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.

Michael Eaddy

Reverend Michael Eaddy has been the senior pastor of the People’s Church of the Harvest Church of God in Christ, Chicago, IL for the past 45 years. The church offers holistic wrap-around social services to youth and families, HIV AIDS awareness, drug abuse prevention, anti-violence activities, food distribution and utility bill payment assistance. He also serves as the Chairman of the General Council of Pastors and Elders Church of God in Christ, providing international leadership to 54,000 pastors and elders.

As President of the Peoples Community Development Association of Chicago, Inc. (PCDAC) he provides leadership to the Philemon Restoration Project (PRP), which provides job training and placement in Custodial and Building Maintenance, Computer Literacy and Life Skills for 4,300 formerly incarcerated persons. As an affordable housing developer, PCDAC constructed Harvest Homes Apartments in 2017, a $13.5 million-dollar 36-unit development. Currently Harvest Homes II, a $33 million dollars project is in pre-development. The projected completion date is 2026.

Dr. Michael Eaddy received his BA in Business Administration and Theology from the Chicago City Colleges & Moody Bible Institute. He received an honorary Doctorate in Divinity degree from St. Thomas Christian College & Seminary, in Jacksonville, FL, and an honorary master’s in divinity degree from the C.H. Mason/William Roberts Bible College in Chicago, IL.

He and his wife Christine Rose Eaddy, have 5 children and 11 grandchildren.

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.