National RTAP offers one-stop shopping for rural and tribal transit technical assistance products and services. Call, email, or chat with us and if we can’t help with your request, we’ll connect you with someone who can! Robin Phillips, Executive Director
National RTAP offers one-stop shopping for rural and tribal transit technical assistance products and services. Call, email, or chat with us and if we can’t help with your request, we’ll connect you with someone who can!
Whether you’re a rural or tribal transit operator or a state DOT program manager, our knowledgeable, collaborative, customer-focused team is here to provide products, information and tools to help you do your job better.
Cindy Frene (MA)
Principal-in-Charge
Robin Phillips (DC)
Executive Director
Nelly Cubahiro (DC)
Executive Assistant
Elizabeth Taylor (MA)
Assistant Director
Neil Rodriguez (MA)
Tribal Transit Program Manager
Scott Zadakis (MA)
eLearning Project Manager
Julie Quinn (MA)
eLearning Support
Nancy Doherty (MA)
Analyst
Cara Marcus (MA)
Resource Center Manager
Resource Center (MA)
Resource Center Assistant
Cindy Frene founded TransAction Associates Inc. in 1990,which is a transportation consulting firm focusing on commuter and environmental compliance programs. The company, which operates nationally, officially spun off a shuttle division in 1995 in order to provide high-quality transportation to various companies, institutions, municipalities, and the Commonwealth. Cindy also started and/or manages numerous non-profit Transportation Management Associations (TMAs) including the Neponset Valley TMA, which manages the National Rural Transit Assistance Program (National RTAP).
Cindy has diverse marketing, management, patent/trademark, and program development experience, as well as a proven ability to acquire and maintain the confidence of customers, employees, and senior management. Through her work at TransAction, Cindy designed and managed the national award-winning Massachusetts Access to Jobs Initiative, which was the transportation component of the state's welfare reform. As such, she understands and has the working knowledge of the distinct differences of operating transportation programs in urban, suburban, and rural areas. In order to eliminate transportation as a barrier to work for people transitioning into the workforce, she developed and put in place a variety of transportation programs and services. Through her management of the Neponset Valley TMA, she became the Principal-in-Charge for National RTAP in 2008 for the Federal Transit Administration, serving rural transit operators and Native American tribes nationally.
TransAction Associates is a nationally certified Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB) through the Small Business Administration and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) certified by the Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office. For the past three years, the Boston Business Journal named TransAction as one of the Top 100 Women Led Businesses in Massachusetts.
National RTAP 5 Wheeling Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801 888-589-6821 781-404-5016 direct 781-895-1122 fax
cfrene@nationalrtap.org www.nationalrtap.org
Robin Phillips joined National RTAP in December 2014 with almost 18 years of experience working with FTA programs. Robin went to law school after getting a BA in history from Reed College in Portland, OR, and practiced law for five years. She decided that municipal bonds and energy litigation were not connected enough to community development issues to be truly satisfying, so she went on to work for Oregon DOT, where she was hired to write and implement a multimodal intercity policy. The Oregon Intercity Network was the result. This collaboration between the 5311 program and the rail program shifted the paradigm from community projects to regional connectivity and access to transportation networks.
Parallel to service development was the realization that information about services was as important as the services themselves. In 2005, as Administrator of Coordinated Transportation at Washington State DOT, Robin hired staff to create the simplest data schema possible to run the Google transit trip planner. She then worked on finding ways to help rural providers input their data, to increase awareness and access to services.
Finding the right balance of public and private investment has been integral to Robin’s career. In Oregon there was little money, and private transportation services needed to stay in business in order to meet access and connectivity goals. The integration of public and private operators into the OR and WA state networks was key to their success. In 2007 Robin was hired as Senior Policy Director at the American Bus Association, where she facilitated private operators trying to work with the states and federal programs, and vice versa. Working at National RTAP is a natural culmination of Robin's experience and her dedication to improving transportation options in rural communities.
To contact Robin or schedule a meeting, please contact her Executive Assistant, Nelly Cubahito at executivedirector@nationalrtap.org with your information and requests:
National RTAP 700 K Street NW Washington, DC 20001 202-780-4595 Cell
Rob Tassinari, Senior Technical Director of National RTAP. As a part-time staff member, Rob is involved with data collection and analysis, tracking and outcome measurements, and assistance with product development and management. He is the Project Manager for the ProcurementPRO and GTFS applications, conducts surveys to determine customer satisfaction with National RTAP products and services, compiles and reports on the annual Rural National Transit Database statistics for National RTAP.
Previously, Rob has worked as the Program Manager of the Massachusetts Statewide Access to Jobs Initiative and was the Director of the Logan Airport Transportation Management Association. He also has many years of experience in management of private shuttle bus services and implementation of transportation demand management programs. Rob holds an Associates Degree in Civil Engineering, a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design, and a Masters Degree in Community Planning.
National RTAP 5 Wheeling Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801 888-589-6821 781-404-5024 direct 781-895-1122 fax
rtassinari@nationalrtap.org www.nationalrtap.org
Elizabeth (Liz) Taylor is Assistant Director at the National Rural Transit Assistance Program. Liz has been with National RTAP since 2013 and works on both program management and product development. She leads the team in the Woburn, MA office. Some of the projects she has worked on include the START Online training, Problem Passengers training update, Top Shops training, Financial Management training update, Marketing Transit Toolkit, Transit Manager Toolkit, 101 webinars, best practices articles, and direct technical assistance. Liz is passionate about social and environmental issues, and believes that access to public transit is essential for both. She holds a Master of City Planning degree from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts from Lafayette College.
National RTAP 5 Wheeling Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801 888-589-6821 781-404-5015 direct 781-895-1122 fax
etaylor@nationalrtap.org www.nationalrtap.org
Neil Rodriguez joined the National Rural Transit Assistance Program as a Project Manager in September 2014. Neil lead the development and management of the National RTAP eLearning learning management system until 2020, when he transitioned to Tribal Transit Program Manager.
Before National RTAP, Neil worked as a Management Consultant providing project management and technical assistance related to economic development projects in rural Alaska.
Previously, Neil was a Community Benefits Director at a regional community development organization overseeing program delivery and $20 million annually in investments to remote communities in Western Alaska. He also worked as a Regional Economist at the Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District. Neil has over 20 years of experience in community development, outreach, community planning, project management, program development, data collection and analysis.
Neil holds a bachelor's degree from Brandeis University.
National RTAP 5 Wheeling Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801 888-589-6821 508-962-3826 direct
nrodriguez@nationalrtap.org www.nationalrtap.org
Cara Marcus, Resource Center Manager, joined National RTAP in 2017. Cara graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design and Simmons College with a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science. She has served as a library manager and researcher for over twenty years, including posts at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and Massachusetts Health Data Consortium. Her published works have centered upon library management, accessibility for persons with disabilities, and verbal education. She was awarded a Historical Resources Preservation Award in 2018 for her book Watertown Square Through Time. Cara serves on the board of the Eastern Transportation Knowledge Network and is a member of the Special Libraries Association Transportation Division.
National Rural Transit Assistance Program National RTAP 5 Wheeling Avenue Woburn, MA 01801 888-589-6821 781-404-5020 direct 781-895-1122 fax
cmarcus@nationalrtap.org www.nationalrtap.org
The National RTAP Resource Center’s mission is to provide access to free, high quality technical assistance and training materials dedicated to rural and Tribal transit systems. The Resource Library features National RTAP-developed training modules (hard-copy and eLearning formats), technical briefs and articles, toolkits, web-based applications and webinars, and provides linked access to relevant resources developed by other organizations. The Resource Center Assistant provides customer service, prepares and ships library materials, maintains library inventory, and participates in library projects.
National Rural Transit Assistance Program National RTAP 5 Wheeling Avenue Woburn, MA 01801 781-404-5704
resources@nationalrtap.org www.nationalrtap.org
Frank Condon, CEO/Founder of DevObal Technologies Inc. Frank is a marketing and business development professional with 25 years of experience marketing products and services. His experience also includes developing technology for public and private sectors. Frank and his DevObal Team is currently responsible for the strategic development of new web-based products to help bring National RTAP and other agencies up-to-date using the latest technology.
DevObal Technologies Inc. 1284 Pendleton Street Greenville, SC 26911 864-979-0951 direct
fcondon@nationalrtap.org www.devobal.com
Nelly Cubahiro, Executive Assistant, joined National RTAP in January 2019.
Previously, Nelly has worked as a marketing and organizational change consultant. With more than 5+ years of hands-on customer service, retail and indirect and direct marketing experience, she facilitated the implementation of Strategic Marketing Campaigns for various organizations through a variety of mediums. She has helped execute pilot marketing campaigns for fortune 500 clients and has excelled at building coalitions among diverse groups. Her extensive sales and marketing experience includes developing products and programs to help organizations achieve their goals and aspire to live up to their mission statements.
At Dartmouth College in Rural New Hampshire, Nelly Studied a dual program in both Government with a focus in Political Theory and Anthropology Modified with Speech and Communications. Nelly looks forward to working in outreach efforts at the National RTAP’s Washington DC location and across the country.
National RTAP 777 6th Street NW Washington, DC 20001 781-879-4046 direct
ncubahiro@nationalrtap.org www.nationalrtap.org
Nancy Doherty joined National RTAP in January 2019 as an analyst.
With a background in transportation planning and a degree in civil engineering, she has spent most of her career as a consultant working on projects such as intermodal parking facilities, park and shuttle systems, traffic studies and road safety audits. In her time with National RTAP, she has updated technical briefs, assisted with reviews of National RTAP products under development and attended the National Conference on Rural Public & Intercity Bus Transportation conference in Colorado.
Nancy is very excited to begin a new phase of her career working to provide technical assistance to rural and tribal transit providers.
National RTAP 5 Wheeling Avenue Woburn, MA 01801 888-589-6821 781-404-5038 direct 781-895-1122 fax
ndoherty@nationalrtap.org www.nationalrtap.org
Scott Zadakis joined the National Rural Transit Assistance Program as eLearning Project Manager in September 2020. In this role he is responsible for eLearning product administration, outreach, and content development.
Prior to joining National RTAP Scott was Executive Director of CrossTownConnect Transportation Management Association where he collaborated with public and private sector partners in the suburbs northwest of Boston, MA to address regional needs including improved community transportation and mobility options for the general public, employer access to highly skilled workers, reduction of traffic congestion and air pollution, and more transportation choices for commuters. This award-winning public-private partnership establishes multimodal transportation networks for all people regardless of age, ability, financial resources, or other factors. At CrossTownConnect, Scott developed extensive knowledge related to community transportation, human service transportation, and transportation demand management.
Scott also has a background in research, having worked as a Research Associate on transportation topics at the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern University and at the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership.
Scott has a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Policy from Northeastern University, where he focused on clean energy and transportation policy, and a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs with a concentration in Political Science from the University of Maine.
National RTAP 5 Wheeling Avenue Woburn, MA 01801 888-589-6821 781-404-5036 direct 781-895-1122 fax
szadakis@nationalrtap.org www.nationalrtap.org
Julie Quinn provides eLearning Support for National RTAP and has been with them since early 2020. Julie is an expert in customer service with many years in Account Management. She was the Co-Chair for Burlington, Massachusett's Relay for Life for the American Cancer Society for 10 years and helped her town raise $3 million dollars in the fight against cancer. Julie loves the wealth of information on the National RTAP elearning platform and is happy when she can help users complete their courses with ease. Julie holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design with a minor in Marketing from Boston University.
National RTAP 5 Wheeling Avenue Woburn, MA 01801 888-589-6821 781-404-5006 direct 781-895-1122 fax
elearning@nationalrtap.org www.nationalrtap.org