Combined, Chief Operations Officer Inessa M. Vitko and Executive Director of Transportation Mary Hill bring more than 40 years of transit experience to their new roles

General Manager Sam Desue Jr. has selected two women who spent decades growing and learning with TriMet for exciting new roles with the agency. He tapped Inessa M. Vitko to serve as Chief Operations Officer and promoted Mary L. Hill to the position of Executive Director of Transportation. 

Rising during a time of transition

The promotions come at a time of historic change at TriMet. They are part of an agency-wide focus to improve fiscal efficiency and stewardship.

Over the summer, TriMet announced a large-scale effort to reduce costs amid a significant and growing budget gap and impending fiscal cliff. Changes to the agency’s executive leadership team are among the many steps TriMet is taking to achieve a balanced budget by July 2028.

“As we work toward this goal, I felt it was important to begin with adjustments at the highest level of management,” said TriMet General Manager Sam Desue Jr. “As I’ve also committed to you, we are doing this all with care, compassion and transparency. I am honoring that commitment.”

Proven leadership and dedication

The executive-level promotions reward two dedicated transit professionals for decades of hard work and commitment. Both Vitko and Hill began their professional careers with TriMet, with Vitko coming on in 2006 as a training services administrator and Hill beginning her career at TriMet in 2003 as a bus operator. Coincidentally, both left TriMet to gain additional experience at C-TRAN, before returning to the 2020s for more challenging roles.

“Moving into this new role nearly 20 years after I started my career at TriMet is an incredible privilege, and to be honest, it’s a little surreal,” remarked Vitko. “I am excited and thankful to continue to be part of an invested and dedicated leadership team, and look forward to TriMet’s future as we navigate our path ahead.”  

Formerly TriMet’s Senior Director of Operations Command Center and Rail Operations, Hill joins TriMet’s executive leadership team in her new role, assuming the position previously held by Vitko. 

“I’m honored to continue my journey with TriMet in this new role, building on the lessons I’ve learned from the front lines as a bus operator to our leadership team,” said Hill. “This promotion reflects the incredible opportunities TriMet provides for growth and the importance of supporting women and people of color in leadership.”

In addition to a breadth of transit industry experience, Vitko holds a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Statistics from Portland State University. Hill holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, both from Western Governors University. 

Reorganization comes with cost cutting

As part of the reorganization at TriMet, Desue eliminated the agency’s Chief Operating Officer role, which has been vacant since May. Vitko’s position as Chief Operations Officer is different, with a revised scope and narrower focus on day-to-day operations.

TriMet is conducting a full-scale operational assessment to identify additional opportunities for streamlining and reducing costs, as the agency works to close its budget gap. Some of the earliest efforts focus on changes at the top of the organization. For example, the Executive Director position for the agency’s Transit Systems Asset and Support Division, open since May, has been eliminated, as the agency considers the division’s future.

Staffing changes and internal savings alone, however, will not be enough. TriMet will also begin reducing service this fall, as we look for new avenues to increase revenues. 

The Oregon Legislature is expected to vote on a transportation bill this week that will provide a small, temporary increase in funding for the state’s transit agencies, but its passage won’t be enough for TriMet and other transit agencies across the state to avoid severe cuts. Learn more at trimet.org/budgetcuts.