Board of Directors
The board holds monthly public meetings at CapMetro's Administration building, located at 2910 E. 5th Street in Austin. The board also has a number of committees that meet regularly to review information and make recommendations to it. Currently, the board receives input from the Customer Satisfaction Advisory Committee and the Access Advisory Committee.
Nominations to become members of the committees are made by the board chairperson and are approved by board resolution.
The public is always welcome to attend board meetings and provide suggestions or feedback on CapMetro services and programs. Learn more about upcoming meetings and agendas in the board meeting section.
The Board Consists of:
Current board members
Travis County representative - Jeffrey W. Travillion was elected to the Travis County Commissioners Court representing Precinct 1 in November 2016 and took office on the first day of 2017. He had spent the previous 16 years working for the city of Austin, retiring as team lead for the Code Department's Neighborhood Enhancement Team. He was responsible for developing protocols to address compliance issues within the city's health, safety and welfare codes. His term will expire in June 2024.
He has more than 30 years' experience providing management solutions in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Travillion has conducted extensive operational reviews of state agencies and city departments, and worked on teams that produced recommendations adopted by the Texas Legislature and which saved the state of Texas more than $8 billion.
A graduate of Jackson State University's W.E.B. Dubois Honors Program, Travillion also was an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow at Carnegie-Mellon University's Heinz College School of Public Policy and Management, as well as a fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He has a master's degree from the University of Texas at Austin's LBJ School of Public Affairs.
Travillion is involved in a number of civic activities, including serving as a deacon at the Abundant Life Community Baptist Church. He is a graduate of Leadership Austin, chairman of the Communications Committee for the Texas State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and a member of the board of directors of the Austin Project. He and his wife, Perri, have 3 children: Jeffrey Jr., Paige and Andrew.
You can email the CapMetro board of directors at: BoardOfDirectors@CapMetro.org. Messages sent to this address are forwarded to all members of the board via CapMetro staff
City of Austin representative - Leslie Pool was elected to the Austin City Council in 2014. Her expansive legislative record focuses on the environment and sustainability; transportation; open government accountability and transparency;
and ethics, campaign finance and lobbyist reform and reporting. Her term on the CapMetro board will expire in June 2025.
Pool led on adopting the city’s Energy Resource, Generation & Climate Protection Plan; Austin’s Climate Protection Plan; and the resolution creating a Community Climate Resilience Plan. She co-sponsored the vehicle electrification resolution and the resolution declaring a climate crisis. Her environmental goals target sustainability and resilience, improving standards for clean air and water, flood mitigation, stewardship of our water resources and livability. She is a diligent advocate for increased investments in civic assets like community parks, libraries, trails and open space.
In 2015, Pool traveled to Paris for the historic United Nations Climate Conference, whose objective was to achieve a binding, universal agreement on climate. An additional outcome was renewed focus on cities as natural leaders in attaining net zero emission and environmental sustainability goals. Pool works locally with organizations like ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability to further Austin’s urban sustainability through policies that support low emission, nature-based, equitable and resilient systemic change.
Her work on these issues includes broadening access to sustainable transit and trails for our community and the region. Pool has sponsored two successful transportation initiatives that furthered our community goals for two new rail stations for key areas and an expanded Red Line Parkway Trail.
You can email the CapMetro board of directors at: BoardOfDirectors@CapMetro.org. Messages sent to this address are forwarded to all members of the board via CapMetro staff
Small cities representative - Becki Ross was elected to the Leander City Council in May, 2021. She also serves as an ex-officio board member of the Leander Chamber of Commerce. She was a prior Planning and Zoning Commissioner and
Leander Chamber Board Member serving as Chair in 2020. Her term will expire in June 2024.
Ross has 25 years experience in the insurance and financial services industry. She has owned a small business in Cedar Park for the past twelve of
those years. She has experience in corporate management and training along with other volunteer roles as a board member of her homeowner’s association, booster club president and team sport parent for her daughter’s athletic activities.
She has a Bachelor of Science from Louisiana State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of New Orleans along with several industry designations.
She has lived in the Leander/Cedar Park area since
2003 where she and her husband have raised their family.
You can email the CapMetro board of directors at: BoardOfDirectors@CapMetro.org. Messages sent to this address are forwarded to all members of the board via CapMetro staff
CAMPO business appointee - Dianne Bangle currently serves as the CEO of the Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA) and oversees the 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization, which represents more than 1,900 commercial real estate leaders in the
Central Texas business community. Her term on the CapMetro board ends in June 2023.
Bangle is a licensed attorney in both Texas and Colorado. She received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law and a bachelor’s
from the University of Washington.
She’s lived in Austin for 25 years and is dedicated to serving her community. She also serves on multiple boards in Austin, such as Transit Forward, Visit Austin and the Greater Austin Chamber of
Commerce.
You can email the CapMetro board of directors at: BoardOfDirectors@CapMetro.org. Messages sent to this address are forwarded to all members of the board via CapMetro staff
CAMPO elected official appointee - Paige Ellis is currently the Mayor Pro Tem for Austin City Council and has represented Southwest Austin’s District 8 since her election in 2018. Her term on the CapMetro board ends in June 2025.
Ellis earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She has years of marketing and public involvement experience and, prior to her election, she worked for an environmental firm that specialized
in environmental compliance on housing development and regional transportation projects.
Ellis championed the effort to pass the $460 million Active Mobility Bond in 2020 and has been an advocate for mobility and affordability in our region.
She’s an avid volunteer and enjoys the active outdoor and music scene that the city of Austin offers.
You can email the CapMetro board of directors at: BoardOfDirectors@CapMetro.org. Messages sent to this address are forwarded to all members of the board via CapMetro staff
CAMPO financial appointee -
William M. “Matt” Harriss is the chief financial officer for the Butler Family Interests, which handles the business and personal affairs for the family of former Austin Mayor Roy A. Butler. In that capacity, Harriss oversees the financial
and administrative team for Capitol Wright Distributing, the 17th largest wholesale beverage distributorship in the United States, with more than 500 employees and 5,000 customers. In addition, he handles a number of real estate investments across
Central Texas on behalf of the family. His term on the CapMetro board ends in June 2024.
Previously, Harriss has served as administrator for a large law firm in Austin, as assistant dean for business affairs at the University of Texas School of Law and as controller with the Belton K. Johnson Interests in San Antonio. In addition, Harriss currently devotes time to the Trail Foundation, Austin Pets Alive and the Waterloo Greenway Conservancy.
Both he and his wife of 40 years, June, are avid UT baseball fans and have lived in Austin for over 40 years.
You can email the CapMetro board of directors at: BoardOfDirectors@CapMetro.org. Messages sent to this address are forwarded to all members of the board via CapMetro staff
Williamson County representative - A communications and policy consultant and
registered nurse, Eric Stratton, R.N., represents Williamson County on CapMetro's board of directors. His term will expire in June 2023.
Stratton is a strategic planner, policy advisor and registered nurse. His early career was spent working various congressional and state legislative races and then for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in Washington, D.C., for which he educated congress and association members on energy and environmental policy issues.
After a life-altering event involving the health of his daughter, Stratton was led to pursue a career in healthcare, became a registered nurse and obtained his Master of Science in nursing from UT Austin, specializing in pediatrics and teaching. He later returned to public policy as chief of staff for a state representative and helped organize and execute the first Autism Awareness Day at the Texas Capitol.
Most recently, Stratton spent 5 years with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, serving as a policy analyst for the senior advisor to the executive commissioner and a clinical policy advisor for Medicaid. There he helped design, procure and implement STAR Kids, the legislatively mandated Medicaid managed care system for children with special healthcare needs. Stratton also provided clinical and policy oversight for the transition of programs from the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) to HHSC and the Texas Workforce Commission.
Currently, Stratton and his wife, Jennifer, provide strategic planning, policy and communications consulting services through their business, Stratton Strategies. They live in the Williamson County part of Austin with their two children, Maddie and Jack.
You can email the CapMetro board of directors at: BoardOfDirectors@CapMetro.org. Messages sent to this address are forwarded to all members of the board via CapMetro staff
City of Austin representative - Jose “Chito” Vela represents District 4 on Austin City Council, having been elected in 2022. His term on the CapMetro board ends in June 2025.
Vela received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Before he was elected to the City Council, Vela worked as an immigration and criminal defense attorney at Walker Gates Vela.
He also has served as the President of the Board of the Worker’s Defense Project.
Vela has lived in East Austin for 20 years with his wife and three children.
You can email the CapMetro board of directors at: BoardOfDirectors@CapMetro.org. Messages sent to this address are forwarded to all members of the board via CapMetro staff
Board Liaison
Ed Easton
For additional questions please contact our board liaison
Phone: 512-369-6040
Fax: 512-369-6504
Email: CCR-BOD@capmetro.org