DART Leadership Team

Erin Hockman was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) in 2026, following a decade of leadership within the organization. A respected and familiar presence both inside DART and across Greater Des Moines, she assumed the role on May 7. She is focused on what public transit makes possible for riders—connecting people to opportunity and essential services—while strengthening the communities and regional economy DART supports and responsibly stewarding the resources that sustain it.

As CEO, Erin leads all aspects of DART’s work, building on her previous role as Chief Administrative and Strategy Officer. In that position, she helped align organizational priorities, guide long-term planning, and play a central role in advancing Reimagine DART—a community-driven effort to redesign the transit network to better meet the region’s evolving needs.

Erin joined DART in 2016 as Marketing and Communications Manager and was promoted to Chief External Affairs Officer in 2020. Known for her collaborative style and steady leadership, she has helped shape DART’s strategy while building strong relationships with community partners, stakeholders, and the people DART serves.

Before joining DART, Erin spent eight years at Kemin Industries, a global nutritional ingredient manufacturing company, where she advanced through roles focused on strategic communications, employee engagement, public relations, and marketing.

Erin holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Truman State University, with a minor in business administration. She is a graduate of the Lead DSM Community Leadership Program and the Drake Executive Leadership Program and was named to the Business Record’s Forty Under 40.

Luis Montoya serves as Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer, providing strategic and operational leadership for the agency’s core functions, including transportation, facilities, fleet, safety, and planning. He plays a key role in aligning day-to-day service delivery with long-term planning and organizational priorities to ensure safe, reliable, and customer-focused transit service across the region. As the CEO’s senior deputy, he serves as a key partner and may act on behalf of the CEO’s behalf when needed.

Montoya joined DART in 2018 as Planning Manager and has since held several leadership roles, including Chief Planning Officer and Chief Operating and Planning Officer. During his tenure, he has helped guide the organization through a period of significant change and progress—leading innovative service pilots and partnerships, advancing long-range and strategic planning, navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, overseeing the Operations & Maintenance Facility project, and helping shape DART’s new network redesign through Reimagine DART, a community-driven planning initiative.

Prior to joining DART, Montoya served as Director of Livable Streets for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a master’s degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Vicky Barr joined DART in 2017 and provides leadership for DART’s administrative team as well as coordination and support for the CEO and DART Commission.

Vicky brings extensive administrative experience with expertise in organization, communications, customer service, planning and project management. Prior to joining DART, Vicky provided support services to CEOs and other leadership team members at Des Moines Performing Arts, The Iowa Clinic, P.C. and Aviva Investors North America. She has also held positions in travel, corporate meeting planning and hospitality industries.

Vicky has a bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management and Tourism Management from Cheltenham and Gloucester College in the United Kingdom.

DART’s Executive Leadership Team is supported by a team of managers and directors who oversee DART’s staff of more than 280 employees. More information on DART’s Management Team available here.

Mike Gulick leads DART’s finance department, including accounting, procurement and compliance. Mike also oversees DART’s efforts to construct a new operations and maintenance facility.

Previously, Mike led statewide procurement initiatives for the State of Iowa including Administrative Services, Natural Resources and Corrections. His private sector experience includes strategic procurement, financial analysis, LEAN Six Sigma and supply chain optimization. Mike holds a Certified Public Manager (CPM) professional certification from Drake University and is a Lean Six Sigma certified professional, bringing a data-driven, results-oriented approach to financial and operational strategy.

Kyle Foster was appointed Chief Information Officer (CIO) in January 2025. In this role, Kyle oversees the Information Technology and Business Intelligence departments, leveraging technology and data-driven insights to enhance operational efficiency and support DART’s long-term strategic initiatives.

Kyle joined DART in 2022 as IT Director. Prior to that, he spent much of his career at ImageTek, a national leader in document management solutions. During his tenure, he advanced from a help-desk role to Vice President and CIO, gaining extensive experience in automation and workflow optimization. These skills are instrumental in advancing DART’s ongoing efficiency and innovation efforts.