Chelsey Waterman serves as Chief Operating Officer for the Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District (MetroLINK), which provides fixed-route, paratransit, and passenger ferryboat services within the Illinois Quad Cities. Chelsey joined MetroLINK in 2011 and has served various roles relative to planning and project management over the last decade. She most recently served as MetroLINK’s Manager of Operations, overseeing the agency’s operations, maintenance, facilities, and planning departments since 2018.

During Chelsey’s time at MetroLINK, she’s had a role in many vital projects, including the design and construction of the “Q” Multi-Modal Station, Rock Island’s District Station, the SouthPark Mall Mega Stop, and Moline’s Riverbend Commons ferryboat terminal. Her strategic focus has been on emerging technologies, such as the deployment of battery electric buses and charging infrastructure, a microtransit pilot program, implementation of a fleetwide collision avoidance system, and recent industry initiatives regarding automated transit technologies.

Prior to joining MetroLINK, Chelsey began her professional career as a Planner and Senior Planner with the Bi-State Regional Commission, the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Greater Quad Cities. Chelsey has a master’s degree in Business Administration from Western Illinois University and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with emphasis on Public Administration from Northern Illinois University.