Leadership Team
Meet RTD's experienced and dedicated Leadership Team.
Debra A. Johnson
General Manager and Chief Executive Officer
Debra A. Johnson is a person in the people business, a transit executive guided by the knowledge that her decision-making has direct bearing on the public’s ability to make connections that benefit their lives. Johnson was selected as General Manager and CEO of Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) by the agency’s Board of Directors on Aug. 25, 2020. She is the first woman to lead the agency in its 52-year history.
Angel Peña
Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Angel Peña is a bilingual customer experience and results-driven transit executive with nearly 25 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. His leadership has been instrumental in managing teams and projects that transformed infrastructure, enhanced operational performance, and restored public trust in some of the nation’s most complex transit systems. As RTD’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Peña is specifically tasked with advancing the agency’s vision for an operationally safe, reliable, and customer-focused transit system while, at the same time, strengthening relationships with customers, the community, and stakeholders.
His leadership and commitment to equity, safety, and service reliability have been evident in every role he has held, from engineer to executive leader. His expertise in large-scale capital infrastructure renewal, operational oversight, and stakeholder engagement has positioned him as a forward-thinking leader capable of addressing RTD’s most pressing challenges.
Charlene Polege
Chief People Officer
Charlene Polege was named RTD's Chief People Officer in December 2022. As a values-driven and servant leader, Polege has spent the last 20 years helping unlock the full potential of talented individuals in mission-driven organizations by developing, supporting, and nurturing an engaging and resilient organizational culture through an organization's shared purpose and aligned value systems.
Prior to joining RTD, Polege provided executive human resources leadership to Canada's largest online comprehensive academic research university, where she was responsible for overall strategic HR planning, organizational development, culture and engagement, total rewards, employee and labor relations, and HR service provision in an efficient, productive, inclusive, respectful, and sustainable manner. Polege also has extensive experience in the private sector, serving as the Vice President Human Resources/Privacy Officer for a leading hospitality organization with more than 3,500 employees.
Polege holds a graduate degree from Royal Roads University, receiving a Master of Arts (MA) with a concentration in Conflict Analysis and Management and a Certification in Executive Coaching (CEC). She also holds a Certified Senior Professional (SHRM-CSP) designation from the Society of Human Resources Management and a Diversity and Inclusion Certificate for HR from Cornell University.
Steve Martingano
Chief of Police and Emergency Management
Steve Martingano began his law enforcement career in 1992 as an intern with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) Police Cadet Corp while attending St. John’s University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He entered the NYPD Police Academy in August 1993, graduated, and was assigned to the Patrol Division in the 104th Precinct located in Queens, New York.
In December 1996, Martingano relocated to Colorado and was a lateral transfer to the Arvada Police Department where he served seven years in the Patrol Division. In 2004, Martingano transferred to the Denver Police Department, he was assigned to three different Districts and the Denver International Airport. While working for Denver Police Department, he also worked 10 years, in a secondary employment capacity, for RTD and started the first plain clothes light rail team to mitigate fare evasion.
In 2015, he was hired by the RTD Transit Police Division as a Transit Police Commander, and in 2017, earned a promotion to the position of Deputy Chief of Police. Under his leadership he has implemented a variety of innovative community-based programs. Martingano started the first mental health co-responder unit in public transportation, which has been recognized nationally as a model to assist those in need. Martingano was named RTD's Chief of Police and Emergency Management in May 2025.
Kelly Mackey
Chief Financial Officer
Kelly Mackey is a strategic and results-driven finance executive with 22 years of experience, specializing in complex financial operations and organizational transformation. As Chief Financial Officer, she is responsible for overseeing the agency’s $1.4 billion budget, stewarding resources with fiscal integrity on behalf of more than 3,000 employees, and driving financial strategies that support RTD’s mission to make lives better through connections.
Mackey brings a robust and diverse background, most notably through her 15-year career at Staples, where she held multiple leadership roles supporting the company’s B2B e-commerce distribution and delivery business. At Staples, she led an 88-person team driving operational execution, data-driven decisions, and planning for one of North America's largest private delivery networks. Her leadership enabled measurable improvements in financial discipline and operational efficiency across supply chain, customer experience, and field operations.
Mackey is a Certified Public Accountant and an alumna of Harvard Business School through the Advanced Management Program. She holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Colorado Denver and earned her Bachelor of Science in Finance, summa cum laude, with a minor in Spanish from Oral Roberts University. An avid runner, Mackey draws inspiration from the discipline and endurance of long-distance running—qualities she brings to her leadership approach at RTD.
Stuart Summers
Chief Communications and Engagement Officer
Stuart Summers oversees all strategic communications, media and public relations, marketing, customer engagement, and community outreach at RTD. He was named the Chief Communications and Engagement Officer in 2022 and is specifically tasked with enhancing public perception and overall awareness.
Prior to assuming his role at RTD, Summers was the Associate Vice President for Marketing, Communications, and Strategic Initiatives at Idaho State University. He spent 11 years overseeing the university’s marketing and communications, bolstering campus events and traditions, and supporting the institution’s strategic priorities. Summers is also a former morning show anchor and reporter for an NBC affiliate in Idaho. Summers spent two years volunteering as an English teacher in Mongolia, where he taught at a career and technical college near the Russian border. In addition to being an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructor, he also speaks Mongolian fluently.
Melanie Snyder
General Counsel
Melanie Snyder was named RTD’s General Counsel in June 2020. Snyder has more than 15 years of experience representing a variety of clients in both the public and private sectors. As General Counsel, she advises the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer and elected Board of Directors, and oversees the Legal Services, Risk Management, and Information Governance Management Divisions.
Prior to assuming her role at RTD, Snyder served as Chief Deputy Attorney General and Chief of Staff overseeing the management of the largest law firm in the State of Colorado. In these roles, she oversaw general counsel and transactional advice to all executive and judicial branch agencies, boards and commissions, and statewide elected officials, coordinated legal policy and ethics compliance, and served as intergovernmental liaison. She also oversaw civil investigations and litigation, including coordination with multistate and federal partners, and enforcement of consumer protection, cybersecurity/data privacy, consumer credit, and federal and state antitrust laws. Snyder has significant expertise in business operations and continuity, process improvement, public relations, and community engagement. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, Snyder practiced commercial litigation at large and small Denver firms. She received her J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law and bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Psychology from the University of Arizona.
Dave Jensen
Assistant General Manager, Rail Operations
Dave Jensen is a rail professional with more than 36 years of rail and executive-level management experience. He is responsible for managing all aspects of RTD’s rail operations, including both Commuter Rail and Light Rail. Jensen began his management career in 1989 and has extensive experience overseeing all levels of a passenger railroad agency.
Jensen has provided consultation and assistance to numerous transit agencies in the United States and internationally, including agencies in Hong Kong, Canada, Argentina, Utah, California, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. He also has experience participating in numerous peer reviews for the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). Jensen has consulted streetcar new start agencies in Kansas City, Cincinnati, and Detroit. He is recognized as a subject-matter expert in the field of railroad operations and has testified in numerous court cases as an expert witness in California and Colorado. His expertise most specifically relates to the rules, policies, procedures, and training of rail operations.