TARTA Leadership Team

Laura returned to her hometown of Toledo in April 2020 to join TARTA, and served as Chief Communications and Customers Experience Officer for 1 year and Deputy CEO before assuming the CEO role in October of 2021. Under her leadership, TARTA has grown under the TARTA Next redesign and expansion plan, brought public transportation to areas of Lucas County it had never been before, and changed its funding structure to a sales tax with the passing of Issue 12 by Lucas County voters. 

Laura has more than 25 years of transportation and public transit experience. She previously served as the Executive Director of the Ohio Public Transit Association. During Koprowski’s tenure as the Vice President of Government Affairs and Communications at the Central Ohio Regional Transit Authority, the organization was nationally recognized in 2018 as the outstanding mid-size public transit system by the American Public Transportation Association. In 2023, Laura was presented Leadership Ohio's Visionary Leadership Award. The award recognizes a Leadership Ohio graduate who has driven transformative change in their industry by demonstrating exceptional leadership. 

With more than 30 years of experience helping people reach essential destinations, Charles has done just about every job there is at a transit agency. Charles began his career as a bus operator, and came to TARTA in November of 2020 after service as General Manager of the Greensboro Transit Authority. He is the first COO in TARTA’s history and leads the management of transit operations, maintenance, safety and capital projects. Charles has also held leadership posts at transit systems in Texas, Florida, Georgia, Rhode Island, Ohio, and Washington. 

Charles has been active in a variety of professional and community organizations including the American Public Transportation Association, Boy Scouts of America, Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), Ohio Public Transit Association, Ohio Transit Risk Pool and United Way. 

Ursula came to TARTA in March of 2024, and has nearly two decades of experience in the public and non-profit sectors. Her previous post was at the Zepf Center, where she served as Chief Human Resources and Compliance Officer. Prior to that, she oversaw human resources operations and contract negotiations as the Human Resources and Labor Relations Director for the Lucas County Auditor’s Office.  

Ursula began her career as congressional aide to U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur before working for the State of Ohio. As an aide to Sen. Teresa Fedor in the Ohio legislature, she helped craft the message and build the network in support of SB 235, which made human trafficking a stand-alone felony in the state.  

She is a graduate of Bowsher High School, the University of Toledo, and Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law. 

Rick oversees TARTA’s customer experience efforts and employees, in addition to leading operations for TARTA’s paratransit service, TARPS. His 15 years of transportation agency experience includes a history of innovative efforts, including the redesign of the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority’s system.

Rick came to TARTA from the Cincinnati area’s Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, where he was the Director of Transit Operations. Prior to his time at SORTA, he served 13 years at the Dayton RTA – the last 3 of those years as Manager of Planning and Service Development.  

As Deputy Director of Transportation in Dayton, he shepherded a team that significantly increased on-time performance for both fixed route and paratransit operations. 

James arrived at TARTA in June of 2024 with more than 20 years of experience in leadership and financial management roles.  

He served as the CFO at Future Plans, Inc. in Newbury, Ohio, where he shepherded the launch of a new grant management system and oversaw a $9.5 million budget for the nonprofit corporation. His experience also includes three years as Director of Fiscal Services at Sisters of Charity Health System in Cleveland, six years as Chief Operating Officer of Leading Families Home in Toledo, and four years in leadership posts at Toledo’s Rescue Incorporated. 

 
James has a Bachelors of Science in Accounting from the University of Akron and an Executive Master of Business Administration from Kent State University. 

Susan brings more than 30 years of expertise in client relationship management and project management to her role as Chief of Staff. A Toledo native, Susan returned to the area in September 2020 after building her career in high-end ecotourism management in the Boston and New York City areas. She has a history of making significant contributions by fostering positive customer experiences, improving processes, and building strong stakeholder and community connections.  

Susan has helped to oversee organizational changes, beginning in her role as Customer Care Manager and continuing with her development of the Hub of Hope outreach program. Embarking in the Chief of Staff role in 2022, she has continued to manage important projects including Flex - TARTA’s on-demand microtransit service - and facilitates the agency’s Customer Advisory Committee. Susan represents TARTA on the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Government (TMACOG) Transportation Planning Committee and the Home for Everyone Continuum of Care Board.  

Sam oversees TARTA’s communications, marketing, government relations and community relations efforts. He also played a key role leading the outreach and communications efforts for TARTA’s comprehensive redesign project, TARTA Next. He arrived at TARTA after serving as the Director of Strategic Engagement at the Ability Center of Greater Toledo. In 2019, he was part of Lucas County’s Community Task Force on Public Transportation. 

Sam has also held leadership posts at Food For Thought, the Servant Leadership Center, and Leadership Toledo. He was named one of Toledo’s 20 Under 40 in 2018 and was elected to Toledo City Council in 2019.