ride Right, an MTM afliate that op- erates paratransit, fxed-route transit, special needs transportation and mobility management services. MTM arranges more than 7 million NEMT and paratransit trips for the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and transportation disadvantaged ev- ery year. Maciá has ensured MTM's substantial growth stemming from new services, evolving from 200 employees in 2005, to more than 1,300 in 2014. Annual revenue has increased from $60 mil- lion in 2005 to a projected $279 million this year. Maciá holds a master's degree in business ad - ministration from Washington University's Olin School of Business. She has been the recipient of many honors, including being named one of 2012's Most In- f luential Businesswomen by the St. Louis Business Jour- nal. She was also named to the publication's 30 Under 30 class in 2004 and 40 Under 40 class in 2011. Most recently, she was named Entrepreneur of the Year in the Midwest Region's Healthcare Services category by Ernst & Young, and will go on to compete in the national category in November. Her leadership has helped MTM achieve its place in the Journal's Top 150 Privately Held Companies, Top 20 Fastest-Growing Private Companies, and Top 5 Largest Women-Owned Businesses. www.MassTransitmag.com/11617550 MERLIN MALEY, A registered ar- chitect in several states across the west, has worked exclusively as a transportation architect for nearly nine years. Tis focus is driven by his passion for sustainable cities and communities. While at RNL, Maley has been elevated three times and wears many hats, in- cluding project manager, project architect, designer and sustain- ability champion. Sustainable design is inherent to transit systems and transit providers. Tese systems reduce the demands on public infra- structure, reduce trafc conges- tion and improve air quality. By bringing high levels of sustain- able design to transit facilities, annual operational costs can be dramatically reduced, but more importantly, sustain- able design directly improves culture and morale. Maley was project architect and sustainability champion for the Emil 'Lucky' Reznik Adminis- tration Maintenance and Operations Facility in South Bend, Indiana, which achieved LEED Plat- inum Certifcation. Despite being more than twice as large as its predecessor, the facility has reduced annual utility costs by 30 percent. Maley is design manager and the main point of contact for the project manager for Utah Transit Authority's new depot district service center. Te project consists of remodeling an existing 1920s brick loco- motive maintenance building into a bus maintenance facili- ty and an administration and operations addition. It is being designed to be net-zero energy. Maley is active in the Amer- ican Public Transportation Association (APTA) and is a graduate of the 2013 Leadership APTA class. He is also active in the Colorado Association of Transit Agencies, the South- west Transit Association, the Denver Chamber of Commerce's Transit Alliance, the Downtown Denver Partnership's Transportation Development Council, and is a past chair of the Committee on the Environment for the American Institute of Architects Denver chapter. www.MassTransitmag.com/11617633 "I believe that public transit systems can always benefit from improved flexibility. In the future, I would like to see more public transit options available nationwide to continue increasing system accessibility and expanding utilization for consumers of all abilities." "Public transit ties together my passions for incredible cities and spaces and sustainable architecture and landscape design. Transit systems are helping to create 21st century cities and communities, while decreasing the dependence on the automobile for mobility."