Nadine S. Lee has more than two decades of leadership across some of the nation’s largest and most complex transit systems. She has helped set a compelling vision for these agencies and led them through some of their biggest challenges, all while keeping a laser focus on the transit customer.

As CEO of Dallas Area Regional Transit (DART), Nadine inspired a staff of 3,700 employees operating light rail, regional rail, bus, GoLink on-demand service, and paratransit, moving more than 171,000 passengers daily across a 13-city region. In her time at DART, Nadine led the development and implementation of the 10-year Point B Strategic Plan to ensure DART is the first-in-mind mobility partner for North Texans. The first Point B Annual Report, published in 2025, shows significant progress toward agency goals including opening the 26-mile Silver Line commuter rail, investing $110 million in security, cleanliness, and reliability improvements for riders, and launching DART Transform, a $2.5 billion system-modernization program. During her tenure as CEO, Nadine led significant operational performance gains such as achieving over 99% service delivery and increasing DART’s net promoter score by 40 points in only three years.

Prior to DART, Nadine served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief Innovation Officer for Los Angeles Metro, where she established the agency's Vision 2028 Strategic Plan, created the Offices of Equity & Race and Customer Experience, and launched the Better Bus Program, a five-year, $2.1-billion plan to address racial inequities by making bus trips quicker, more reliable and more comfortable — especially for those who depend on Metro the most. At Denver’s Regional Transportation District, she led the development and implementation of the Flatiron Flyer Bus Rapid Transit – a service that saw a 40 percent increase in ridership in the first few months after launch.

Nadine was appointed to the Leadership APTA Committee in 2019 and is a past Director on the WTS International Board. She currently serves as an Mpact Board Director, as well as UITP Executive Board and North America Division Chair. She was awarded 2019 WTS International Woman of the Year and the 2026 COMTO Women Who Move the Nation. She is a Senior Strategic Advisor for the Transportation Initiative (TRIP) at the University of Pennsylvania .  A registered Professional Engineer in Colorado and Kansas, Nadine began her career as a consultant.