Monica Tellez-Fowler | President & CEO
Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA)

Monica Tellez-Fowler is the President/CEO of the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), the regional mobility organization providing service to Columbus and the Central Ohio region. Since joining COTA in March 2023, she has served as Chief Operating Officer before she was promoted to Deputy CEO in May 2023. In May 2024, she became COTA’s new President/CEO, after a unanimous vote by the Board of Trustees.   During her time at COTA, Monica successfully negotiated an industry-leading labor contract with Transport Workers Union 208, implemented and oversaw the organization’s transformative Paid Family Leave Policy, and led improvements to transit service following a national workforce shortage. She also leads COTA in the LinkUS Mobility Initiative, which is the region’s mobility plan to bring rapid transit solutions and transportation options to accommodate major population growth in Central Ohio.   Prior to COTA, she served as the Deputy CEO/Treasurer of Clark County Public Transit Benefit Area Authority (C-TRAN) in Vancouver, Washington. While at C-TRAN, Tellez-Fowler was responsible for more than $100 million in annual operations and capital budgets and represented the authority on a $3.5 billion Interstate 5 bridge replacement megaproject across the Columbia River on the Washington-Oregon border. While at C-TRAN, the organization earned Outstanding Transportation System of the Year twice, first in 2019 and again in 2022.   Before joining C-TRAN, Tellez-Fowler was the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Trinity Metro in Fort Worth, Texas, where she oversaw the New Starts Federal Transit Administration grant application process for TEXRail, a $1 billion, 27-mile commuter rail between downtown Fort Worth and the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.   Tellez-Fowler earned a Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Tarleton State University, graduating as a distinguished scholar. She lives in Gahanna.