HART
Michael O’Keefe is taking on the Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer role at HART, succeeding Rick Keene, who is retiring at the end of this month after nearly 4-1/2 years of service.
O’Keefe will work closely with HART Executive Director and CEO Lori Kahikina to provide project and financial oversight to the Honolulu Rail Transit Project.
Hitachi Rail in 2023 delivered Skyline—described as “the first new major metro system to open in the U.S. since 1993”—to HART and the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Transportation Services (DTS) under a 12-year design-build-operate-maintain contract. (HART and DTS maintain the civil works portion.)
O’Keefe has more than 16 years of management, financial, and administrative experience with the city of Honolulu. Formerly the Deputy Director of the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services, he was responsible for the department’s finances and revenue bond program, including long-range financial forecasting, as well as assisting with the oversight of the operations and maintenance of the city’s 2,100 miles of sewer lines, 72 wastewater pump stations, nine wastewater treatment plants, landfills, waste-to-energy facility, and the provision of refuse/recycling collection and disposal services to 180,000 homes.
O’Keefe holds a bachelor’s degree in law and society from DeSales University, and master’s degrees in urban planning from the University of Southern California and in public administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
“I would like to express my appreciation to Rick for the critical work he has done since joining me at HART in 2021, and I want to extend Mike a very warm welcome to the HART ‘Ohana,” Lori Kahikina said. “I look forward to working closely with Mike to continue to move this project forward as we enter the next critical phase of guideway and station construction in the Downtown area. I have worked with him for many years while at the Department of Environmental Services and am confident his expertise and character align seamlessly with the culture of our HART Ohana.”
“Michael O’Keefe’s leadership at ENV can’t be overstated, and he’s been a cornerstone for the department over the past 16 years,” Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi added. “He is a dedicated public servant and has the necessary experience and vision to help lead the rail project in the years to come.”
Valley Metro
Michael Eshleman is joining Valley Metro as Deputy Chief of Service Planning. In this role, he will oversee service planning and scheduling for the agency that provides light rail, bus, paratransit, and streetcar service. His leadership, Valley Metro said, “will be instrumental in shaping future service strategies and strengthening partnerships with regional stakeholders to enhance public transit accessibility and reliability.”
Eshleman served previously as Service Planning Manager at the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District in Oakland, Calif., which covers a 23-jurisdiction area with a fleet of 630 buses and 1,200 operators. He earned a Bachelor of Science in city and regional planning, a Master of Science in transportation management, and a certificate in transit and paratransit operations from the University of the Pacific.
“With nearly 20 years of public transportation experience, Michael brings a wealth of knowledge and a strong track record of service planning excellence,” Valley Metro CEO Jessica Mefford-Miller said. “His expertise in service optimization and inter-agency collaboration will be invaluable as we continue to improve transit options for our riders.”
Valley Metro and the city of Phoenix are continuing preparations for the opening of the South Central Extension/Downtown Hub project. The 5.5-mile project will connect the current light rail system in downtown Phoenix to neighborhoods along Central Avenue to Baseline Road, and includes a hub in downtown Phoenix and eight new stations. Its launch is expected in mid-2025.
