During an 8:30 a.m. executive team meeting with managers and other employees gathered in a downtown Birmingham boardroom, staff members exude a sense of pride, of confidence, of assurance. There is small talk across the room – and then excitement.

In walks Charlotte Shaw.

The executive director and CEO of the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority (BJCTA), which oversees the city’s Metro Area Express bus system, commonly called MAX Transit, enters the room with coffee in hand, styled in a blue-and-white patterned blazer, navy blue shirt, cream-colored pants and tan shoes.

She is visibly energized as she greets each team member by name. With Shaw at the helm, everyone seems eager to be at the meeting, and it’s easy to understand why the workday is met with anticipation.

It doesn’t take long for Shaw to show how she has the agency headed in the right direction. She allows each member of the executive team, more than a dozen individuals, to give two words that can help contribute to their success as a group.

Among the words that ring out are “accountability,” “respect,” “endurance,” “patience,” “integrity,” “dedicated,” “compassionate,” “diligent” — all of which can also be used to describe their boss.

Shaw is focused on helping and partnering with others to drive the city forward — whether it’s with employees, riders, residents or leaders across Birmingham.

This comes just as the BJCTA was preparing to host its MAXimum Movement: MAX Rebranding Parade on Aug. 1 to showcase newly branded buses and micro transit services.

“I’m big on respect and good relationships,” she said. “Relationships are everything to me. From business relationships to personal relationships, all those things are important to me. At the end of my days, I want to be able to say I was a good daughter, good sister, good leader, good friend, and good mate. At my homegoing, I want people to be able to say, ‘She did what she sought out to do, and that’s to be a good person.’ That’s my goal.”

Charlotte Shaw, executive director and CEO of Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority, during a team meeting inside the authority’s downtown boardroom. (Amarr Croskey, for The Birmingham Times)

Leader of leaders

As the leader of Alabama’s largest transit agency, Shaw, 64, stays busy, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have time for her staff or for members of the community. From meetings to ride-a-long trips to podcast interviews, Shaw makes time for all, bringing a warm, kind and caring ambience and an equally friendly smile to everyone.

Just ask Amanada Hare, MAX Transit’s marketing and communications manager, who has been onboard since April. She said her job doesn’t feel like work because of the atmosphere Shaw has created.

“She pours into her team,” Hare said. “Coming into this environment where you have this strong support system was really encouraging for me. She’s for the people, not just [employees] but the community, too. She is so passionate about public transit.”

Or ask William “Will” J. Pennell III, manager of Facilities, who was with the agency prior to Shaw’s 2020 arrival and has since moved up the ranks.

“She cares for the people,” Pennell said. “When she first got here, that was her goal: to be accessible. We’ve never had a CEO we could have a conversation with. It makes us feel comfortable knowing that she cares for the employees. She doesn’t treat this like a job. She will literally call you on your birthday to wish you ‘Happy Birthday.’ CEOs don’t do that.”

Shaw said one of the goals is to not only grow the agency but also grow the people, and she pointed to Pennell.

“I noticed that he had a lot of leadership skills and the ability to do more, and now he is our facilities manager,” she said. “I’m a big proponent of creating leaders. I think it was what I was sent to do on this Earth … create opportunities for people to better themselves.

“Each [person on this staff] will have a major role when I leave, so they can continue the work. I don’t have kids, so I tell [the staff], ‘You all will be my legacy when I’m dead and gone.’ I am committed to making sure everybody grows and gets to where they need to be.”

And this applies to more than just her immediate staff. Before the July team meeting, Shaw introduced one of the BJCTA’s new employees, Lacretia Perez, affectionately known as “Cha Cha.”

“She was working for the previous janitorial services [company], and I saw her one day with a broken arm,” Shaw said. “She didn’t have any insurance, and she didn’t get paid unless she worked. That just tore me up. … I said, ‘You know what? We’re going to hire you. You’re going to come and work, get some insurance, get a paycheck, and get your weekends off.’”

Perez now works Monday through Friday, as part of the custodial staff. “[Now], like everybody else,” Shaw said. “She has insurance and a good salary, so she can finally live like she should be living.’”

Charlotte Shaw, executive director and CEO of Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority, seated, as Stanley Lacey, senior director of Operations and Maintenance, looks on. Shaw was preparing to visit one of BJCTA’s transit centers. (Amarr Croskey, for The Birmingham Times)

MAXimum movement

After the morning meeting, Hare, Shaw and Shaw’s chief of staff, Stephanie Walker, hopped into a MAX On Demand micro transit service van to visit the BJCTA’s CrossPlex Transit Center in Five Points West, to show off one of the Magic City’s 10 new passenger buses.

On Aug. 1, a MAXimum Movement parade was held to introduce the newly rebranded buses.

“These buses come equipped with chargers for your devices, as well as Wi-Fi,” Shaw said. “We are currently working on an integrated mobile app that will allow customers to catch everything, so they will only need to use one app for everything. We are making it a lot more convenient for riders to come in, sit back, relax, and get where they need to go.”

The objective is to appeal to the future: “That means the younger generation,” Shaw said.

“They want a good look. At the end of the day, they want to ride nicely without having to drive. They were saying, ‘We would love to ride the bus, but we don’t want to look like we are riding the bus,’” she said, speaking about the findings of research conducted internally by MAX Transit.

Charlotte Shaw during a visit to the BJCTA’s CrossPlex Transit Center in Five Points West. (Amarr Croskey, for The Birmingham Times)

Better, not bitter

After returning to the BJCTA’s administrative offices, the team received artificial intelligence (AI) training, while Shaw gave a tour of the offices, greeting each employee by name.

“It’s my personality to just be involved,” she said. “The [staff] likes to have me involved, and I want to stay abreast [of things]. If the whole world is using AI, I want to know how to use it, too.”

Shaw recalled being a young woman in the business world, where she was given menial tasks to demean her, such as making copies. But instead of becoming bitter, she said she became better. While making copies of those documents, she would also study and memorize them.

“When I went through corporate America, there were no examples for me to look at. I didn’t see any women, let alone any Black women, in the corporate office. [People in charge] used to have me make copies. While making them, I slowly realized that there was valuable information on those copies, so I would read them. When I got to the meetings, people couldn’t answer the questions, but I could. One day the vice president said, ‘Don’t bring me anything unless Charlotte approves it.’ That was my break,” Shaw said.

Right place, perfect time

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Shaw grew up on the northside of the city in a “tight knit” family. Of nine siblings, she is the baby, and she credits her family for a lot of her success.

“I’m family-oriented,” she said. “I have so much love in my life, and I freely give it because that’s all I had. Even when people disregarded me, [my brothers and sisters] made sure I went to school and got everything I needed. My parents couldn’t afford to do things for them like they could for me. I was driving my brother’s car in high school. He knew he didn’t get that experience when he was growing up, but they didn’t mind extending it to me.”

Charlotte Shaw, executive director and CEO of Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority. (Amarr Croskey, for The Birmingham Times)

The BJCTA CEO also credits her mother, Clyola Shaw Green, as one of her inspirations, particularly when it comes to attire.

“To this day, [my mother] still wears her heels. She dresses to go to church. She’s always been a really nice, clean, elegant dresser. At 92 years old, she’s still independent,” Shaw said of her mother, who Shaw visits frequently in St. Louis. “No matter what happens to that lady, she gets up every morning and puts on her clothes, even when she is hurt. I respect her persistence.”

In her youth, Shaw envisioned herself becoming a civil rights leader and an airline pilot.

“I was in the fourth grade and my teacher asked me what I wanted to do, and I said, ‘a civil rights leader in Birmingham, Alabama,’” Shaw recalled. “I don’t think our life is a mistake. I think everything sets up according to plan. I remembered that I said that, and now look at where I am. I might not be where I thought I was going to be in terms of being a civil rights leader, but definitely a leader making change and impact in Birmingham, Alabama.”

Of her desire to be an airline pilot, Shaw said, “Somebody told me there were no women airline pilots. There weren’t any at the time. I’ve always been attracted to fields where there are [no or few] women. Because of my age and the era I grew up in, I didn’t think about being a trailblazer and saying, ‘I’m going to do it anyway.’ When I was growing up, a lot of people were dream killers when it came to me.”

Shaw attended Central Visual and Performing Arts High School (formerly Central High School), in St. Louis, where she was class president and voted most likely to succeed.

“I was a little militant back then,” she said. “I grew up in the hood. I’d tell people all the time, ‘You have to have a tough persona.’ Even if you are educated or educate yourself, or if you want more for your life, you still have to be able to go to that corner and take care of yourself. I’m still from St. Louis. Don’t let the CEO role fool you.”

Shaw attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and government in 1983. She considers a lot of opportunities in her life as blessings that “fell upon her,” including a scholarship to Drake.

A lawsuit was filed against Drake, which led the school to recruit Black students. “I was one of the ones selected for that particular scholarship program,” she said, adding that situations like this, along with lessons from her father, Charles Shaw, who died in 2010, made her tougher.

“My dad was a union president. He took me to my first union meeting when I was 13 years old. I think my dad saw something in me. Some 50 years later, I’m at the head of the table at a union meeting. He’s not here to see it.”

When she’s not busy, Shaw likes to read and travel with her wife, Wanda Shaw, to see family. The couple has been married for two years, together for 12, and they have a lab named Charley.

‘Remember who you are’

Shaw has held various transit system leadership roles throughout her career, and she has extensive experience in transit operations, including procurement, construction contracts, capital improvement planning and program delivery. Before moving to Birmingham, she spent 30-plus years in Atlanta, Georgia, where she worked with the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), the city’s primary public transportation operator.

“I fell in love [with someone who lived in Atlanta]. I got there, and it wasn’t even six months before [the relationship] was over,” she said.

Before taking over at the BJCTA in 2021 under Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Shaw served as deputy director of capital projects for special projects and facilities for the city of Birmingham.

“They brought me here from MARTA to work with the mayor to finish the Bus Rapid Transit program, which has increased [MAX Transit] ridership tremendously because now we have a new 70/30 plan,” Shaw said.

MAX Transit’s 70/30 plan is an initiative aimed at enhancing transportation services. Through it, the bus system is adjusting its fixed-route coverage to 70% from 100% and implementing micro transit in the remaining 30%.

Shaw delivered the city’s first Bus Rapid Transit system under the name BX, or Birmingham Xpress, and led efforts to support transit needs during the 2022 World Games.

While the system may be running smoothly, Shaw refuses to operate on cruise control.

“My career has been tough,” she said. “Being a Black woman trying to come through corporate America is not easy. I always remember the values my mother taught me. She said, ‘No matter what people do to you, remember who you are. … You don’t have to be who they are.’”

For more on MAX Transit visit maxtransit.org or contact customer service at 205-521-0101.

This article was originally published by The Birmingham Times.