Denise Wandke Email & Phone Number

In my role as president and managing director of MCTS, I oversee the operations and team that successfully served 17 million rides across 19 municipalities throughout Milwaukee County last year. In my 30-year career at MCTS, I've held leadership positions in nearly every mission-critical part of operations, rising to instructor, route supervisor, dispatcher, and station manager. As the director of transportation at MCTS, I led a team that included more than 800 bus operators, route supervisors, transit security officers, dispatchers, trainers, and station supervisors and support staff. I became the first woman to serve as deputy director of MCTS in the 50-year history of the organization.Throughout my day, I collaborate with Milwaukee County leadership including the county executive, the County Board of Supervisors, the director of the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation, and local and state elected officials, to ensure Milwaukee County maintains a strong transit system. I'm shepherding the modernization of public transit, from a new regional fare collection system called WisGo, to the launch of Wisconsin’s first Bus Rapid Transit line, MCTS CONNECT. I'm also advocating for a long-term funding solution to public transit’s “fiscal cliff,” a $26.5 million budget shortfall in 2025. This shortfall could result in a 20 percent cut in service (impacting nearly one-half of all MCTS routes) at a time when Milwaukee County’s population is rapidly growing to 1 million. I first joined the organization as a bus operator in 1994. Throughout my career, my focus has always been on MCTS excellence – how bus operators go above and beyond to take care of our riders. I've initiated new programs that boost the well-being of bus drivers, starting with the Operator Reconnect Program, the Operator Mentoring Program, and efforts to earn a $1 million grant for the Red Kite Program, all designed to help drivers cope with the issues they observe in their vital role as the eyes and ears of the Milwaukee County community. I'm a member of the American Public Transportation Association and Wisconsin Public Transportation Association (WIPTA), and a lifelong resident of Milwaukee County.