Community Transportation

Thank you to all 2025 Cohort 7 participants! Please click here or visit the CTAA Newsroom to read the press release.

Program Overview

Leadership is an activity, a verb. If others are looking to you for answers, you are a leader regardless of your title or official position. These past few years have presented unusual tribulations. Leadership is mobilizing people to do tough work. Leveraging influence to encourage people to do things they may not do alone. Leadership is about dignity, the inherent worth of every person.

Leadership in transit is more than transporting people; it’s understanding the dignity of riders, and those who work in your agency. We want the future transit leaders to support their employees and assist riders in arriving at their dreams and not just their destination.

Did you come up through the transit agency, start as a driver, bus cleaner, mechanic and now you find yourself managing people?
Are you coming to transit as your 2nd career?
Do you work for a state DOT, transit authority, public, or private transportation agency, and need more understanding of the daily demands of transit agencies?
Do you want to learn how to develop people?
Time for professional development?
Do you find yourself wanting to move up but desire more skills?
Do you want to assist your agency in establishing successful succession plans?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you should not hesitate to join Cohort 8 of CTAA’s Leadership Academy (formerly Emerging Leaders Academy or ELA) in 2026!

Interested in getting involved in Leadership Academy in another way? Check out the Promotional Opportunities we offer, including sponsoring a scholarship, presenting a workshop, and more!

Core Competencies

This immersive five day experience will provide professional instruction that will focus on self-discovery, engaging learning activities, group discussions, and practical management techniques.

Participants will be ready to lead their agency with core competencies that include: Concepts of Supervision, Leading with Powerful Questions, Adjusting to Change, Ethics and Values, Sensemaking, Adaptive Leadership, Performance Gap Analysis, Communications Basics, Creating Trustworthy Processes, and much more!

Application Timeline

8 CTAA Leadership Academy – Cohort 8 will be a week-long academy held at CTAA’s offices in Washington, D.C. from Sunday, March 1 to Friday, March 6, 2026. There are no virtual participation options, with all meetings being held in-person during these dates.

Application for 2026 is available now – click to apply! All applications are due before October 31, 2025.

Prior to attending Leadership Academy in Washington, D.C., academy participants must:

Submit their current workplace challenge that they will spend the week working through with the instructor team.
Participate in the Leadership Academy Cohort 8 Kick Off Meeting (Virtual, Date/Time TBD but likely early 2026).
Complete the required reading and be prepared to discuss the modules in class.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. ALL ACCEPTED LEADERSHIP ACADEMY PARTICIPANTS WILL BE SENT A FINAL SCHEDULE PRIOR TO COMING TO DC.

Back by popular demand, Cohort 8 will spend Thursday, March 5 engaging with CTAA’s Board of Directors and staff, along with industry leaders, for CTAA’s Annual Legislative Fly-In. Each Leadership Academy participant will be paired with members of the CTAA Board and staff to discuss key legislative priorities for the community and public transit industry with relevant Congressional offices. Past Leadership Academy participants have noted that meeting with these targeted Congressional members gave them increased insight as to how Member offices influence transit policy and funding. CTAA’s Legislative Fly-In not only proves to be educational, but exciting, as you walk the halls of Congress with fellow transit professionals.

Sunday, March 1

Kick off dinner

Monday, March 2

Lunch provided
All day leadership training
Dinner on own

Tuesday, March 3

Lunch provided
All day leadership training
Dinner on own

Wednesday, March 4

Lunch provided
Meet the Gurus: Meet transit leaders and prepare for Legislative Fly-In
Legislative Fly-In Networking Reception
Dinner on own

Thursday, March 5

Spend the day on Capitol Hill – Join CTAA’s Board of Directors and staff in transit focused legislative meetings. Leadership Academy participants will shadow CTAA staff and board and their respective Legislative Fly-In meetings.
Lunch on the Hill (on own)
Evening reception with CTAA Board of Directors and other transit leaders
Dinner on own

Friday, March 6

Leadership Academy Graduation Ceremony
Leadership Academy concludes prior to lunch

SPONSORING ORGANIZATION COMMITMENT

5CEOs, General Managers, Executive Directors, or Board of Directors sponsoring candidates recognize that an employee’s participation in CTAA Leadership Academy is extremely valuable to their organizations. Sponsors understand that their commitment and support means allowing their Leadership Academy participant to attend the planned activities and events.

2026 Application coming soon! All participants are required to submit a letter of recommendation from the agency’s CEO, General Manager, or Executive Director of their transit agency. Letter of recommendation due to Loreal@ctaa.org by October 31, 2025 11:59pm EST.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

CTAA’s Leadership Academy is designed for passenger transportation employees who have shown promise as a future leader.

Must be in “good standing” with your transit agency
Must be a full time, permanent-status employee (not on probationary status)
Must have at least three (3) years of managerial experience, with a preference of all years of managerial experience in the passenger transportation industry and have subordinates or directly manage others
Must fill out and submit the approved application
Must submit a recommendation from one of the following: the CEO, General Manager, or Executive Director of their transit agency

COST

The tuition for the 2026 Cohort 8 Leadership Academy will be $3,650 per participant. This cost includes all the instruction, mentorship and registration for EXPO 2026 in Omaha, NE. All travel, some meals*, lodging and incidental expenses will be the responsibility of the participant or the participant’s employer. CTAA room block is $249++ per night.

*CTAA will provide lunch most days. Other meals on the participants own unless otherwise noted.

CTAA will set up a hotel block for attendees to make their own reservations. Participants are highly encouraged to stay at the host hotel, as we find that most networking and informal meetings are coordinated there following the day’s planned activities. CTAA room block is $249++ per night. Hotel link will be sent to all accepted Academy participants in November 2025.

QUESTIONS

For questions on the CTAA Leadership Academy, contact our events team at events@ctaa.org.

SPONSOR THE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY!

The Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) and its members believe that mobility is a basic human right. From work and education to life-sustaining health care and human services programs to shopping and visiting with family and friends, mobility directly impacts quality of life.