Event Recap: The 2025 Breakfast for Better Mobility Was, Frankly, Glorious
- jessicadauphin
- Nov 6
- 6 min read
This year’s Breakfast for Better Mobility wasn’t just an event. It was lightning in a bottle. It had everything: coffee, impassioned speeches, a keynote that made people rethink the economics of suburban office parks, and, of course, more coffee.
On October 30th, nearly 200 regional leaders, advocates, and partners filled the ballroom at the Sheraton Music City for the 2025 Breakfast for Better Mobility for two reasons: to support the Transit Alliance and their shared interest in improving transit and mobility across Middle Tennessee.
And we did it with compassion, conviction, and a shocking amount of enthusiasm for bus frequency.
Photos by Jason Bihler Photography. jasonbihlerphotography.com
The morning buzzed with conversation and purpose. Volunteers and vendors greeted early arrivals. There was energy in the Networking Hall, and by the time guests took their seats, the room was humming with anticipation and optimism about the program.
Mission: Impossible to Mission: Accomplished
Transit Alliance President & CEO Jessica Dauphin opened the morning with a reflection on how far Middle Tennessee has come and how much opportunity still lies ahead. “We have much to celebrate and much to discuss.”
First, she celebrated Nashville’s Choose How You Move program. The voter-approved $3.1 billion, 15-year transportation investment is a historic step for Nashville, a new dawn for the region, and a significant milestone for the Alliance.
“We did it. We took Mission: Impossible to Mission: Accomplished! Our mission is to raise awareness and build support for dedicated funding for transit in Middle Tennessee. After 15 years of mission-focused work, the Alliance was proud to see Nashville’s historic voter-approved transportation improvement program, Choose How You Move, finally become a reality.
We did it with you — our partners and advocates — we all helped one county secure dedicated transit funding,” Dauphin said.
But that’s just one county out of ten.
"The region isn’t done, and the Alliance isn’t done. Our future is riding on transit.”
Cue applause, mild existential reflection, and a deep curiosity about what’s coming next.
The challenge? Let’s work together to extend and tailor that success region-wide.
Hogwarts for Transit-Advocates
Jessica kept celebrating. She spotlighted the latest achievements of the Transit Citizen Leadership Academy (TCLA), now boasting over 650 alumni who are driving mobility conversations across Middle Tennessee. The TCLA is essentially the region’s Hogwarts for transit champions. It's where transit supporters, transit-minded individuals, transit enthusiasts, and even transit agnostics go to learn more about facts and trends in regionalism, funding, projects, and more. This year was the first-ever White Paper presentation to the RTA Board. Their recommendations focused on three key pillars:
Funding & Value Capture: Let's aim for a virtuous cycle of sustainable local funding streams, public-private partnerships, special assessment districts, etc. to reinvest in transit growth.
Technology & Innovation: Seamless fare systems, data integration, and expanded microtransit would improve customer experience and reliability.
Education & Communication: Building ridership takes awareness as much as infrastructure. We must continue to work on building an understanding of transit’s economic and quality-of-life benefits through awareness and engagement.
This earned praise from the RTA Board and a request to return next year with an update.
The Keynote: Chaos, Cars, and the Courage to Rethink Suburban Office Parks
The morning’s keynote speaker, Chris Lloyd of McGuire Woods Consulting, captivated the audience with a data-driven, thought-provoking presentation that linked workforce preferences, land use, and transit investment. He dropped enough data to make Excel jealous, then translated for the room:
"If you have suburban office space, the best thing you can do is blow it up, or repurpose it.”
His larger point? The modern workforce demands walkability, connectivity, and access. Communities that fail to adapt risk being left behind.
Moreover, the chaos of a nonstop stream of headlines stemming from presidential executive orders, tariffs, and other developments cannot be ignored. Underneath the chaos, a powerful economic current is brewing to bring jobs back to the United States. Always look behind the headline.
TL;DR: No one wants to work in a parking lot with carpet. People desire sidewalks, transit, and coffee within a five-minute radius. And, we'd better be paying attention, or we may miss the momentous wave of new economic drivers.
The connections between presidential executive orders, a new wave of manufacturing, return-to-office mandates, economic vitality, and transit were easy to make. A city’s mobility network is basically its circulatory system. A healthy mobility network is a healthy and wealthy workforce. We would be wise to invest now.
His remarks set the stage for a lively discussion with Janet Miller, long-time regional economic development leader and former MTA board member. Together, they were a masterclass in regional sass and substance as they explored the connection between strategic transit investment, economic resilience, housing affordability, and talent attraction.
Their conversation reinforced what the Alliance champions daily: mobility powers opportunity, and transit is the thread that ties economic growth, equity, and regional success together.
And the Winners Are… (Insert Oscar Music We Forgot to Play)
A highlight of the morning was the Transit Alliance Awards Ceremony, celebrating outstanding leadership, collaboration, and innovation across the region. We honored the leaders and developers leading the region in transit and mobility. It was the chef's kiss to the whole morning.
The field of nominees was considerable, and the decision to choose just one was a challenge, but there were standouts among the fantastic work by all.
Transit Development of the Year: Murfreesboro Transit Center.
A transformational project for the City of Murfreesboro, the new transit center establishes a strong foundation for expanded routes, greater frequency, and improved accessibility. Even more exciting — the adjacent property now belongs to WeGo/RTA, where plans are underway to build the region’s first true regional transit hub. This project stands as a model for how local investment can unlock regional opportunity. That’s not just a bus stop. That’s a statement.
Transit Champion of the Year: Michael Briggs
Since 2012, Briggs has been building Nashville’s mobility future with infinite patience with a Lego set missing critical pieces. He’s the kind of guy who can make zoning policy sound like a pep talk, and we love him for it. For more than a decade, Briggs has advanced Nashville’s mobility landscape — from shaping the NashvilleNext Plan at Metro Planning, to launching Vanderbilt’s MoveVU program, to becoming the public face of the city’s landmark Choose How You Move initiative. His commitment to practical, data-informed progress and inclusive public engagement embodies what authentic leadership in mobility looks like.
Legacy in Regional Leadership: Mayor Rogers Anderson & Mayor Ken Moore
Both mayors were honored for their decades of service and steadfast commitment to regional collaboration.
Mayor Anderson has championed education and infrastructure since the 1980s while quietly advancing transit and mobility through his leadership on the TMA Group and RTA boards.
Mayor Moore has served as a long-time board member of the Transit Alliance, the RTA, and the TMA Group, while spearheading walkability initiatives and multimodal planning in Franklin.
Their recognition underscored a powerful truth: regional progress is possible only when local leaders think beyond their borders. Two men. More than four decades of public service. One unstoppable belief that transit actually matters. Together, they remind us that collaboration still works — and that regional progress doesn’t just happen; it’s people-powered.
Three Strategies for a Connected Region
Jessica shared the plan to keep Middle Tennessee from turning into a permanent traffic jam, outlining the Alliance’s three-part strategy for advancing regional mobility:
Use what we already have. Focus on existing assets and services. WeGo Star, regional express buses, and vanpool programs -- these are not relics; they’re resources. Celebrate and strengthen the transit network we already have.
Encourage higher-density development along transit corridors. Housing near transit supports ridership and simplifies service delivery while reducing long-term costs. Build where people actually live and work. Density near transit isn’t scary — it’s efficient, like putting your coffee pot next to your bed.
Connect the dots. Strengthen regional connections. Support efforts to link systems — from Clarksville to Franklin — ensuring every community is part of Middle Tennessee’s shared mobility network. Transit doesn’t stop at county lines, and neither should we.
“With an ROI of 5:1, imagine the boost to our economy if we were to invest in regional mobility. When we are losing an aggregate of $1.2 billion annually to lost productivity and time sitting in traffic, a $3.1 billion, 15-year program seems like a cost savings strategy!”
Our Sponsors Deserve a Standing Ovation
We literally couldn’t have pulled this off without the generous support of our sponsors:
Presenting Sponsor: Pinnacle Financial Partners
Event Sponsors: Amazon, HNTB, NDOT, and Dr. & Mrs. Ken Moore
Patron Hosts: Gresham Smith, HCA Healthcare | TriStar Health, HDR, Inc., Kimley-Horn
Table Hosts: Frost Brown Todd, GNRC, Nashville’s “Visit Music City,” Vanderbilt University, and WeGo Public Transit
Special thanks to our volunteers and vendors who arrived early and stayed late — your commitment made the morning seamless and beautiful. You built centerpieces, wrestled with AV, and made everything sparkle. You’re the true MVPs of the Breakfast for Better Mobility 2025!
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Photo credit required: Photo by Jason Bihler Photography, jasonbihlerphotography.com
Keep the Momentum (and Maybe Your Sanity) Going
The breakfast may be over, but the mission’s still cooking. Like Jessica said, "The region still needs the Alliance and the Alliance still needs you."
Because our future is riding on transit.
