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t’s become a much-awaited moment at the STN EXPO West conference in Reno, Nevada: The rec- ognition of the nation’s Top Transportation Teams. The transportation leaders largesly responsible for
this year’s winners share their leadership experiences and the moments that shaped them and their teams into what they’ve become. The awards are in their third year and are sponsored
by Transfinder. The directors of each of the six winning transportation departments were brought on stage in July to discuss how they increase employee satisfaction and company morale at their operations. Each of the winning districts were chosen from applications based on anony- mous surveys from within the transportation department. Thus, the directors who accepted the awards for their district are guaranteed to have a proven record of good stewardship.
Building a Healthy Workplace With Intentional Leadership There was a common thread among the Top Teams
when their directors were asked how they are building strong foundations for workplace culture. Trust, respect, kindness, empathy, connection, intentional listening, problem-solving, and empowerment were among the recurring themes. Teri Mapengo, transportation director for Prosper In-
dependent School District near Dallas, Texas, shared she applied for the Top Transportation Team award last year but her department was not chosen as a finalist. “Not winning the first time showed me we still had
work to do. I knew we were close, and the feedback gave us a glimpse of what we were doing well and where we could get better. That meant doubling down on invest- ing in our people,” she explained. “One thing we heard was that with two sites, one group sometimes felt left out. That was hard to hear, and honestly, it was a new challenge for me because I’d never managed two sepa- rate sites before.” This led to an intentional leadership shift, which
included ensuring that every transportation site had the “same resources, same recognition, same celebrations. “It may sound simple, but it sent a clear message,” con-
tinued Mapengo, who knows first-hand the challenges of being a school bus driver, as that’s how she started her career in in 2013. “No matter what site you’re at, you’re equally valued. That shift helped strengthen our culture and bring everyone together as one.” Wa-Nee Community Schools in Indiana is a repeat winner, having first won Top Teams last year. “We used the first win as a standard of excellence to re- mind us that we could not let our guard down and drop
30 School Transportation News • OCTOBER 2025
below that standard. I think that helped everyone reach a little bit higher in each of our respective roles,” shared Amy Rosa, who accepted the award in Reno. She started in student transportation in 1997 as a school bus driver at Wa-Nee and now serves as the district’s director of school safety and transportation. She continued that even with the back-to-back wins, there were additional areas of improvement needed, which resulted in an increased outreach to other departments to acknowledge their contribution to the corporation. Two of this year’s directors do not have decades of
student transportation-specific experience, but that did not stop them from utilizing their previous educational backgrounds. Brad Hayn is currently the director of trans- portation for Hoover City Schools in Alabama, getting his start a teacher and coach back in 1997. As a coach, he said he was required to get his CDL and drive for sports events. He also spent 17 years in building administration before moving to his current position in June 2024. Hayn said his educational experience has given him a unique perspective on transportation. “It’s important as a transportation director to really understand the big picture,” he added. He also noted he’s using his extensive knowledge of
Alabama’s educational system to encourage technology implementation that supports the number one goal of transporting students safely to and from school. Hayn shared that when he first introduced himself to the transportation department, he made sure to prior- itize a human connection. “I think you need to be very transparent with your drivers and all of your personnel,” he recommended. “They [need to] know exactly where they stand and know exactly who you are and where you come from.” Experiencing his wife almost dying from COVID-19
led Hayn to find a new purpose and share it with his team. “I want to be there for them to support them when they have issues that come up in their life, personally or professionally,” he said, adding that allowing employees to “see behind the curtain” builds strong connections. Another one of this year’s winners was Goddard Public Schools in Kansas. Transportation Director Sean Hollas is also a relative newcomer to student transportation, having previously spent his educational career as a teacher and principal. He had met with his superintendent to put in his
notice of resignation when he was asked if he would be interested in moving to the transportation department. Hollas said he was hesitant at first, one reason being that the transportation department at the time was not in the best condition due to driver shortages. It had gotten so bad, district leadership was considering outsourcing
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