Leadership

Paul Cristina serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA), where he is responsible for delivering the services of DCTA’s dynamic, integrated multimodal transportation portfolio to the citizens of the agency’s member cities. The agency provides commuter rail service; a microtransit service that is among the top 25 in the country for ridership, and bus service to the City of Denton and the University of North Texas, the fourth largest university in Texas. Mr. Cristina joined DCTA as Deputy Chief Executive Officer in November 2021 following a role as the Director of Public Projects and Systems Design at BNSF Railway. After serving as DCTA Interim CEO, he was officially appointed CEO in September 2022. Since then, he has worked diligently to align the agency’s personnel and resources to deliver superior outcomes sought by the agency’s Board of Directors and stakeholders. While at BNSF Railway, Mr. Cristina led engagement with public agencies across the railroad’s 23,000-mile rail network to deliver transformational infrastructure projects that improved safety, quality of life, and fluidity of freight operations in communities across the western United States. A registered Professional Engineer, Paul began his career with the United States Air Force as a civil engineer officer holding positions of increasing responsibility within the Base Civil Engineer Squadrons at Tyndall Air Force Base, Grand Forks Air Force Base, and in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After leaving the Air Force, Paul worked as a civil engineer and planning consultant in Florida and Texas and was named a “Top 40 Under 40” aviation professional by Airport Business Magazine in 2012. Mr. Cristina received his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and a Master of Business Administration from Florida State University. Paul resides in Flower Mound with his wife and their three children.

Paul Cristina serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the Denton County Transportation Authority (DCTA), where he is responsible for delivering the services of DCTA’s dynamic, integrated multimodal transportation portfolio to the citizens of the agency’s member cities. The agency provides commuter rail service; a microtransit service that is among the top 25 in the country for ridership, and bus service to the City of Denton and the University of North Texas, the fourth largest university in Texas. Mr. Cristina joined DCTA as Deputy Chief Executive Officer in November 2021 following a role as the Director of Public Projects and Systems Design at BNSF Railway. After serving as DCTA Interim CEO, he was officially appointed CEO in September 2022. Since then, he has worked diligently to align the agency’s personnel and resources to deliver superior outcomes sought by the agency’s Board of Directors and stakeholders. While at BNSF Railway, Mr. Cristina led engagement with public agencies across the railroad’s 23,000-mile rail network to deliver transformational infrastructure projects that improved safety, quality of life, and fluidity of freight operations in communities across the western United States. A registered Professional Engineer, Paul began his career with the United States Air Force as a civil engineer officer holding positions of increasing responsibility within the Base Civil Engineer Squadrons at Tyndall Air Force Base, Grand Forks Air Force Base, and in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After leaving the Air Force, Paul worked as a civil engineer and planning consultant in Florida and Texas and was named a “Top 40 Under 40” aviation professional by Airport Business Magazine in 2012. Mr. Cristina received his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and a Master of Business Administration from Florida State University. Paul resides in Flower Mound with his wife and their three children.

Austin Frith serves as the Vice President of Planning and Development at DCTA. In this role, he oversees data analytics and management, short- and long-term planning, project controls, capital planning, and facilities maintenance for the agency. Mr. Frith brings over 15 years of experience in urban and transportation planning, capital planning, construction management, and asset management. Before joining DCTA, he served as the Assistant Vice President at DFW Airport, where he led facilities maintenance, condition assessments, and strategic capital planning for both near- and long-term initiatives.

Lisa Taylor serves as the Vice President of Operations for DCTA. In her role, she is responsible for the leadership and continuous improvement of DCTA’s transit service delivery through its multimodal portfolio consisting of the A-train Commuter Rail, Connect and UNT Shuttle fixed route bus system, Access Paratransit, and GoZone, DCTA’s microtransit platform. Prior to DCTA, she gained more than 30 years of experience in roles of increasing responsibility within the transit industry, most recently as the Assistant Vice President of Rail Operations at Dallas Area Rapid Transit, where she was responsible for daily leadership and supervision of DART’s 90+ mile light rail operation. During her 15-year tenure at DART she also served in front line leadership of DART’s expansive Bus Operation.