Transit Career Stories

Dottie Watkins—From Bus Operator to CEO, With a Passion for Service

A Commitment to Community Service

When Dottie Watkins decided to work as a part-time bus operator while earning a bachelor’s degree in social work at the University of Texas at Austin, she couldn’t have imagined that 30 years later, she would be at CapMetro as President & CEO. The native Austinite’s “perfect college job” would eventually shift her entire career and life trajectory. Through her experience, she’s seen how both social work and transit can create various systems that help individuals and their communities thrive. “Public transit agencies give you that real sense of purpose, that we are doing something better for our community,” Dottie says. Even though she doesn’t work one-on-one with clients as she would in social work, she says that background has served her well in transit: “We are a people business.” Reflecting on the broader role of transit in people’s lives, Dottie observes, “I am not working with an individual client trying to manage their case and help them figure things out, but transportation and the need to be able to actually get to all of the things that you need to do to live your life is a key part of anybody’s network of systems that keeps us afloat.”

The Power of Mentoring and Apprenticeship

Dottie has found fulfillment in her professional evolution through opportunities offered by the industry, emphasizing the continuous encouragement and mentoring she received along the way to learn and grow. In her leadership role at CapMetro, Dottie has been a champion of mentoring and apprenticeship programs as vehicles that support worker success, a perspective that stems from her understanding of how to best deal with challenges she encountered as an operator and throughout her career journey. Dottie recalls the mix of fear and self-doubt she felt the first time she operated a bus by herself at night. Despite the route being familiar and close to her home, her nerves and the glare of the windshield disoriented her. “I can still remember that moment and being like, ‘What have I done?’” she says. Although she managed to get through the moment, sharing the experience with a colleague ultimately helped her feel supported. “Having somebody else who’s lived that moment be available to you [to say], ‘Yeah, I was [scared] too on my first day, and it’s okay. Let me help you figure out why you were scared and how you can work through that.’ Having that kind of mentorship available is so important.” Dottie also details CapMetro’s mentorship program for its bus operators and how the program has helped the agency’s retention among new bus operators due to the support they receive along the way.

Dottie stresses how mentors over the years have helped facilitate her career pathway, noting how it was the encouragement of a previous boss that motivated her to obtain an MBA. Dottie also highlights former CapMetro Chief Operating Officer Elaine Thames, who served as a trusted mentor to her, mentioning how, “She challenged me a couple of times to directly support and work within our rail division, and that was really beneficial, so I appreciated it.”

Dottie’s strong belief in the power of mentorship was established early. Her original mentor was her father, a seasoned diesel mechanic, whose extensive career “taking care of diesel engines” began after learning the basics in a high school vocational program and then entering the industry as an entry-level mechanic. Dottie keeps in mind the opportunities her father had and the support he provided her as she works to facilitate employees’ career pathways. “I think we’ve come full circle as an industry to really understand that we’ve got to support our folks from day one. That’s part of what makes mentorship and apprenticeship programs, both formal and informal, really important, and the more you can really show how much you care, the more likely you are to have success.”

Dottie takes pride in these successes, noting that some of CapMetro’s current top managers and directors on the bus operations team started as bus operators, part of a culture in which individuals can join the agency and gain a range of skills they can apply to different departments and fields of work in public transportation. With her understanding of the need for systematic programs that support workers’ advancement, Dottie highlights a major organizational accomplishment: CapMetro has recently established the first certified transit agency apprenticeship program in the state of Texas. She emphasizes the impact of this program, which will support individuals in gaining various skills they can apply and use to advance. “We’re looking forward to having our first apprentice mechanic on staff,” she says.

Leadership Style

In her position as a first-time supervisor at UT, since she was also a young woman in a predominantly older and male-dominated field with less experience than some of those she supervised, Dottie decided to take an approach she felt served everyone. “Very early on, I had to really learn how to engage with our frontline staff in a way that respected the work that they do and didn’t try to put myself as some expert in the field.” She expresses gratitude towards those who embraced her and challenged her to rise to the occasion, with mutual respect and team camaraderie at the forefront of her leadership approach.

This philosophy and practice continued as Dottie moved into different roles. When she stepped into an assistant director role, she knew people had questions about her qualifications and decided to connect with her new team immediately to prevent future uncertainty, scheduling 30-minute meetings with all of the road supervisors she would be responsible for. “I thought going straight to the front door and going, let me tell you what qualifies me to be your boss and get into it with you, but also without disrespecting the work that you do.” Because she regularly feels pressure to both meet and exceed expectations, she works to actively model an “above and beyond” attitude that she aims to see within the agency. Her commitment was clear in her days as an administrative manager, jumping in to drive a bus when there were not enough operators to make a pullout.

As President & CEO of CapMetro, Dottie has brought her deep understanding of the system and the community needs it serves to help lead a successful campaign in Austin to fund the improvement and expansion of the transit system, following two earlier failed attempts to win community support. Beyond the campaign, Dottie continues to carry the message that public transportation is essential to keep her community moving and how important it is to champion its growth on all levels. Her community involvement goes beyond the workplace; among other community connections, she plays French horn in a local band.

Hear Dottie Watkins, President & CEO of CapMetro in Austin, TX, describe how her interest in helping people led to her work in public transit.

A Great Industry, A Great Career

The successful campaign for expansion has intensified the continuing need for more employees to expand and maintain the system, and part of Dottie’s message to the community is that public transportation is a source of great career opportunities. As Dottie supports efforts to reach out and recruit, she herself is a testament to what public transportation offers, especially to those who want a career that allows them to advance while serving and assisting other members of their community. “I would encourage looking at it not as a job, but as a career, because no matter where you start within a public transit agency, there are always opportunities to move over or move up and get a broader experience base.” When she speaks about the work, Dottie brings attention to the flexibility and encouragement the field provides, reiterating the sense of purpose it brings to communities and the individuals they serve. This flexibility ranges from not only the role an individual takes but also the duties they perform, the experiences they gain, the people, places, and things they get to meet and see, and much more.

Dottie reveals a favorite piece of advice she shares with her staff, in which someone once told her, “Those who show up go up! If you really want to move up within an organization, you’ve just got to keep showing up.” She goes on to say, “Regardless of what your role is in the organization, if you really want to serve people and you love working with people, then I think it’s a fantastic career opportunity.” With this piece of advice and her lived experience as inspiration, she has been able to support others to achieve progressive movement in their careers and professional development. Dottie has dedicated her entire career to the public transportation industry and has been able to give back, using all the skills she has gained and experiences she has had along the way, ensuring workers, the agency, and the community move forward together.

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As Dottie’s journey illustrates, public transportation offers a wide variety of roles with rewarding opportunities. To learn more about other workers’ experiences in the industry, visit the TWC Blog to follow our series on inspiring transit career stories.

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This interview has been edited and adapted from a longer conversation with Dottie Watkins.