Krissy Kleamovich is Superintendent of Operations for RIPTA’s paratransit division, RIde.  The job entails overseeing almost every aspect of the day-to-day workings of our division that provides transportation to passengers who are not able to use regular, fixed-route bus service.  Typically (before the pandemic), RIde operates more than 1,000 trips a day.  A RIPTA employee for 18 years, Krissy worked her way up in RIde, and now reports directly to the division’s executive director.  She combines a no-nonsense management style with a commitment to making sure that work is a collegial place where RIde drivers feel supported and encouraged. She loves morale-boosting initiatives — whether it is an office garden club that helps beautify RIPTA grounds, or a special recognition program for drivers with exemplary safety records. She says that the RIde division is her home at RIPTA because she loves to help people and in paratransit, you get to see how much mobility can enhance people’s lives.

“You have to have compassion in this job,” she says. “It is emotionally fulfilling.”   It’s clear that Kleamovich’s compassion and leadership are appreciated by employees.  Her office is filled with cards, posters, stuffed animals, and other tokens of appreciation, almost all of which are in her trademark color – pink.  “It’s my favorite color,” says Kleamovich who once wanted to be a hair stylist before she earned a commercial driver’s license and became a school bus driver years ago.  She also worked as an administrator for a private bus company before joining RIPTA. “I’m a girly-girl,” she says with a laugh, adding that public transportation has turned out to be the perfect career fit for her.  The small (pink, of course) placard on her desk says it all:  “This Girl Can.”