The 2021 American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Awards recognize organizations and leaders that have greatly advanced public transportation. Metro was recognized this year with the Innovation Award for our efforts to give people a way into jobs and careers in the transportation industry via Metro’s WIN-LA and Career Pathways programs.

A good example of Metro’s work on this front is the SEED School of Los Angeles County, which will be the nation’s first public boarding high school (grades 9 to 12) to focus specifically on the future workforce needs of the global transportation industry. In October 2020, then-Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington joined L.A. County officials for the official groundbreaking and the first class of SEED LA students will arrive in August 2022. The school is in South LA and will also include 180 units of affordable housing, community-focused retail, a public plaza and a job training center.

Former Metro CEO Arthur T. Leahy was also inducted into the APTA Hall of Fame. From APTA:

Throughout his nearly 50-year career in the transit industry, Arthur Leahy has exemplified APTA’s core values. Leahy served with distinction earning numerous personal and organizational achievements and accolades, while making a sustained commitment to mentor a diverse set of future leaders to help keep the transportation industry strong well past his own storied career. As the leader of several large transit agencies, Leahy has been an active member of APTA for decades. He most recently was recognized by APTA as the Public Transportation Manager of the Year in 2017.