[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n recognition of her expertise and tireless efforts on behalf of public transportation Miami-Dade Transit director Ysela Llort was honored with a “Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation” award given by the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO).
“We are excited to have director Llort as one of our honorees,” said Greer Johnson Gills, chair of the Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation Steering Committee, and the newly named deputy director for the District Department of Transportation in Washington, DC. “The committee was very impressed with the director’s diverse career accomplishments and we were equally impressed that she serves as the first female director of Miami-Dade Transit, one of the top transit agencies in our nation.
“Her peers rank her among the best of transportation professionals. With such overwhelming positive factors, the committee was unanimous in selecting director Llort as one of our Women Who Move the Nation. She certainly exemplifies this statement,” Gills added. Llort was appointed to her position by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez in August 2011. Among her accomplishments as MDT director,
Llort oversaw the completion of Metrorail’s extension to Miami International Airport, which was completed on budget and on time in July 2012, and received approval for the purchase of 136 new rail vehicles.
“I am very pleased that Miami-Dade Transit director Ysela Llort is being honored for her work in public transportation,” Gimenez said. “Her many years of faithful and dedicated service are truly an asset not only to our commuting public, but to our community at large.”
Prior to leading MDT, Llort served as an assistant county manager, responsible for the county’s major transportation departments, including Miami-Dade Transit, Public Works, Miami-Dade Aviation, and Seaport (PortMiami).
During her tenure, Llort oversaw the execution of the Aviation Department’s multi-billion dollar Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which included expansion of the airport terminal; she presided over the implementation of the People’s Transportation Plan (PTP), and the delivery of seaport capital projects, including the PortMiami Tunnel and the Deep Dredge.
Before working for Miami-Dade County, Llort was the Florida Department of Transportation’s Assistant Secretary for Intermodal Systems Development. As such, she was responsible for the executive management and operation of the department’s planning, environmental management and public transportation programs.
In addition, prior to coming to Florida, Llort was employed by the Virginia Department of Transportation, where she was responsible for the operation and planning of the transportation system in the Virginia portion of the Washington, DC, region.
Llort is an alumnus of Duke and Clemson universities, where she obtained her undergraduate and master’s degrees, respectively. Her academic background is in economics, city and regional planning, and transportation engineering.
COMTO presented the award to Llort at the fourth annual “Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation” Awards Breakfast on Mar. 11. Llort is one of 12 outstanding women from all sectors of the transportation industry recognized and saluted for their contributions to the industry.
