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 Rev. Johnny L. Miller. 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.

Rev. Johnny L. Miller
Rev. Johnny L. Miller serves as Pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church for over forty years. Over this period, outreach has been one of his primary focuses. With the opening of the JLM Center—a Center that bears his name, and where the Mt. Vernon Baptist Church engages in its weekly worship services—numerous Community Outreach services are provided. He was reared in Tutwiler, Mississippi by his grandparents until the late 1960s and moved to Chicago where he graduated in 1967 from John Marshall High School. Rev. Miller was later drafted into the U.S. Army in 1970 and was honorably discharged in 1972. He served in Germany in the 209th General Dispatch as an SP5. He also furthered his education by attending Wilson Jr. College. Following that, he attended Bishop College in Texas where he received his DOD Degree. From 1973-1976 he attended the Chicago Baptist Institute to further his studies in the Gospel Ministry. Rev. Miller has always been an ambitious and out-going person and still wears many hats. He continues to serve on multiple boards, including being appointed to the Chicago Transit Authority Board.

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 notāfor-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.
Board Meetings
The Chicago Transit Board meets monthly. Because the Governor of Illinois' COVID-19 Disaster Proclamation remains in effect, the Board meetings are currently taking place virtually for members of the public, as permitted by Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act. The meetings are 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 2023 are scheduled on the following dates:
- FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023* (Notice of changed format)
- WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2023 (Notice of changed format)
- WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2023 (Notice of changed format)
- WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12, 2023 (Notice of changed format)
- WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2023 (Notice of changed format)
- FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2023 at 11:00 A.M. (Notice of changed date and time)
- WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2023
- WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2023*
- WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2023
- FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2023*
- WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2023 at 3:30 P.M.*
- WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2023
*Per Resolution R022-7
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