Shawn M. Donaghy, chief operating officer and vice president for the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA), was chosen from hundreds of nominations for Mass Transit’s 2016 Top 40 under 40. Recipients are chosen for their innovation, leadership and commitment to impactful change in transit.
For Donaghy, working in public transportation is more than a career – it’s a family tradition. Following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, he has worked in the field of transportation for his entire career and has risen through the ranks to his current position at FWTA. Donaghy’s father is the CEO in Dayton, OH, and his grandfather is in the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Awards Hall of Fame.
At FWTA, Donaghy is responsible for transit operations fixed-route service, paratransit service, fleet maintenance operations, risk and safety, transit security, operations service scheduling, contract services and vanpool, information technology and operational performance metrics. Since joining the leadership team in 2015, he has reorganized the operations and maintenance departments for better efficiency and sustainability, and is overseeing the implementation of major IT infrastructure upgrades. He has put into place significant process improvements and changes to provide world-class service, and he has implemented a continuity of operations plan and additional security protocols.
Donaghy was a member of the Leadership Fort Worth Class of 2015 and his team won 2016 APTA Certificates of Merit for Safety and Security. He is also a member of APTA and the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials.