Maulik Vaishnav is a transportation policy and transit leader with 15 years of experience in government and consulting. He is currently the Senior Deputy Executive Director, Planning & Capital Programming, the Regional Transportation Authority of Northeastern Illinois (RTA). Previously, he was Vice President of Innovation at Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and leads the agency’s ‘Meeting the Moment’ action plan, customer experience and marketing strategy, and an Innovation PMO team. During his 11-year tenure at CTA, he has worked in or overseen ridership analytics, market research, strategic planning, budget, revenue, business development, and fare policy teams. He also served as a transportation policy advisor at the City of Chicago Mayor’s Office from 2019 to 2022 where he helped advance a strategic plan for transportation, a forward-thinking ground transportation tax surcharge on downtown ride-hail trips, temporary pandemic bus lanes, transportation goals for the climate action plan, and a vision for trails and open spaces.