Leanne REDDEN

Leanne Redden is the Executive Director of the Regional Transportation Authority of Northeast Illinois (RTA), which oversees finances, secures funding, and conducts transit planning for Chicago’s regional transit system. Under Redden’s leadership, the RTA developed and is now implementing the 2023-28 regional transit strategic plan Transit is the Answer, created through collaboration and engagement with thousands of diverse voices to address adapting and improving the system post-COVID.

Prior to the RTA, Redden was Chief of Planning for the Illinois Tollway and Director of Transportation for the Village of Schaumburg. She is active in the leadership of APTA and has been voted in as the Association’s Vice Chair, the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS), and the International Association of Public Transport (UITP).