Frank DePaola, retiring General Manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Agency, has held many positions in his 30-years working within the state transportation field, but perhaps the most challenging was stepping into his current role after the historic snowfall in the winter of 2015 after then GM Beverly Scott stepped down. It was the seventh time in eight years there was a change at the helm of the beleaguered agency.
DePaola says he stepped into the hot-seat during that cold, snowy winter after Secretary of Transporation Stephanie Pollack called upon him to serve. It's a role that's familiar to him. He previously took over the job as head of the State DOT, after the lights began falling in the central artery tunnel in 2012. It's probably because Depaola is one of the most well-respected administrators within the state.
DePaola is retiring from his job on June 30th. He publicly announced he's battling cancer and needs to focus on his health. He tells WGBH Morning Edition host Bob Seay this is his biggest fight yet saying, "probably like a lot of males of my generation I kind of deferred my own health for a while, but now this condition has made me take it seriously. I will take it on and beat that like I have other things, and then I'll show up again somewhere."
During his interview at WGBH DePaola discussed:
To listen to the entire interview with MBTA GM Frank DePaola and WGBH Morning Edition host Bob Seay click on the audio file above.
