Executive Staff

Executive Director – Peter Behrman

Peter Behrman accepted the position as executive director of the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority on May 17, 2010. Behrman began his career in transportation as a bus operator and from there working as a system planner. He has moved to progressively senior level positions in the industry, including positions as General Manager at Laredo Metro, Inc., Laredo, Texas; Director of Operations, Potomac & Rappahannock Transportation Commission, and General Manager with Laidlaw Transit, inc. in Van Nuys, California. Behrman has managed upwards of 1000 employees and operating budgets up to $60M. In Alburquerque he managed a system with 200 transit vehicles, including Para transit and fixed route.

Behrman holds a Master of Urban & Regional Planning, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, Bachelor of Arts, Economics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, and a Certified of Accounting, California State University, Los Angeles, CA. Certified Public Accountant, State of California. He's a charter member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.

Debra Anderson Burse

Debra Anderson Burse is the Director of Administration & Risk Management. This department includes, but is not limited to: Organization Development employment and regulatory compliance, recruiting and staffing, compensation and benefits administration, pension administration, health and wellness coordination, policy development, internal newsletter, and company sponsored activities records management archiving, retention and destruction of official records.

Debra has been employed by the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority since 1991 and has held various positions in the organization, including interim executive director. She is currently a member of the Society of Human Resource Management, National Notary Association, the local chapter of the National Association of African-American Human Resource Professionals, and the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials.

Robert L. Ballard

Robert L. Ballard the Director of Transportation, started his career at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, in Washington, DC which he held several positions starting as a bus operator, holding several positions within bus transportation his final position before leaving WMATA was Service Operations, Superintendent, and worked as back up Service Operations, Director.

His has a progressive track record of accomplishments progressing through roles of increasing complexity and authority from 1980 through present. Have more than twenty years of supervisory experience and thirty years of overall experience in transportation. He has diversified experience in all facets of bus operations, including considerable experience as a high-level supervisor/manager over bus operations activities. He assumed accountability of a $45M operating budget and a bus fleet of 340 buses. He oversaw the day-to-day operations of the largest bus operating division within northern Virginia, providing transit service of 74 Metrobus routes throughout the most challenged urban sector of the Washington, DC region and was directly responsible for managing 450 operating personnel and 27 Service Operations Managers. He also has extensive experience working in a unionized workforce.

He completed studies on a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management from Nyack College, New York. He also completed studies on an Associate of Arts in Accounting from Prince George's Community College, Largo, Maryland.

Lee Jackson

Lee Jackson was hired in February as the Director of Maintenance. Mr. Jackson had a similar position with the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority and worked for the agency for over 32 years. He has come to the BJCTA as his first job after retiring from the Nashville MTA. He began his career as a mechanic and worked his way up to floor supervisor, Facilities/Purchasing Manager, Fleet Manager and Contract Manager. In the six months he has been here, Mr. Jackson has already made a substantial improvement to maintenance of our buses and facilities. As we go on, our riders will see even more improvements to the buses and the facilities such as Central Station.

Mr. Jackson holds an Associates of Science degree from Volunteer State Community College, a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Information Systems from Middle Tennessee State University and an MBA from Trevecca University. He has also has completed two courses, one from the Federal Transit Administration, Fundamentals of Bus Collision Investigation and one from National Transit Institute, Management of Transit Construction Projects.

Julie McMillan

Julie McMillan brings 19 years of experience to the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority. She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Auburn University and a Certified Public Accountant. Julie has experience in a variety of environments, primarily in accounting management roles such as Business Manager and Controller positions. Julie has worked in both small hands-on environments and very large organizations. Julie worked in the Radio Broadcast accounting industry for five years and also in Forensic Accounting, having worked as a consultant during the restatement of Healthsouth Corporation's financial statements. Julie has been with the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority since 2006. Julie was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in August 2011.