The City of Dallas appointed Carmen Garcia to the DART Board of Directors in 2022. Carmen is the current chair of the Audit Committee. Since her appointment, Carmen has served as a member of three other board committees including the Trinity Railway Express advisory committee, Economic Opportunity & Diversity, and Personnel Ad Hoc Search.

In March 2024, Carmen began representing DART on the board of the Southern Dallas County Inland Port Transportation Management Association, which provides on-demand transit services between the DART Service Area and employers in the Southern Dallas County Inland Port. She also joined the Board of Directors of the American Public Transportation Association in March 2024.

Carmen is self-employed as the President & CEO of ABRAC, LLC, which provides business consulting services in the areas of diversity, public involvement, community engagement, minority business consultation, and government relations. She assists minority-owned, women-owned, and small businesses in forming capacity building partnerships in the North Texas region, with a focus on the transportation industry.

Previously, Carmen worked at DART for 12 years, retiring from the agency in late 2020 as the Assistant Vice President of Diversity. She was responsible for outreach programs to disadvantaged, minority, and women-owned businesses that increased their access to procurement opportunities and contracts with the agency. During her tenure, Carmen helped create the agency’s annual Small Business Academy and the internal Diversity & Inclusion Council.

Before DART, she spent seven years as the Director of Community Affairs for the State Fair of Texas.

Carmen has served on the national and North Texas boards of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, the advisory board of the Dallas County Small Business Enterprise Council, the Greater Dallas Planning Council, and the national board of Latinos in Transit. She has been a member and former chair of the Greater Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of WTS International, has participated in various APTA committees, and is actively involved with many minority, veterans, and women's organizations.

I asked Carmen what she hopes to accomplish while on the DART Board, and she said that she endorses the agency’s current focus on cleanliness, security, and reliability, and specifically wants to:

• Apply her experience as a former employee to back projects that she knows will advance the agency’s mission.
• Implement new and innovative ideas to increase ridership with a regional perspective.
• Assist the agency’s leadership and staff in prioritizing projects while considering affordability and timing.
• Support the agency’s investment in next-generation bus shelters while advocating for a design that incorporates the character of the community where the shelters are located.

We appreciate Carmen’s respect for the various communities DART serves and her continued advocacy for minority and women-owned small businesses.

The City of Dallas appointed Carmen Garcia to the DART Board of Directors in 2022. Carmen is the current chair of the Audit Committee. Since her appointment, Carmen has served as a member of three other board committees including the Trinity Railway Express advisory committee, Economic Opportunity & Diversity, and Personnel Ad Hoc Search.

In March 2024, Carmen began representing DART on the board of the Southern Dallas County Inland Port Transportation Management Association, which provides on-demand transit services between the DART Service Area and employers in the Southern Dallas County Inland Port. She also joined the Board of Directors of the American Public Transportation Association in March 2024.

Carmen is self-employed as the President & CEO of ABRAC, LLC, which provides business consulting services in the areas of diversity, public involvement, community engagement, minority business consultation, and government relations. She assists minority-owned, women-owned, and small businesses in forming capacity building partnerships in the North Texas region, with a focus on the transportation industry.

Previously, Carmen worked at DART for 12 years, retiring from the agency in late 2020 as the Assistant Vice President of Diversity. She was responsible for outreach programs to disadvantaged, minority, and women-owned businesses that increased their access to procurement opportunities and contracts with the agency. During her tenure, Carmen helped create the agency’s annual Small Business Academy and the internal Diversity & Inclusion Council.

Before DART, she spent seven years as the Director of Community Affairs for the State Fair of Texas.

Carmen has served on the national and North Texas boards of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, the advisory board of the Dallas County Small Business Enterprise Council, the Greater Dallas Planning Council, and the national board of Latinos in Transit. She has been a member and former chair of the Greater Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of WTS International, has participated in various APTA committees, and is actively involved with many minority, veterans, and women's organizations.

I asked Carmen what she hopes to accomplish while on the DART Board, and she said that she endorses the agency’s current focus on cleanliness, security, and reliability, and specifically wants to:

• Apply her experience as a former employee to back projects that she knows will advance the agency’s mission.
• Implement new and innovative ideas to increase ridership with a regional perspective.
• Assist the agency’s leadership and staff in prioritizing projects while considering affordability and timing.
• Support the agency’s investment in next-generation bus shelters while advocating for a design that incorporates the character of the community where the shelters are located.

We appreciate Carmen’s respect for the various communities DART serves and her continued advocacy for minority and women-owned small businesses.

The City of Dallas appointed Carmen Garcia to the DART Board of Directors in 2022. Carmen is the current chair of the Audit Committee. Since her appointment, Carmen has served as a member of three other board committees including the Trinity Railway Express advisory committee, Economic Opportunity & Diversity, and Personnel Ad Hoc Search.

In March 2024, Carmen began representing DART on the board of the Southern Dallas County Inland Port Transportation Management Association, which provides on-demand transit services between the DART Service Area and employers in the Southern Dallas County Inland Port. She also joined the Board of Directors of the American Public Transportation Association in March 2024.

Carmen is self-employed as the President & CEO of ABRAC, LLC, which provides business consulting services in the areas of diversity, public involvement, community engagement, minority business consultation, and government relations. She assists minority-owned, women-owned, and small businesses in forming capacity building partnerships in the North Texas region, with a focus on the transportation industry.

Previously, Carmen worked at DART for 12 years, retiring from the agency in late 2020 as the Assistant Vice President of Diversity. She was responsible for outreach programs to disadvantaged, minority, and women-owned businesses that increased their access to procurement opportunities and contracts with the agency. During her tenure, Carmen helped create the agency’s annual Small Business Academy and the internal Diversity & Inclusion Council.

Before DART, she spent seven years as the Director of Community Affairs for the State Fair of Texas.

Carmen has served on the national and North Texas boards of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, the advisory board of the Dallas County Small Business Enterprise Council, the Greater Dallas Planning Council, and the national board of Latinos in Transit. She has been a member and former chair of the Greater Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of WTS International, has participated in various APTA committees, and is actively involved with many minority, veterans, and women's organizations.

I asked Carmen what she hopes to accomplish while on the DART Board, and she said that she endorses the agency’s current focus on cleanliness, security, and reliability, and specifically wants to:

• Apply her experience as a former employee to back projects that she knows will advance the agency’s mission.
• Implement new and innovative ideas to increase ridership with a regional perspective.
• Assist the agency’s leadership and staff in prioritizing projects while considering affordability and timing.
• Support the agency’s investment in next-generation bus shelters while advocating for a design that incorporates the character of the community where the shelters are located.

We appreciate Carmen’s respect for the various communities DART serves and her continued advocacy for minority and women-owned small businesses.