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CamTran director Lucey-Noll to retire this summer; board starts in-house search for replacement

By David Hurst, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa. The Tribune Content Agency

Updated May 20, 2026 6:45 PM

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Rose Lucey-Noll's 20-year tenure as the Cambria County Transit Authority's executive director will reach an end this summer.

CamTran board officials confirmed that Lucey-Noll will wind down her career at the job after her contract expires this summer, and said efforts are already underway to find her successor.

With Lucey-Noll at his side, CamTran board Chairman Joe Slifko announced her approaching "retirement" during the authority's board meeting Wednesday.

The search for a new director is already underway internally, he said.

"Multiple" in-house administrators with years of experience in the public transportation field will get the first opportunities to interview for the role, with Lucey-Noll committed to helping ensure the transition to a future director is smooth, he said.

Lucey-Noll, who returned on a one-year, $150,000 contract this year, has operated the $19 million, nearly 150-employee public transportation authority for decades, guiding it through a headquarters relocation, a transition to a more energy-efficient bus fleet, and the expansion of services for Cambria County residents.

Over the past six years, CamTran has also faced challenges through a COVID-19 pandemic that impacted ridership and a problem-plagued nearly $19 million project to rehabilitate the Johnstown Inclined Plane, which is more than 125 years old.

That project, approaching a scheduled state inspection May 28 after years of complications, has sparked increased community frustration and pressure on CamTran and Lucey-Noll as its director.

Lucey-Noll did not discuss her upcoming retirement during Wednesday's meeting. Afterward, she directed questions about the transition to Slifko.

The board chairman said Lucey-Noll is committed to ensuring a steady, well-supported handoff of the operation to her successor – and to ensuring the Inclined Plane project is completed.

Lucey-Noll, either as the authority's outgoing executive director or in a consulting role, will remain a key player in ushering the complex project to a finish, he added.

"Absolutely," Slifko said, citing her thorough understanding of the project and commissioning process. "We're going to need her through the completion of this project."

Slifko's career includes an extensive human resources background, and he said Lucey-Noll's notice earlier this month gives the board time to focus its search on the type of candidate it wants to lead the authority in the years ahead.

Public transportation is a unique field with complex safety and operating regulations – and while Slifko said it is standard CamTran practice to begin each search in house, he said it makes even more sense given the complexities of the $19 million local operation.

"We have folks here internally who we feel are qualified," he added, saying there's hope that the authority's search committee will be able to find the right person for the job.

Slifko declined to name any of those expected candidates. But in the coming days, there will be a "system" in place to evaluate candidates "based on what (specifically) we're looking for," he said.

Cambria County President Commissioner Scott Hunt attended Wednesday's meeting. Afterward, he said the county appreciates the job Lucey-Noll "has done over the years, and we wish her well on her retirement."

"And we're excited to see what lies ahead for her replacement," Hunt added.

This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 6:38 PM.