Transit leadership changes hit New Orleans, PATH and San Joaquin RTD

Three U.S. transit agencies have reshaped their senior leadership within days of each other, with New Orleans RTA naming Justin Augustine III as CEO, PATH Director Clarelle DeGraffe announcing her retirement after 37 years at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and San Joaquin RTD confirming John Van Camp as permanent chief operating officer.

The appointments put experienced rail and bus operators in charge of systems at very different stages: a New Orleans agency under pressure to raise service reliability, a PATH railroad that has just completed a multi-year modernization cycle, and a California bus operator promoting from within.

Who is taking over in New Orleans?

The New Orleans RTA Board of Commissioners selected Augustine, who previously held the agency's top job, to lead bus, streetcar, paratransit and ferry services plus its ongoing investment programme. His résumé spans more than 40 years in public transit leadership, covering multimodal systems in the United States and internationally, senior executive roles across bus, rail, paratransit and mobility operations, and work on major transit agency rebuilds and private-sector transportation providers.

Augustine's earlier tenure included what the agency describes as significant contributions to restoring New Orleans transit service after Hurricane Katrina.

New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno framed the hire around service delivery. "New Orleans needs strong leadership at RTA that understands the urgency of improving service, increasing reliability and delivering a better experience for our riders," Moreno said, adding that she looks forward to working with Augustine "to make meaningful progress for the people who depend on public transit every day."

Augustue said his focus will be on supporting employees, serving riders, improving reliability and ensuring the agency delivers the service quality the community expects.

What changes at PATH?

DeGraffe will retire from the PANYNJ at the end of 2026 after 37 years with the agency, the last seven leading the PATH rail system as director and general manager. Her record includes two major reconstruction initiatives: the PATH Improvement Plan launched in 2019 and the PATH Forward programme, which concluded in March 2026.

She directed the $2 billion reconstruction of PATH stations, tunnels and equipment damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, led the railroad's pandemic response, and oversaw installation of the tap-to-pay TAPP fare system, the February 2025 infrastructure work at Hoboken, and the groundwork for the "Every Line, Every Day" service pattern introduced in spring 2025. During her tenure PATH also opened a new station house in Harrison, with a major power-generating station under construction in downtown Jersey City.

In 2022, PATH won the American Public Transportation Association's Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award for railroads carrying more than 20 million riders annually.

"PATH has been through many changes in the past few years, emerging after each a stronger and much improved system," said PANYNJ Chairman Kevin O'Toole. DeGraffe called the past seven years "the highlight of my Port Authority career" and said she is leaving the 118-year-old railroad's leadership "in very capable hands." She will mentor the incoming team until her retirement takes effect.

Her successor as director is James Sincaglia, who spent nearly three decades at NJ Transit, most recently as senior vice president and general manager of rail operations. He began in NJ Transit's bus division in 1996, worked as a train dispatcher, and rose through the rail operations center to deputy general manager of transportation from 2015 to 2020 before leading rail operations. Sincaglia guided NJ Transit's Positive Train Control implementation and rebuilt its locomotive engineer ranks, improving on-time performance.

Matthew Reddell joins as deputy director for infrastructure maintenance and rolling stock delivery after managing track and structures at BART. His career includes assignments with Amtrak, Canadian Pacific, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, BNSF Railway and NJ Transit; he is also a retired U.S. Army officer. They join Zandra Ford, appointed in June 2026 as deputy director for operations.

What does the San Joaquin appointment mean?

San Joaquin RTD made Van Camp its permanent COO after he served as acting COO, following an earlier spell as the agency's maintenance superintendent. He will oversee maintenance, facilities and transportation, with responsibility for operational performance, safety, service reliability and delivery across San Joaquin County, California.

Van Camp spent nine years at Cummins as a shop foreman before joining the agency, bringing two decades of experience in maintenance operations and fleet management.

CEO Eric Williams said Van Camp "has earned the respect of his colleagues throughout RTD" and cited a priority of developing talent already inside the organization to lead it forward.