The Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority Board of Directors has appointed Christy Wegener as the agency's new executive director last Monday, according to a news release.

Wegener was previously the director of planning and operations at LAVTA from 2014 to 2018 before she went to work for the San Mateo County Transit District. She served as the director of planning there and was responsible for strategic and operations planning for the district.

As she returns to the Tri-Valley transit agency, which runs the Wheels bus system, she said she is ready to put her experience to work.

"The Wheels bus system is near and dear to my heart and I am thrilled for the opportunity to return," Wegener said in the news release. "I am excited to work with my former LAVTA colleagues and to improve mobility options throughout the Tri-Valley."

Wegener has spent over 20 years working in the transit industry for agencies such as the Sacramento Regional Transit District and the Fairfax County (Va.) Department of Transportation.

According to the release, she was recognized as one of Mass Transit Magazine's Top 40 under 40 and is a graduate of the American Public Transportation Association's Leadership program.

Wegener is stepping in after former executive director Michael Tree left the agency in April to become the CEO and general manager of the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District. Tamara Edwards, director of finance at LAVTA, has been serving as interim executive director since Tree's departure.

"We are very pleased that Christy was interested in returning to LAVTA," said Alameda County Supervisor David Haubert, who also serves as chair of the LAVTA board.

"During her previous tenure here, she helped lay the groundwork for many of the innovative projects that have been implemented over the past few years, including the introduction of shared autonomous vehicle technology, the Go Tri-Valley partnership with Uber and Lyft and a fixed route system redesign that led to increased ridership. These efforts played a large role in LAVTA being named the top transit agency in North America in 2020," Haubert added.

According to the Dublin city website, the shared autonomous vehicle technology led to the launch of a shared autonomous vehicle project near the eastern Dublin-Pleasanton BART Station to help provide first and last mile connections to the train.

The Go Tri-Valley partnership, which Wegener also worked on, was a one-year pilot program that would give passengers using ride-share companies, such as Uber or Lyft, a discount in test areas of Dublin.

Wegener has a master's in public policy from California State University, Sacramento and a bachelor's in psychology and sociology from the University of California, Davis.