Meet TriMet’s new leader: Dr. LaVerne Lewis

Dr. LaVerne Lewis is going to be one of the most powerful people in the realm of public transportation. When she was a little girl, she wasn’t even allowed to choose where she wanted to sit on a bus.

“I remember when Dr. Martin Luther King had the Montgomery boycotts and many of my family members came from the South. And the day that we were able to board the bus, my father was very proud,” said Dr. Lewis.

Dr. Lewis has a doctorate in education and was on the Mt. Hood Community College Board of Education. She also brings a law enforcement perspective, as she was once a Corrections Deputy at the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.

As Dr. Lewis embarks on this history-making journey, one of her major goals is ensuring safety for all riders on TriMet.

Though a spokesperson for TriMet says calls for police service on TriMet went down 38% last year, incidents targeting employees also went down 30% in 2023.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Dr. LaVerne Lewis is going to be one of the most powerful people in the realm of public transportation. When she was a little girl, she wasn’t even allowed to choose where she wanted to sit on a bus.

“I remember when Dr. Martin Luther King had the Montgomery boycotts and many of my family members came from the South. And the day that we were able to board the bus, my father was very proud,” said Dr. Lewis.

Dr. Lewis has a doctorate in education and was on the Mt. Hood Community College Board of Education. She also brings a law enforcement perspective, as she was once a Corrections Deputy at the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.

As Dr. Lewis embarks on this history-making journey, one of her major goals is ensuring safety for all riders on TriMet.

Though a spokesperson for TriMet says calls for police service on TriMet went down 38% last year, incidents targeting employees also went down 30% in 2023.

“[Our] plan of action is to continue what we’re doing. We are increasing the number of safety and security people that we have on our system to make sure that we have a presence, and to increase our lighting in different stations to increase our cameras,” said Dr. Lewis.

When it comes to people experiencing mental crises on TriMet, she says the agency will build on its holistic response. KATU News asked her about addressing the issue of substance use on and around TriMet property.

“We’ve addressed it by increasing the presence of our Crisis Response Team, it’s not only a TriMet [issue], but it’s city-wide and how we come together to work collaboratively,” Dr. Lewis said.

https://katu.com/news/local/dr-laverne-lewis-becomes-trimets-first-black-president-her-plans-for-riders-portland-oregon-multnomah-county-public-transit-dr-martin-luther-king-junior

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Author: KATU News
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News post in at: July 31, 2024, 3:04 am.

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