American Public Transportation Foundation

In 2020, the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) celebrated the graduation of its seventh class! We have 180 alumni at organizations across the U.S. and Canada. The Class of 2022 recently kicked off its program year and will bring the program to a milestone of more than 200 graduates next year. Far and away, the greatest benefits that ELP graduates identify revolve around the people they meet during the program year. They learn from their peers, engage with their mentors and hear stories and insights from speakers. These interactions expand and diversify their knowledge about the transit industry and spur them to learn more about themselves as leaders and the opportunities they are interested in pursuing.

With over 30 years of vision and commitment to the public transportation industry, Joe Alexander made many lasting contributions to public transportation. This Scholarship will honor Joe’s legacy as a tireless advocate and supporter of developing leaders through the Leadership APTA and Emerging Leaders Programs and through the APTF.

With a career spanning more than 40 years, Paul Jablonski was a recognized leader within the public transit industry and within the San Diego community where he served as the CEO of San Diego MTS for over 16 years. This Scholarship will honor Paul’s legacy and continue his efforts to support the next generation of transit leaders.

With over 40 years of service to our industry, Paul always sought to have a diverse workforce. Paul was instrumental in leading the charge for full inclusion of the LGBTQ community in both his work at Rutgers and via many leadership positions within APTA. The Paul J. Larrousse Scholarship will continue Paul’s legacy of supporting a more inclusive workforce and will promote awareness and acceptance of the LGBTQ community within the public transportation industry.

Wulkan Family American Public Transportation Foundation Endowed Scholarship was created by Alan C. Wulkan, APTF Board member, in partnership with his alma mater, The University of Miami Graduate School. This scholarship provides a funding opportunity for graduate students at the University of Miami which provides tuition assistance to one master’s or doctoral student interested in a career in the public transportation industry.

The Lou F. Sanders Scholarship recognizes the tremendous contributions that Lou made to the transit industry throughout his career, especially in the areas of passenger rail car safety, rail signaling and train control, fare collection standards, and communications standards. The scholarship will be awarded to students pursuing careers in public transit with majors in science, technology, engineering and math.