About the Chicago Transit Board
The governing arm of the CTA is the Chicago Transit Board. The Board consists of seven members, with four appointed by the Mayor of Chicago and three appointed by the Governor of Illinois.
The Mayor's appointees are subject to the approval of the Governor and the Chicago City Council; the Governor's appointees are subject to the approval of the Mayor and the Illinois State Senate. CTA's day-to-day operations are directed by Dorval R. Carter, Jr., President.
The current Mayoral appointees are Lester L. Barclay, Michele A. Lee and Roberto Requejo. The current gubernatorial appointees are Rev. Dr. L. Bernard Jakes, Neema Jha and Rosa Y. Ortiz.
Lester L. Barclay serves as Chairman of the Chicago Transit Board.
Lester L. Barclay
A native of Chicago, Lester Barclay obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree, with honors, from Oberlin
College in 1981. He then received his Juris Doctor Degree from Case Western Reserve University in
Cleveland, Ohio. In 1986, Mr. Barclay was named a Henry Luce Scholar, having been identified by the
Luce Foundation as one of the future leaders of America. As a result of being awarded a Luce
Scholarship, Attorney Barclay was assigned to the Ministry of Industry of the Royal Thai Government
in Bangkok, Thailand, where he worked to establish trade relations between companies in the United
States and Southeast Asia. As an Attorney, Mr. Barclay has distinguished himself as a powerful
advocate and champion for many families and businesses in Chicago and throughout the nation.
Rev. Dr. L. Bernard Jakes
Rev. Dr. L. Bernard Jakes serves as Senior Pastor of the faith family of West Point Missionary
Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois. He received his elementary education at Nicholas Copernicus and
secondary education at Marie Curie Metropolitan of the Performing and Creative Arts High School.
Furthering his education, he received the Bachelor of Arts degree from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst,
Illinois; the Master of Arts degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary at Northwestern
University in Evanston, Illinois, and earned the Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological
Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.
As Senior Pastor of the faith family of West Point Missionary Baptist Church, Dr. Jakes has witnessed
numerous spiritual, financial, and administrative successes in the last 17 years. Dr. Jakes is
highly involved with local, state and federal policymakers—utilizing his voice as a local
pastor to speak truth to power as it relates to social justice, social action and social
accountability. His passion, commitment and unwavering voice for social justice have led to
policymakers seeking his voice and support on statewide issues such as sensible gun laws, support
for same-gender marriage, increasing the minimum wage, education funding reform, etc. Locally, Dr.
Jakes proudly served as a working member of The Mayor’s Commission for a Safer Chicago under
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and on the transition team for Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Currently, he is a working
member of the Faith-Based Leaders Advisory Board of the Cook County Public Defender’s Office
and was appointed by Governor J.B. Pritzker to serve as a board member for Chicago Transit
Authority. Dr. Jakes is a member of the Board of Trustees for Elmhurst College, as well as serves as
an inaugural member of the President’s Council for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for
Elmhurst College. Additionally, he serves as spiritual advisor to several local and state
politicians.
Neema Jha
Neema Jha is an accomplished digital transformation leader with an excellent track record of value
creation through customer centric technology modernization, innovations, and high-end cloud
computing. She has nearly two decades of experience in every facet of leadership including strategic
planning and execution, building, scaling, and collaborating with cross functional teams and
leaders. Neema has delivered real world business results through transformation at organizations
like Amazon, Tribune Media, and Deloitte. She currently works as Principal Customer Practice Leader
at Amazon Web Services where she uses an optimal blend of business & technology expertise to
apply innovation for customers across industries. Neema has an undergrad in Business and Finance
from Truman State University, and executive MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of
Management. Neema is a passionate advocate of gender equity and is involved in multiple initiatives
within and outside work in this area. Outside work, she enjoys long distance running and traveling
to different parts of the world. Neema was born in Kathmandu, Nepal and immigrated to the USA in
2001. Neema is fluent in Nepali, Hindi, and English. She lives in Chicago’s Bucktown
neighborhood with her husband and 11-year-old daughter.
Michele Lee
Michele Lee is a proud long time Chicagoland resident. After suffering a spinal cord injury in an
auto accident almost 20 years ago, she now uses a power wheelchair. Michele lives in downtown
Chicago and relies heavily on the CTA for transportation.
Currently, Michele Lee is a Senior Public Affairs Manager focused on Accessibility at Cruise, a
self-driving car service. In this role she cultivates relationships with key advocates, community
organizations, and experts representing the full diversity of the disability community to build a
more accessible AV service.
Michele holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Arizona and is a DisabilityLead fellow.
Additionally, she has been appointed to various committees by the City of Chicago and served on
multiple nonprofit boards to champion the rights of people with disabilities. Combining a
professional background in corporate and nonprofit organizations with a long passion for disability
rights advocacy she is working towards an equitable, accessible transportation future.
Rosa Y. Ortiz, AICP, LEED AP
Ms. Ortiz is a certified planner and LEED accredited professional. She provides over two decades of
government, corporate, and not‐for-profit experience. As principal and founder of 3e.Studio, she
leads initiatives in equitable community development, sustainability, and strategic planning. Her
approach to projects focuses on being inclusive, building on unique local assets, and creating
meaningful impact. Rosa brings the ability to understand complex issues at different scales and
implement practical solutions. These skills are rooted in her work on local and national projects
and from practicums in Denmark, Mexico, China, France, and in the United States. She earned a
master’s degree in Urban Planning and Policy and a bachelor’s degree in Architecture
from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Born in Mexico City, she is bilingual and bicultural and
is proud to bring this to her work. She leads with integrity to create long-term partnerships and
strongly believes in carving space for everyone to succeed.
Roberto Requejo
Roberto Requejo is an urban planner specialized in equitable development, active transportation and cross-sector collaboration. He is currently a Field Catalyst fellow at the Center for Community Investment. Between 2017 and 2024 Roberto led the Elevated Chicago coalition, overseeing the deployment of $15M+ to advance equitable transit-oriented development (ETOD) and leveraging $1B+ in government funding for affordable homes, small businesses, cultural venues, health clinics and community centers connected to transit. Prior to joining Elevated, he served as an officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, developing its first DEI strategic plan, and leading the Financial Services Pipeline Initiative, a collaborative of financial institutions tasked with increasing Black and Latino representation in the banking sector. Roberto was also a program officer at The Chicago Community Trust, leading a $10M program to address the region’s foreclosures crisis. He has also worked at the Metropolitan Planning Council and at Citi Community Capital.
Roberto co-chaired the transportation and infrastructure transition committees for two mayors-elect, Lori Lightfoot in 2019 and Brandon Johnson in 2023. He has served in steering committees and advisory councils for the Chicago Transit Authority, the Regional Transportation Authority and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for planning, focusing on growing ETOD and improving transportation options for communities of color, people with disabilities and essential workers. Roberto lives with his partner Jomar in the River West neighborhood and is a regular rider of the CTA Blue Line and the #56 and #66 buses.
Board Meetings
The Chicago Transit Board meets monthly at the principal offices of the Chicago Transit Authority, 567 W. Lake Street, Second Floor Boardroom, Chicago, Illinois. Board meetings are open to the public. The meetings are also live streamed and can be accessed at transitchicago.com/board/video.
Board meetings usually take place at 10:00 am and are usually preceded by committee meetings. (See detailed calendar below.)
The separate committees include Human Resources, Strategic Planning, Capital Construction Oversight, and the Finance, Audit & Budget Committee.
For complete regular and special Board meeting notices, agendas, an exact schedule of committee meetings and special meetings see Meeting Notices, Agendas and Minutes as meeting dates approach, or contact us at (312) 681-5022 or boardoffice@transitchicago.com.
These facilities are accessible to people with disabilities.
Regular Chicago Transit Board Meeting dates
Regular board meetings for the year 2024 are scheduled on the following dates:
- THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2024** (notice of change of date)
- WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2024
- WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2024
- WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2024
- WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2024
- WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2024
- WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2024*
- WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2024
- WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024
- WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2024
- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024
- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2024
*Per Resolution R023-6
** Per Resolution R024-1
Also, see Meeting Notices, Agendas & Minutes for additional details.
Public comment at Board Meetings
The public is welcome to make comments at public meetings, including meetings of the Chicago Transit Board. To make comments, you'll need to follow our comment process (including filling out a short form before the meeting). See this information to learn more about our Public Comment Process.
Live streaming of board meetings
You can watch board meetings online as they are happening or review video from prior meetings on our Board Video page.
Reaching the Board
Direct correspondence for the Chicago Transit Board or its members to:
Office of the Secretary
CTA Headquarters
567 W. Lake Street
Chicago, IL 60661
Tel: 1-312-681-5022
Fax: 1-312-681-5035
Email: boardoffice@transitchicago.com
See also