Milwaukee County Transit System President and Managing Director Denise Wandke has retired after a little more than a year in the agency’s top spot, according to a press release from MCTS Monday.
The Journal Sentinel reported Wandke had taken a leave of absence in October, shortly before the county entered into one of its toughest budget seasons as the transit agency dealt with major financial struggles and approached a looming fiscal cliff in the coming years.
In an Oct. 5 post on Wandke’s Facebook account, she shared a picture of a motorhome with the caption: “I’m going to rough it and go camping … let the next journey begin!”
Wandke became president and managing director in May 2023 following the sudden retirement of former MCTS Managing Director Daniel Boehm. In the months before his departure from the agency, an employee called for an investigation into employment discrimination and retaliation under Boehm’s leadership, according to records provided to the Journal Sentinel.
The agency tapped Vice President and Deputy Director Julie Esch as interim managing director, after Wandke retired on Jan. 1.
Esch joined MCTS in September 2023. She has served in a number of leadership positions with Milwaukee County and the State of Wisconsin Department of Transportation, according to the press release.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Transit System managing director steps down