Donnie Gladney
Executive Director
Leads the organization's mission to remove transportation as a barrier to employment across Memphis and the surrounding region.
Routes to Opportunity was created after seeing a repeated challenge across the workforce ecosystem: people were finding jobs, employers were looking for workers, workforce organizations were providing training and placement support, yet transportation continued to prevent people from successfully connecting with opportunity.
We believe employment access requires more than creating jobs. People must also be able to reach those jobs reliably.
Routes to Opportunity brings employers, transportation providers, community organizations, workforce partners, and funders together to solve that final-mile workforce challenge.
Mission
To remove transportation barriers that prevent individuals from accessing and sustaining employment.
Vision
A community where where someone lives does not determine whether they can access economic opportunity.
Values
What guides our work
Access
Opportunity should be reachable from every neighborhood.
Dignity
Riders are workers and neighbors, not cases.
Reliability
A ride that shows up is what makes a job possible.
Partnership
No single organization solves this alone.
Opportunity
Every trip is a step toward economic mobility.
Community
Local knowledge shapes local solutions.
Leadership
The people leading this work
Routes to Opportunity is led by operators and community advocates focused on workforce mobility.
Victor Vega
Director of Transportation Operations
Oversees routing, scheduling, and the day-to-day delivery of workforce transportation for riders and employer partners.
Valencia Baymon
Director of Administration & Community Partnerships
Manages organizational administration and the community, workforce, and referral partnerships that connect riders to opportunity.
Memphis focus
Built in Memphis. Designed for Communities Everywhere.
Routes to Opportunity began by addressing workforce transportation barriers in Memphis and the surrounding region, working around the neighborhoods and employment corridors where the gap is widest.
Opportunity Shouldn’t Depend on Having a Ride.
Together, we can make sure transportation is no longer the reason someone misses an interview, turns down a job, or loses an opportunity to build a better future.