DALLAS - Three finalists have been announced for DART's open President & CEO position.
DART CEO finalists named
DART announced the three finalists on Friday. They are:
- Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority
- Dee Leggett, AICP, Director of Business Operations for Herzot Transit Services, Inc.
- Monica Tellez-Fowler, President/CEO of the Central Ohio Transit Authority
Leggett previously served as DART's EVP & Chief Development Officer.
DALLAS, TEXAS - OCTOBER 24: A general view of a train at the Cypress Waters Station during the DART Silver Line Opening Ceremony on October 24, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for Dallas Area Rapid Transit)
What they're saying:
"We are confident these three candidates represent the best public transportation leaders from across the country," said DART Board Chair Randall Bryant. "The Board has a monumental task ahead of us to select our next President & CEO from this finalist panel. As part of our commitment to transparency and community engagement, we’re asking the public for feedback from our meet & greet on Saturday to inform the final decision."
What's next:
DART will hold a public meet and greet on Saturday, July 11, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at DART headquarters for the public and stakeholders to provide feedback.
The DART board is expected to vote on Tuesday, July 14 at 6 p.m. to decide on a final candidate.
DART CEO Nadine Lee leaves company
The backstory:
DART had been led by David Leninger as its Interim President & CEO since April. The company terminated outgoing CEO Nadine Lee's contract when the two sides could not come to a severance agreement.
Lee, who had led the transportation company since 2021, announced she would not seek to extend her contract in March.
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PREVIOUS COVERAGE: DART's first female CEO explains decision to leave
Nadine Lee will not seek to renew her contract in September as the CEO of DART. She spoke to FOX 4's Shaun Rabb about the highs and lows of her tenure in an interview on Friday.
She pointed to recent "political hurdles" for the service when examining her time with DART in an interview with FOX 4's Shaun Rabb.
"But at the broader level, we've encountered a lot of political hurdles, and that's one of the things that has distracted us from our mission, distracted us from moving faster at improving the quality of our services and things like that."
When asked if those hurdles were why she decided to step down, Lee said "Not necessarily directly."
DART CEO Nadine Lee to step down after her contract ends
DART CEO Nadine Lee is stepping down following a period of scrutiny and governance changes, prompting an immediate search for a new leader to guide the agency’s transit operations.
Hurdles included DART withdrawal elections held in Addison, Highland Park and University Park in May. Addison and University Park voted to stay in DART's service area, while Highland Park voted to leave.
"I think in every locality, there are disparate interests and disparate opinions on how to spend taxpayer money, and so, we really had to grapple with that acutely in this region over the last five years, particularly in the last two years."
Plano, Farmers Branch and Irving were originally scheduled to hold the same elections, but withdrew after DART pledged to change its board of directors and give hundreds of millions of dollars back to the cities.
The Source: Information in this story comes from DART.