RICHMOND, Virginia — Honors for heroism, training efforts and leadership have been handed out during the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) Summit here over the past few days.
Here are the NAPT 2015 award winners:
NAPT awards highlight heroism, training efforts
Honorees include special-needs transportation expert Kala Henkensiefken and school bus driver Alice Bradley, who was credited with thwarting a potential school shooting.
Thomas McMahon・Executive Editor
Kala Henkensiefken of Brainerd (Minn.) Public Schools won NAPT’s Special Needs Transportation Award. She is seen here with Bud Fears (left) of Q’Straint/Sure-Lok, the award sponsor, and Minnesota state director Brian Reu, who nominated Henkensiefken.
1 min to read
The Continuing Education Award, sponsored by Thomas Built Buses, went to Bryan Johnson of Howard County Public Schools in Maryland and Rhonda Watson of the School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties in South Carolina.
The Special Needs Transportation Award, sponsored by Q’Straint/Sure-Lok, went to Kala Henkensiefken of Brainerd (Minn.) Public Schools.
Winning the School Bus Driver Training Award, sponsored by IC Bus, was Mark Lindstrom of Marietta (Ga.) City Schools.
The Heroism Award, sponsored by Blue Bird Corp., went to Macon County (N.C.) Schools bus driver Alice Bradley, who was credited with thwarting a potential school shooting in June.
The NAPT awards committee is composed of Theresa Anderson, chair; Jerry Milliken, co-chair; Marisa Weisinger; and Chris Ellison.
Other awards presented during the Summit included School Bus Fleet’s Administrator of the Year honor, which went to Pam McDonald of Orange (Calif.) Unified School District.
Also, Charmane White of Albemarle County (Va.) Public Schools won STN's Leadership Award.
More Management
Sponsored•March 19, 2026
All About Cooperative Purchasing: A Guide for School Transportation Pros
Stop bidding everything and try a simpler way. Here's how cooperative purchasing can streamline purchases while maintaining compliance. Sourcewell breaks down the process in this episode of The Route, sponsored by IC Bus.
Read More →
EverDriven Launches New School Bus Routing Services
The alternative transportation company expands its services to traditional yellow buses with the launch of a new division focused on helping school districts optimize their routes.
Read More →
2026 Trailblazer: Joshua Roberts of First Student
Roberts, 35, serves as the lead IT application engineer for vehicle electrification at First Student, where he helps shape scalable, real-world EV infrastructure to support student transportation.
Read More →
2026 Trailblazer: Quavion Swazer of Puyallup School District
Swazer, 29, serves as director of transportation at Puyallup School District, where he champions student wellbeing and inspires the next generation of industry leaders.
Read More →
2026 Trailblazer: Katia Dubas of IMMI
Dubas, 38, serves as sales manager and safety advocate at IMMI, where she advances school bus occupant protection through industry education, OEM collaboration, and proactive safety policy efforts.
Read More →
2026 Trailblazer: Eric Kramlick of TransPar
Kramlick, 30, runs operations for TransPar in Hawaii, where he also showed dedication while helping Maui recover from the recent wildfires.
Read More →
2026 Trailblazer: Jonquez Moore of Little Elm ISD
Moore, 32, grew up around the school bus, leading him to the classroom and eventually inspiring high-performing teams while bringing operations in house (twice).
Read More →
2026 Trailblazer: Joshua Baran of Odyssey Charter School
Baran, 38, serves as transportation supervisor at Odyssey Charter School in Delaware, where he leads daily operations with a focus on safety and professional growth.
Read More →
2026 Trailblazer: Tyler Maybee of Denver Public Schools
Maybee, 36, leads transportation operations for Denver Public Schools, where he is advancing equity, efficiency, and cross-department collaboration to improve student access.
Read More →
2026 Trailblazer: Lexi Higgins of TAT
Higgins, 38, serves as director of industry engagement at TAT (Truckers Against Trafficking), where she equips school transportation professionals with the tools to recognize and report human trafficking.
Read More →