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.

William Copling

William Copling, Director of Operations & Maintenance is responsible for the management and day to day operation of Bus Operations, Paratransit Operations, Field Operations, Maintenance, Dispatch, Training, Contract Operations, Facility Maintenance, Security, and Revenue Section for the Transit Authority.

Prior to joining the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority (BJCTA) in 2007, he worked for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority (DART) for 25 years. Copling served with a multi-modal transit authority. He started his career in transit as a bus operator and progressively worked in positions to include route instructor, field supervisor, dispatcher, and division supervisor, before joining the ranks of management working with fixed route, Paratransit, heavy rail, light rail, transit center operations, field operations, transit police, and high-occupancy vehicle lane operations (HOV). During his tenure at DART, he obtained more than 18 years of experience in multiple senior management positions.

Copling has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Business Management from Northwood University, in Cedar Hill, Texas and he holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Strategic Leadership from Amberton University in Garland, Texas. Additionally, he has completed numerous certificate programs from Harvard, Northwestern University, Southern Methodist University(SMU), University of Texas, Georgia Institute of Technology, National Training Institute (NTI), Department of Transportation, American Management Association, Emergency Management Institute, and American Traffic Safety Services Association.

Richard A. Nardecchia

Richard A. Nardecchia is the Chief Financial Officer for the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority. Richard moved from Ohio to Alabama in 1979 and has 33 years of accounting experience which includes retail, industrial, financial and non-profit accounting.

Richard is responsible for all aspects of financial management of the Agency. Included in his duties are the preparation of the annual budget and annual audited financial statements, monthly financial statement preparation and all other related financial transactions and reporting for the Agency.

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.