FTA Region 5 Regional Administrator

Kelley Brookins was appointed Regional Administrator for the Region V Office of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in October 2018. She leads a multi-disciplinary staff in the development and delivery of the FTA’s capital, operating and planning programs to complex and multi-modal transit systems in the Midwest States of Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.

Ms. Brookins joined FTA in 2014 as the Deputy Regional Administrator in the Region V Office. She managed a diverse, professional staff and administered an annual grant budget of approximately $1.34 billion. She was responsible for directing significant regional program activities, managing and administering an annual $10 billion grant portfolio in addition to regional resources. Ms. Brookins has successfully worked with Grantees to advance high-visibility projects while ensuring all key requirements were addressed.   She is skilled in leveraging teams to consistently achieve ambitious organizational goals through her demonstrated record of motivating employees to peak productivity and performance.

Prior to joining the FTA, Ms. Brookins had a distinguished 26 year career at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).  During her time at the CTA, Ms. Brookins represented the agency as Director, General Manager, Special Assistant to the President, Manager and Controller. Her leadership, expansive transit experience and transformational vision has produced outstanding results. Ms. Brookins has received numerous recognitions for her leadership, operational expertise and cost-effective program implementation. Ms. Brookins developed, implemented and evaluated new practices and procedures throughout her CTA career utilizing innovation and strategic methodologies while performing data driven analysis.

Ms. Brookins is a graduate of DePaul University where she received her B.A. Degree in Business Administration. She also earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Roosevelt University.