National RTAP Announces New Board Chair and Vice Chair

National RTAP is pleased to announce our new Chair, Emma Featherman-Sam.  Emma is a Transit Coordinator for the Oglala Sioux Tribe DOT and Oglala Sioux Transit in Pine Ridge, SD. She received a B.S. degree from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Oklahoma with a double major in chemistry and biology. She is currently a candidate for a Master's degree in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA.

Her professional background includes: Environmental Specialist for the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society; a directorship at the North American Indian Center of Boston, Inc.; Tribal Liaison Internship with the Planning and Management Division at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Boston, Massachusetts; and has held positions with the U.S. Department of Labor in both the Compliance Programs and the Employment and Training Administrations also in the Boston area. She has also worked with health related program planning and has medical experience in the areas of emergency care, clinical, research, and nutrition.

Featherman‐Sam began working on rural transit issues when she became employed by Oglala DOT in 2004. As a transit professional she has developed a transit system for the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Ms. Featherman‐Sam has worked with other Tribes and non‐Tribal transit systems on various rural issues including regulation, specialized
needs of Tribes and Tribe collaboration.

 National RTAP is also pleased to announce the election of its new Vice Chair, Bill Telovsky.  Bill serves as an Intermodal Transportation Specialist with the New York State Department of Transportation’s Public Transportation Bureau.  Since joining NYSDOT in 1994, he has worked in program and project management, finance, emergency management, and training/technical assistance areas.  He currently manages NYSDOT’s $20M Intercity Bus and RTAP (Rural Transportation Assistance) Programs and assists with the 5311 Rural Transit Operating and Capital Programs.   As part of NYSDOT’s RTAP program, he provides technical assistance to transit operators, local governments, human service transportation providers, and private motorcoach operators.   This technical assistance includes such topics as: drug and alcohol testing and program oversight, driver training via classroom and simulator, customer service, ADA, security, safety, maintenance, and additional topics that arise. 

Telovsky’s transportation career began with the New York State Senate in 1988 where he conducted research and analyzed/drafted legislation in a myriad of transportation areas, such as finance and bonds, safety, school bus, transit, and highways.  His legislative experience also included State budget analysis and recommendations, and legislation review and development with the Senate Education, Finance, Social Services and Mental Health Committees. 
      
Mr. Telovsky graduated Cum Laude from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the State University at Albany with Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Political Science.   His minor was Education.

The National RTAP Board is a product review board that provides in‐depth expertise and local perspectives to ensure that products and services are of the highest quality, easily accessible and useable by local transit operators. 

National RTAP is a program of the Federal Transit Administration administered by the Neponset Valley Transportation Management Association and serves as the national arm for the Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP). The mission of National RTAP is to improve the mobility of all rural, small urban and tribal communities across the country through technical assistance. Since its inception in 1987 National RTAP has developed and distributed training materials, provided technical assistance, generated reports, published best practices, conducted research and offered Peer Assistance with the goal of improved mobility for the millions of Americans living in communities with populations under 50,000. For more information, please visit, www.nationalrtap.org