Richard W. Andreski, a public transportation veteran with 23 years of experience and more than 10 years of executive leadership, has been selected as the next president and chief executive officer of Trinity Metro.
Andreski previously served as bureau chief for public transportation for the Connecticut Department of Transportation since 2015. In this capacity, he oversaw public transportation in Connecticut and had an operating budget of $850 million and a team of 110 planners, engineers and rail and transit professionals. The Connecticut DOT includes 22 transit providers that serve 80 million people annually. His responsibilities included CTfastrak bus rapid transit, one of the country’s premier bus-rapid transit lines, and New Haven Line, the nation’s busiest passenger rail line. He was accountable for capital programs to maintain and improve more than $5 billion in capital assets, including bus rapid transit and rail infrastructure, rail and bus fleets, bus depots and fare systems.
Between 1999 and 2015, Andreski held a series of positions at NJ Transit. He began as a bus service planner and quickly moved up through the ranks. His roles included manager of capital planning and programs support, director of operations coordination and policy, chief of staff for rail operations and director of Trans-Hudson planning.
“After an exhaustive national search, the Trinity Metro Board of Directors agreed that Rich is the best choice for leading our agency to even greater success,” said Jeff Davis, chairman of the Trinity Metro Board of Directors. “His vast experience in public transportation and his history of building partnerships are key for the growth of Trinity Metro.”
Andreski, who will start his role on June 20, said he is looking forward to the transition.
“I’m excited and honored to be chosen as Trinity Metro’s CEO,” Andreski said. “I can’t wait to join the team so we can work together on transit solutions for the North Texas region.”
The position of president and CEO has been filled on an interim basis by Paul Ballard, who resumed leadership of the agency in November 2021. Ballard previously led Trinity Metro from 2014 to 2019, and he accepted the position on an eight-month basis to assist during the national search for a permanent replacement.
Andreski is motivated by a mission of public service and believes transit plays a critical role by providing access to employment, education and other opportunities, spurring economic development and supporting a cleaner and greener future. He keeps the customer experience at the heart of every investment decision.
He is active in the American Public Transportation Association, where he was co-founder and co-chair of the APTA Emerging Leaders Program, an immersive year-long leadership development program for emerging leaders in the public transportation industry. Andreski also serves on APTA’s High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Committee and APTA’s Awards Committee.
He holds a bachelor of science degree in biology from Lafayette College and a master of city and regional planning degree from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. He also completed the Jurisdictional Crisis Incident Management Program from Texas A&M Engineering Extension and is a graduate of the APTA Leadership Program, Class of 2009.
Fort Worth, Texas (April 20, 2022) – Watershed Urbanism and the DFW Metroplex opens Wednesday, April 20 at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. The exhibit examines the Trinity River watershed in North Texas and features designs from University of Texas at Arlington’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA) faculty and students. It will be on exhibit at the Museum from April 20 through August 2022.
“We’re excited that a prestigious educational institution such as the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History will be hosting the Biennale exhibit, as it provides families, school children and stakeholders across our region an opportunity to learn about the importance of waterways to our region, as well as the critical role watersheds have on our environment and surroundings.” Maria Martinez-Cosio, interim CAPPA dean, said.
Originally part of the European Cultural Center’s 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale, Watershed Urbanism observes the challenges that increasing population expansion, climate change, and aging infrastructure create for the relationship between urban and natural environments. A healthy watershed provides critical support for the environment by collecting rain water for storage and flood prevention. The student and faculty projects investigate how to “design built environments that enlarge with and incorporate waterflows and aquatic life.” Several in-process projects are highlighted within the exhibit, such as the Panther Island Project and the Streams & Valleys Confluence Master Plan.
After its exhibition at the Museum, Watershed Urbanism will travel through North Texas to stops such as the Lewisville Grand Theater and the Texas Discovery Gardens at the State Fair of Texas.
In addition to a brand new exhibit, the Museum will reveal a community mural mosaic created at the 2022 MAIN St. Fort Worth Arts Festival. The Community Mural Mosaic was designed by local Fort Worth artists, Jimmy Joe Jenkins and Bradley Kent.
Visitors to the MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival presented by PNC Bank were invited to participate in the community art piece in the Makers Zone sponsored by Tarrant County College. Over 1000 artists of all ages participated in the project by mixing colors and painting sections, following the artists’ original patterns and designs. These mini masterpieces were then puzzled together to create the much larger murals, celebrating Fort Worth’s Downtown & its colorful history.
The museum will serve as the first stop of the mural's tour through the City of Fort Worth and will be on display at the Museum throughout the month of April.
On Monday April 18, Karen Wiley announced her plans to retire as President and CEO of Arts Fort Worth. Over the past seven years, Ms. Wiley has realized great opportunities to expand on the achievements of the Arts Council of Fort Worth. Under Ms. Wiley’s leadership, the Arts Council, which was founded in 1963, recently rebranded as Arts Fort Worth, reflecting changes that allowed the organization to build on its positive legacy while reinvigorating its commitment to serve and respond to the needs of all local artists, arts organizations, and residents of the city.
Whether Fort Worth residents are among the 80,000 annual visitors to the Arts Center’s galleries and theaters, spending time near one of the 145 works of Public Art in Fort Worth, or experiencing art presented by over 30 Arts Fort Worth grant recipient nonprofits, members of the public have likely seen firsthand the impact of Arts Fort Worth under Karen Wiley’s leadership.
"It has been an honor to serve as President of Arts Fort Worth for the past seven years and one of the most rewarding experiences in my career, " said Karen Wiley, “It has been an incredible journey to serve alongside an amazing team whose focus has always been and continues to be one of acting out the engagement of arts for all. Three simple words that activate the depth and breadth of the creative spirit that lives within each one of us. As I say my farewells, I extend to you an invitation to engage with the creative community of Arts Fort Worth and help to shape its future successes."
In the uncertain early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Wiley’s calm stewardship led Arts Fort Worth through new opportunities, including new programming, while prioritizing the health and safety of staff and the public. Arts Fort Worth quickly developed the Arts Nonprofit Relief Fund, helping Fort Worth arts organizations, and the 14,400 people they employ each year, to continue and adapt their operations. Her advocacy extended beyond Fort Worth when she was invited by Americans for the Arts as one of five arts leaders to meet with members of Congress and speak to the significance of the cultural and economic impact of the arts in Texas and across the United States.
Ms. Wiley deepened Arts Fort Worth's dedication to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access through staff training, public workshops, and specialized grants, encouraging staff and board members to prioritize DEIA in every aspect of the organization. As Arts Fort Worth continues this work internally, they also expanded those efforts to build a more equitable arts community. Under Ms. Wiley’s leadership, the DEIA Capacity Building Grant was launched. In 2022, 12 organizations were awarded grants to strengthen their infrastructure, management, and governance through diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible organizational practices.
“The Arts Fort Worth Board and staff are united in their support of this decision and are proud to have spent so many prosperous years building the organization with Karen at the helm. We celebrate Karen’s tenure as an era of unprecedented organizational achievement and look forward to building on that legacy with new opportunities,” said Jared Sloane, Chair, Arts Fort Worth Board of Directors.
At this pinnacle and moving into the 60th anniversary of the organization, Arts Fort Worth looks forward with confidence to delivering a new strategic vision that continues onto a new phase of success.
Karen Wiley will remain the CEO and President through June 30, 2022, to see Arts Fort Worth through its current strategic planning process. The Board of Directors has begun its process to fill the CEO position, seeking a new leader who upholds Arts Fort Worth’s values of inclusive collaboration, advocacy, and integrity.
Please join us in congratulating Ms. Wiley on her extensive career and tenure at Arts Fort Worth at a reception on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, from 5:30-8:00 p.m. at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, 1300 Gendy Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76017. The event is free to attend, but we kindly request that guests RSVP by emailing TalkTo@artsfortworth.org or by calling Arts Fort Worth’s offices at (817) 738-1938.
The Mayfest area of Trinity Park will be closed to the public Monday, April 18, through Wednesday, May 11, for Mayfest setup, the four-day festival and teardown.
The 50th anniversary edition of Mayfest is scheduled for May 5-8 in Trinity Park.
Park visitors who may be affected by the temporary closures include trail users, cyclists, runners, playground visitors and others. There is another playground at the north end of Trinity Park that will remain open during this time. Here are some details:
Trinity Park Loop Trail. This trail provides a lighted detour connecting the Trinity Trail north and south ends of the closure. The Loop trail ensures that trail users can continue to use the trails while this portion of the park is closed. Trail users will also have continuous trail access by using the trail on the East Bank of the Trinity River. Access to this trail and crossover points are at Panther Island Pavilion, Rotary Park and the Mistletoe pedestrian bridge.
Dream Park. The area of Trinity Park where Dream Park is located will be temporarily closed. Seven parks with playgrounds can be found within a one-mile radius of Trinity Park, all providing great alternatives for people looking for a playground. Dream Park will be open to all Mayfest attendees during the festival and will reopen to the public on May 11.
Mayfest has returned more than $7.5 million to the Fort Worth community over its 50-year history, which includes improvements to the Trinity River trail systems and Fort Worth parks. Examples of improvements Mayfest has funded:
To learn more, contact the Fort Worth Park and Recreation Department at 817-392-5700 or Mayfest at 817-332-1055.
View a Trail Access Map and Alternative Playground Map(PDF, 5MB).
The National Science Foundation recently awarded the Botanical Research Institute of Texas and the California Botanic Garden nearly $1 million to support the digitization and linking of plant specimens and other archival materials.
Through the Infrastructure Capacity for Biological Research program, botanists and library staff will curate and digitize the biological and archival materials of renowned American Botanist Sherwin Carlquist. This four-year collaborative project, “Advancing the Extended Specimen Network: Curating and Digitizing the Sherwin Carlquist Collection” aims to create an Extended Specimen Network with Carlquist’s collections. The concept of the extended specimen encompasses various linked components relating to an individual specimen, including the physical specimen, its digitized specimen record, and other associated biological preparations and data types, such as field notes, images in situ of the specimen and its habitat, and genetic samples.
Dr. Carlquist’s esteemed career included tenure as a botanist at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, professor emeritus at Claremont Graduate School and Pomona College, being named a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow and earning awards from the Smithsonian Institution and California Academy of Sciences.
“We are delighted that his valuable work will be accessible to researchers across various scientific disciplines and members of the public,”said Librarian Ana Niño. “The archival materials—mostly photographic in nature except for his field notebooks—will be digitized here at BRIT, and the biological materials like herbarium specimens, fluid-preserved specimens, wood specimens, and wood anatomy microscopic slides will be digitized concurrently at California Botanic Garden.”
The amount awarded to BRIT is $509,792, and the amount awarded to CalBG is $482,583, for a total of $992,375.
In response to increases in violent crime, the Fort Worth Police Department has expanded its violent crime initiative called #FortWorthSafe.
“Safety, wellness and resiliency. In its most simple form, that is our violent crime strategy,” said Police Chief Neil Noakes. “It doesn’t matter what ZIP code you live in, what neighborhood you live in, we all deserve to be safe. And that’s what #FortWorthSafe is all about.”
#FortWorthSafe is a crime reduction initiative focused on violent crimes such as homicide, robbery, shootings and aggravated assault. #FortWorthSafe includes an enforcement component as well as a community outreach component addressing deficiencies in communities that increase the likelihood of violent crime occurring.
The department’s goal, — which Noakes called “an ambitious one” — is to reduce violent crime by 10% in 12 months.
“We will be working with community members to root out the people and conditions that are contributing to violent crime,” Noakes said, emphasizing that the effort will be an intelligence-led, data-driven initiative.
Mayor Mattie Parker acknowledged that violent crime is increasing in large cities across the nation. “Unfortunately, Fort Worth is not insulated from that conversation,” she said. “While the overall crime rate is down 40%, our violent crime rate has risen dramatically, most recently during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Parker, who co-chairs a U.S. Conference of Mayors task force that addresses crime in large cities, said: “We will not stop until every single community member in every ZIP code feels safe in their homes, their parks, their neighborhood.”
The City Council unanimously approved a redistricting map this week, the final step in a process that increases the size of the council from nine to 11 members.
The map will first be implemented in conjunction with the May 2023 municipal elections. Learn more about the redistricting process.
View a closeup view of the map including specific streets.
The Fort Worth Botanic Garden | Botanical Research Institute of Texas hosts its annual Spring Plant Sale from 2-7 p.m. April 8 and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 9.
Members are invited to an exclusive pre-sale April 7 from 3-7 p.m. and receive a 10% discount. Not a member? Join now.
The Spring Plant Sale features annuals, perennials, begonias from garden collections, bulbs, shrubs, Japanese maples and fruit trees. Various plant societies and vendors will also be selling their plants and products. Botanic Garden staff will be on hand to answer questions and help with plant selections. The Garden’s resident citrus specialist, Rob Bauereisen, will also be on site to offer a variety of citrus trees and advice on growing them.
“The spring sale is a community favorite for area residents who appreciate our plant selection and friendly advice,” said Executive Vice President Bob Byers.
The sale will be held in The Grove just inside the weekend (Lot D) parking lot off the I-30 access road between University Drive and Montgomery Street. Shoppers are advised to bring their own carts or wagons for loading plants.
More people in Fort Worth are doing what’s right when it comes to the environment and making our green footprint larger than ever before. This means reducing waste, reusing items, recycling more and composting food waste.
Through the city’s Residential Food Waste Composting Program, residents can turn even more waste into resources instead of garbage by collecting food scraps to be processed into compost, a rich soil nutrient.
Most foods can be composted: fruits and vegetables, including peels and pits, bread and other baked goods, coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, egg shells, cooked meats and bones and any table leftovers, to name a few.
The compost program, which launched in 2019, has recently added new locations, making a total of 15 collection sites. The new sites:
These additions make it more convenient for residents who live in the south, west and north of the city to drop off food waste. A new collection site is in the works for the east side of Fort Worth.
A one-time fee of $20 provides subscribers with a starter kit, which includes a kitchen countertop pail, a five-gallon transfer bucket, a refrigerator magnet and educational resources. Residents can also request a free, fun yard sign to help spread the word about the program to neighbors.
Since its launch in April 2019, the program has yielded impressive results. Nearly 1,700 households are subscribed, 162 tons of food scraps (more than 324,000 pounds) have been collected with a record-low 1% contamination rate.
Every pound of food composted is diverted from the landfill with benefits that include better air quality from reduced methane emissions, reduced need for chemical fertilizers and less water usage.
To learn more, contact Flavia Paulino by email or at 817-392-7220.
The City Council will vote on an ordinance adopting a proposed redistricting map at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 29, in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 200 Texas St.
The vote is the final step in a redistricting process that will increase the size of the council from nine to 11 members.
The final proposed map, referred to as Anna, is designed to create an opportunity for Hispanic voters to elect their representative of choice to the council. The map, once approved, will first be implemented in conjunction with the May 2023 municipal elections.
View the map and learn more about redistricting in Fort Worth. View the corresponding Anna map population table(PDF, 119KB) .
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