Episode 271. Ferdinand L. Risco, Jr. – Former Executive Director-(TARC)-The Transit Authority of River City
Ferdinand Risco is a native of Philadelphia, earning a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and an MBA from the University of New Haven in Connecticut. Ferdinand was also a Distinguished Military Graduate commissioned as a Regular Army Infantry Officer & spent ten years in the U.S. Army. Today, Ferdinand serves as the Executive Director for (TARC), the largest public transit agency in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, carrying 15 million annual passengers, and is responsible for the leadership and direction of all operations in the system. Ferdinand’s experience includes freight transport, manufacturing, warehousing & transportation. He has also worked in operations, maintenance, employee and labor relations, human resources, diversity & inclusion. As a former Army officer, Ferdinand has helped government agencies and later fortune 500 companies earn awards & distinctions for their best-in-class results. As a transit executive and former college professor, Ferdinand is highly sought after as a lecturer on many topics, including diversity, inclusion, & equal employment practices, supplier diversity, disadvantaged business enterprise certification, leadership & workforce development. Ferdinand’s community involvement even led to a 2009 appointment. By New Haven, Connecticut Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. to their Board of Education, and then a 2011 appointment to the Connecticut State Board of Education by Governor Dannel P. Malloy and service on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Boards of Education. Ferdinand graduated from Leadership-APTA and was Chairman of the association’s Workforce Development Committee. Ferdinand is also an ENO Center for Transportation’s Transit Executive Seminar graduate. Now in Louisville, Ferdinand continues his service to the community, serving on the Boards of The National Safe Place Network, The Healing Place and as Secretary for The Louisville Urban League, as well as Greater Louisville Inc. – Louisville’s Metro Chamber of Commerce, Kentuckians for Better Public Transportation & The Louisville Tourism Committee. Ferdinand is married to his beautiful wife Stacy & they have four children.