About Us
Mission Statement
The mission of COMTO is to ensure a level playing field and maximum participation in the transportation industry for minority individuals, businesses and communities of color through advocacy, information sharing, training, education and professional development.
Local Chapter Mission Statement
To develop employees and create opportunities for minorities in the transportation industry.
Membership
COMTO has thirty-eight (38) chapters throughout the United States. Members include individuals, transportation agencies, academic institutions, industry non-profits and Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs). From highways and roads to mass transit systems; from subways to rail systems; and from port authorities to airports, COMTO members represent every facet of the transportation industry. They are the presidents and chief executive officers who determine the direction of major transportation systems and the mechanics and operators who ensure the safe passage of millions of transportation riders everyday.
COMTO History
Founded in 1971 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC, the Conference Of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) was created to provide a forum for senior level minority professionals in the transportation industry. It was an occasion to act, born of the need to address the inequities of a rapidly expanding industry within which its minority workers, upon whose shoulders the industry was built, were not allowed the same access to employment, promotion and contract opportunities. It was recognized from the beginning that COMTO was positioning itself for a long and arduous, but rewarding, history.
The founders, leaders and dedicated workers whose original vision formed the foundation of the organization would be proud of where COMTO stands today. With thirty-eight (38) chapters across the country and members encompassing individuals, organizations, transportation agencies, non-profits and Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUBs), efforts have ensured that members of COMTO now serve in every sector of the transportation industry.
Since its inception, COMTO has continued to evolve to become the premier organization for the training, education and professional development of minority transportation professionals. The true measure of how far COMTO has come is revealed by the talent, tenacity and accomplishments of the members who have joined forces to correct the inequities of the past and chart the direction of the future.
Local Chapter History
The Greater Cincinnati Chapter of COMTO was founded in 2007 with 10 members. Marilyn Shazor had a vision that such an organization was needed in the Cincinnati area for minorities in transportation; Marilyn was the first president of the chapter.
The Conference Of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) National Office named the Greater Cincinnati COMTO Chapter the Emerging Chapter of the Year at its annual conference in Indianapolis in July of 2008. The Emerging Chapter Award honors new chapters who demonstrate an overall effectiveness as a new chapter.
The Cincinnati Chapter came into existence in June of 2007 and now boasts a membership of twenty-two (22) members. The membership covers a vast range of agencies and corporations such as SORTA/Metro, Veolia/PTM, City of Cincinnati Department of Transportation and Engineering and a prominent law firm that provides legal counsel to the SORTA Board. It must be noted, that SORTA/Metro promoted Ms. Marilyn Shazor, member of the Greater Cincinnati Chapter, to CEO of the company.
Furthermore, the Greater Cincinnati COMTO Chapter is making great strides in the community already. The Cincinnati chapter of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) recently awarded a $5,000 scholarship to University of Cincinnati (UC) student Tyler Henderson. Ms. Henderson, a graduate of Walnut Hills High School and now a sophomore at UC, is majoring in Electrical Engineering.