Executive Leadership Team
JTA Executive Leadership Team
Cleveland Ferguson III
Executive Vice President/Chief Administrative Officer
Cleveland Ferguson III is Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the JTA. He focuses on transforming the JTA’s administrative operations, strategic planning and economic development strategies.
Ferguson’s innovative leadership has led the JTA in developing and deploying JTA University, JTA Enterprise Metrics Management System, as well as the JTA See and Say app. Under Ferguson’s leadership, the JTA was inducted into the North Florida Small Business Hall of Fame and received the 2018 Community Partner Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the 2018 Gold Bus Safety Excellence Award and the 2019 First Place APTA AdWheel Award.
He previously served as the Deputy CAO for the City of Jacksonville where he led the effort to expand the use of analytics through JaxScore, reform the delivery of citizen-based services and increase transparency into city operations.
Ferguson has a distinguished record of board service in civic, nonprofit, legal and international associations, including serving as a mayoral appointee to the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission. This year, he serves on the Jacksonville Regional Chamber Board of Governors and is a member of Leadership Broward Class XXIII, Leadership Jacksonville (2010), Leadership Florida Class XXXIII, the 2017 Eno Center for Transportation’s Senior Executive Program and the2017 APTA International Study Mission on Safety and Infrastructure.
Ferguson received his Juris Doctor from Florida State University College of Law, and a B.S. degree from Nova Southeastern University (NSU). He was conferred with a Doctor of Humane Letters by NSU in 2018.
Greer Johnson Gillis
Senior Vice President/Chief Infrastructure & Development Officer
Greer Johnson Gillis is a senior vice president and Chief Infrastructure & Development Officer for the JTA. During her 29-year career, Ms. Gillis has implemented sustainable policies, managed large-scale infrastructure projects, and advocated for diversity within the engineering, energy, and construction industries.
Ms. Gillis oversees the System Development Division and is responsible for the following departments: Automation & Innovation; Construction & Engineering; Planning & Sustainability; Facilities Management & Transit Amenities; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging; and the Capital Projects Office. Ms. Gillis joined the JTA in April 2020. In her first months at the JTA, Ms. Gillis established the JTA's Capital Projects Office to focus on efficient project delivery, the Sustainability Program Office to elevate sustainability and resiliency initiatives throughout the agency, and initiated the first phase of the Authority's strategic planning efforts.
In 2014, Ms. Gillis was honored by President Obama and U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx as a White House Champion of Change: Transportation Ladders of Opportunity for her efforts in expanding diversity in the engineering industry. In 2017, she was honored by the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) with the Women Who Move the Nation Local Government Award. In 2022, Ms. Gillis was honored with the COMTO Thomas G. Newsom Founders' Leadership Award, which is the highest award given by the organization. It honors transportation executives and policymakers who have contributed to the growth and development of people of color within their organization. In 2008, she was appointed by the interim director of District (DC) Department of Transportation to serve as the city's transportation lead for the 2009 presidential inauguration.
Prior to serving at the JTA, Ms. Gillis held several executive positions in the District of Columbia Government, including commissioner on the Public Service Commission, director of the DC Department of General Services, and deputy director of the District Department of Transportation. She also has many years of private-sector experience working for several engineering companies.
Ms. Gillis is an active member of the Women's Transportation Seminar NE Florida Chapter and serves as the 1st Vice President of the COMTO Jacksonville Chapter. She is also a steering committee member of Elevate Women NE Florida, the City of Jacksonville's Better Jacksonville Plan Finance and Project Administration Committees, and a member of the Jacksonville' Women Network. She is a graduate of Leadership Jacksonville Class of 2022, and a graduate of the 2022 Eno Center for Transportation's Senior Executive Program.
Ms. Gillis holds a Bachelor's degree in civil engineering, and a Master's of Science degree in civil engineering with a concentration in transportation, both from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is a licensed professional engineer in Virginia and Washington, DC.
Charles Frazier
Senior Vice President/Chief Operating Officer
Charles D. Frazier is the senior vice president and chief operating officer for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority directing the performance of passenger transportation services, along with overseeing the department of Human Resources & Organizational Development. Frazier is responsible for the safety, productivity, and accountability of transit operations, including service planning, operations, and maintenance of all vehicles related to JTA's transit systems including fixed route, bus rapid transit, paratransit, micro transit, and waterborne systems. Frazier has served more than 22 years spearheading local government projects and facilitating the work of human service organizations, nonprofit corporations, and industry associations.
Before joining the JTA, Frazier served for four years as the chief executive officer of Rock Region METRO, the public transit system serving central Arkansas providing fixed route, express bus, paratransit, micro transit, and rail streetcar services, and generating more than 2.5 million trips annually. Frazier also served as the assistant executive director of Palm Tran, Inc. with a fleet of 150 vehicles and providing more than 11 million trips annually. He managed all aspects of public transit operations and specialized in equal employment opportunity, cost reduction, service improvement, and federal grant funding. In 2013, after graduating from Leadership Palm Beach County, he was elected by his class to LPBC Board of Governors. He then served as treasurer of the organization in 2014 and 2015, 1st vice president in 2016 and 2017, and then elected president of the organization in 2018.
In 2021, Frazier received the prestigious Arkansas Traveler from the Governor of the State of Arkansas and named an Ambassador of Good Will from Arkansas to other states and nations beyond the borders of the United States in recognition of his distinguished accomplishments for the state.
Frazier earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and finance and information systems from Gonzaga University. Frazier is a member of the America Public Transportation Association (APTA) and in 2018 was one of 25 industry leaders in the nation appointed to APTA's most prestigious development program, Leadership APTA.