Fort Worth’s Bivens to Lead Regional Transportation Council

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Fort Worth Mayor Pro Tem Gyna Bivens on Thursday was elected chair of the Regional Transportation Council, according to a press release. She will lead the 45-member transportation policymaking body for the next year.

Bivens takes over for Collin County Commissioner Duncan Webb, who steered the RTC through the recently concluded 88th Texas Legislature.

Bivens was recently reelected to the City Council for a sixth term. She represents District 5. She spent the past year as vice chair of the RTC.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins, who joined the policymaking body in 2011, will be the next vice chair. Johnson County Commissioner Rick Bailey was elected secretary. Bailey was appointed to the RTC in July 2022.

The RTC includes local elected or appointed officials from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and representatives from the region’s transportation providers. As the transportation policymaking body for the 12-county Dallas-Fort Worth area, the RTC oversees transportation planning for the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country, which has a current population of approximately 8 million people.

The new officers will serve in their positions through June 2024.

Bivens is president and executive director of North Texas LEAD (Leaders and Executives Advocating Diversity), a talent search firm that connects jobseekers with businesses and organizations committed to creating diverse and inclusive leadership teams. 

A graduate of University of North Texas, Bivens is a former corporate spokesperson and broadcast journalist. Bivens has been an RTC member since 2021.

The RTC guides the development of roadway, rail and bicycle-pedestrian plans and programs; allocates transportation funds; and recommends projects to the Texas Transportation Commission for other programs. The policymaking body also ensures transportation services are coordinated throughout the region and the metropolitan area complies with federal air quality standards.