Katharine Eagan Kelleman
CEO | Port Authority of Allegheny County
How does a city demonstrate that it’s the most livable city in the country?
By working toward creating a more equitable transit system, for one. And that’s what Katharine Eagan Kelleman, 45, is doing as she leads the Port Authority of Allegheny County as its CEO.
In this position since January 2018, Ms. Kelleman is used to rolling up her sleeves and getting to the heart of issues that need solving. “I believe that mass transit is a civil right and a human right,” she says. “It opens doors and helps to build community.”
Originally from Colorado, she has lived in many places; her father was in the military and her family moved five times during her childhood. “I looked at it as, ‘Oh I get to make more new friends,’” she says.
That gregarious and outgoing nature served her well as she made her way through school, traveling 90 minutes each way to attend Angelo State University in Texas, where she received a full scholarship and her graduate degree in public administration.
After settling into a position as transportation planner for San Angelo, Texas, she spent the next seven years working for Dallas Area Rapid Transit before moving to Baltimore as a transit planner for a year. A recruiter connected her to Tampa, Fla., where she was for three years, directly reporting to the CEO of the city’s transit authority. She worked as the chief of service development, eventually rising to COO before becoming interim CEO.
Then, Pittsburgh called. “There’s only so many hurricanes you can take,” she jokes.
Her husband, Chris, a stay-at-home dad with their two boys, ages 5 and 6, had family outside of Harrisburg. The opportunity to be closer to them was another benefit.
“I try to have a work-breathing balance in my life,” she says.
Her family has settled in Upper St. Clair, and she takes public transit regularly, connecting directly to her customers as well as the people she works with.
Does she consider herself a trailblazer in what some might consider a male-dominated field?
“I think we all stand on shoulders, and then it is up to us to become the shoulders for those coming up to stand on,” Ms. Kelleman says. “As CEO, I set the vision and strategy, but I know that success cannot be ephemeral. I want our public transit system to be part of what makes this region great for everyone, opening doors to success for all.”