Denise Wandke Is New Head of MCTS

MCTS President and Managing Director Denise Wandke. Photo courtesy MCTS.

Denise Wandke, who has been serving as interim-managing director of MCTS for the past 11 months, has been appointed to lead the organization on a permanent basis.

Donna Brown-Martin, director of the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), announced the appointment in a statement Friday.

“Denise Wandke has risen to the many challenges facing public transit,” Brown-Martin said. “She successfully led negotiations for a new bus operator contract, has effectively collaborated with the County Board and is currently navigating the fiscal budget crisis. I am pleased that Denise has accepted this opportunity because she is the best person to be at the helm in this moment.”

Wandke has been leading the transit system since former managing director Dan Boehm took a leave of absence in June 2022. Boehm later retired in February, leaving behind a workplace investigation into allegations that he threatened and retaliated against MCTS employees.

MCTS is controlled by the quasi-governmental non-profit Milwaukee Transport Services, Inc. and its board. Wandke was appointed to the position by Brown-Martin, chair of the MTS Board, in consultation with the county executive’s office according to MCTS.

Wandke, a lifelong resident of Milwaukee County, began her career with MCTS as a bus operator in 1994 and moved to the transit system administration in 2005. She is a member of the American Public Transportation Association and Wisconsin Public Transportation Association.

“I have the utmost confidence in the appointment of Denise Wandke as President and Managing Director of MCTS. Denise’s experience and leadership within MCTS spans three decades, and she’s worked in some of the most important positions related to transit operations,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. “Her experience comes with an innate ability to understand how to lead a public transit organization to meet the needs of a diverse, ever-changing community while directing and inspiring an engaged workforce. Milwaukee County is lucky to have her on our team.”

Wandke is credited with securing a $1 million grant for a “Red Kite” conflict resolution training for bus operators, as well as programs for operators to reconnect with and mentor one another, according to MCTS.

Wandke has already led MCTS through a tumultuous period in the transit system’s history. MCTS faces an unprecedented budget crisis in the coming years, which MCTS recently estimated could lead to 50% of all bus routes being eliminated or reduced.

Wandke has also taken the reigns as long-running fiscal challenges have left MCTS in a diminished state, with fewer routes and buses, and struggles with declining ridership and farebox revenue. Additionally, the system has been struggling for several years to retain bus operators, forcing it to operate the system well below adequate staffing levels.

But the transit system is also, in some ways, modernizing. The first-ever bus rapid transit (BRT) route in Wisconsin launches in June, and planning is already underway for a second, larger BRT route running north and south through the county. MCTS is also implementing a new fare collection system that could become a regional transit fare system used by the suburban systems.