The Missouri Public Transit Association (MPTA) – which is the state’s transit advocacy organization – has named Bryce Shields, who serves as the innovations and performance lead at the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA), as its newest board member. He was elected during the MPTA Annual Meeting on the second day of the 2026 Missouri Transit Conference, held Sept. 2-3 in Columbia. He will serve a two-year team.
Shields has seven years of transport industry experience. In his current role with the KCATA, he is responsible for engaging with local and regional transit stakeholders and managing partnerships, including service contracts with municipalities across the KC metropolitan area, which spans seven counties in two states. He also manages the Functionally Free Program and nonprofit bulk fare pass sales program, assists the marketing and communications department with regional outreach efforts and is leading the development and management of new pass programming in the Kansas City region.
During the meeting, current MPTA board member Chuck Ferguson, who serves as the chief operating officer and interim president and CEO of the KCATA and has 30 years of industry experience, was appointed to the role of vice president. He will serve a one-year term.
“We are excited to welcome Bryce to the board and congratulate Chuck on his appointment as vice president,” said Kim Cella, executive director of the MPTA. “Their experience, leadership and dedication to public transit will help advance MPTA’s mission of supporting transit providers and the communities they serve across Missouri.”