ORANGE – The Orange County Transportation Authority has announced the agency’s employees of the year, honoring three top employees for their contributions helping OCTA continue to achieve organizational excellence and a balanced, sustainable and equitable transportation system.
The 2024 Employees of the Year are chosen from three areas across the agency, including coach operators, maintenance employees and administration employees. They are:
- Felipe Michel, OCTA’s Coach Operator of the Year
- Rafael Luna, OCTA’s Maintenance Employee of the Year
- Louis Zhao, OCTA’s Administrative Employee of the Year
“I congratulate each of these outstanding employees for their great work to help provide the public with a balanced, sustainable and equitable transportation system,” said OCTA Chair Doug Chaffee, also the county’s Fourth District Supervisor. “They have demonstrated OCTA’s core values of integrity, safety, customer focus, can-do spirit, communication and teamwork to help keep Orange County moving safely and efficiently.”
The Honorees:
Felipe Michel began his career as an OCTA coach operator in November 2000. He quickly earned a reputation as a model coach operator because of his safety and driving skills.
Over the years, Michel has successfully competed in several “roadeos,” industry events in which drivers compete in an obstacle course to show how well they can drive a bus.
In March 2024, he placed second at the Southern California Regional Bus Roadeo. He went on to compete at the International Bus Roadeo in Portland, Oregon, where he secured sixth place out of 76 drivers.
In January 2024, Felipe achieved 23 years of safe driving.
Rafael Luna, the Maintenance Employee of the Year, joined OCTA in March 2017 as an apprentice mechanic.
He continued to refine his skills and in October 2019 he was promoted to Journeyman Mechanic, currently assigned to the Garden Grove bus facility.
Last year, Luna’s attention to detail helped identify a critical transmission defect. His thorough inspection uncovered an internal clutch issue, prompting an immediate fleet check that revealed the problem in other buses as well. Because of Luna’s quick action, a solution was implemented, preventing further issues and saving potential maintenance costs.
Louis Zhao, OCTA’s Programming and Grants Development Manager, was recognized for his exceptional leadership and dedication in helping to secure $305 million in grants for the Coastal Rail Infrastructure Resiliency Projects (CRIRP).
He demonstrated initiative, efficiency and an ability to foster collaboration that made securing the funds possible, furthering OCTA’s mission and exemplifying excellence.
Zhao began his career at OCTA as a college intern in 2007. While earning a master’s degree in Urban and Transportation Planning from UCLA, he advanced to Transportation Funding Analyst and has since been promoted multiple times.
He is a graduate of OCTA’s Leadership Development Academy and several prestigious industry programs, including APTA’s Early Career and Eno Transportation Mid-Manager programs. He was previously honored as OCTA’s Employee of the Year in 2015.
The employees will be recognized by the full OCTA Board of Directors at an upcoming meeting. For more information on OCTA programs and services, visit: octa.net.
About OCTA:
The Orange County Transportation Authority is the county transportation planning commission, responsible for funding and implementing transit and capital projects for a balanced and sustainable transportation system that reflects the diverse travel needs of the county’s 34 cities and 3.2 million residents. With the mission of keeping Orange County moving, this includes freeways and express lanes, bus and rail transit, rideshare, commuter rail and active transportation. To sign up for more OCTA news, visit octa.net/GetConnected.
