HNTB on Feb. 12 reported hiring Alicia Leite as a senior associate to help expand the firm’s transit planning practice, as well as its client relationships across the Northeast and nationally.
With experience in public transportation planning, customer experience, transit service planning, and organizational strategy, Leite served most recently at WSP as Assistant Vice President, Advisory Services. She also spent more than ten years at the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), where she held several senior leadership roles within the Bureau of Public Transportation.
While at CTDOT, Leite oversaw customer experience, marketing, and planning functions across rail, bus and paratransit services statewide. She led the creation of the department’s Customer Experience (CX) Unit and directed development of the Statewide Customer Experience Action Plan, working closely with transit districts, rail operators, advocacy organizations and community stakeholders. Her work focused on improving rider satisfaction, accessibility, equity and consistency across Connecticut’s multimodal transit network. Leite also played a key role in advancing mobility innovation and transit technology, including authoring and helping to secure a SMART grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Connecticut Integrated Transit Mobility Project. This initiative supported open payments, unified fare strategies, and the identification of a statewide mobility application, positioning Connecticut as a leader in customer-focused transit modernization, according to HNTB. In addition, Leite managed and supported bus service planning, service expansion, fare equity analysis and federal transit programs.
Leite’s background also includes work on rail start-up support, bus rapid transit, grant-funded pilot programs and public engagement for major transit initiatives.
She is a graduate of the American Public Transportation Association’s Emerging Leaders Program and serves as a national mentor. Recently, Leite was appointed to a two-year term on the APTA Emerging Leaders Program committee. She is an active member in the Connecticut chapters of WTS and the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO).
Now as HNTB’s senior associate in transit planning, Leite will “partner with transit agencies to deliver strategic transit planning, customer experience programs, service planning, organizational assessments, and mobility innovation initiatives that enable agencies to meet evolving rider expectations and long-term operational goals,” according to the firm.
“Alicia brings a rare combination of public-sector leadership, customer experience expertise and hands-on transit planning experience,” said Jake Argiro, Connecticut Office Leader and Vice President at HNTB. “Her work at CTDOT, including statewide customer experience initiatives and federal innovation grants, aligns directly with what our clients need as they modernize systems and respond to changing customer expectations. She will be instrumental in growing our transit planning capabilities.”
“Joining HNTB gives me the opportunity to continue working alongside transit agencies and improve how people experience public transportation,” Leite said. “My career has focused on putting riders first through thoughtful planning, customer experience and innovation. HNTB’s collaborative approach and strong transit practice create an ideal platform to help agencies deliver meaningful, lasting improvements.”
Separately, earlier this year, Kimberly Lesay joined HNTB as Transportation Planning Practice Consultant, and HNTB Senior Vice President Michael Mangione became the firm’s New York Office Leader.
