BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — The South West Transit Association is adding another dynamic speaker to the inaugural SWTA Summer Leadership Lab, September 13–15, 2026, in Breckenridge, Colorado.

Crys Black, fractional Chief Marketing Officer and AI enablement advisor, will lead Work Smarter. Market Better.: Build Your AI Assistant, an interactive, beginner-friendly session designed to help public transit professionals move beyond the hype surrounding artificial intelligence and learn practical ways to put it to work.

And Crys brings a unique connection to the audience she'll be teaching: before becoming a marketing and technology leader, she drove a bus.

With more than 20 years of experience leading marketing for B2B technology companies, Black began her career programming during the early days of the web and today helps organizations adopt AI in practical ways that save time and improve the work they do. She serves on the board of the Rocky Mountain AI Interest Group, teaches with Women in AI Labs, and writes the Human Input column for Colorado AI News.

During her 90-minute Leadership Lab session, attendees won't just hear about AI. They'll actually use it.

Black will introduce participants to today's AI tools, share a simple prompting formula that can be used with platforms such as ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot, and address an increasingly important issue for public agencies: data privacy and what employees should understand before entering information into an AI platform.

Then the lab becomes hands-on.

Participants will build their own custom AI assistant around a real task from their agency. That could mean improving rider communications, supporting public outreach, streamlining repetitive administrative work, or tackling another time-consuming responsibility.

The goal is simple: attendees should leave with something they built themselves and can continue using when they return to work.

No previous AI experience is required. Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop and one task they would love to stop doing manually.

Participants will also receive Black's presentation, worksheet, and take-home reference guide to continue applying what they learn after Leadership Lab.

Black's session is part of Tuesday's Marketing & Communications Lab, one of the interactive learning experiences featured during the inaugural SWTA Summer Leadership Lab.

Leadership Lab begins Sunday evening with a Welcome Reception, followed Monday by the Public Transit Legal Symposium. Tuesday features concurrent Marketing & Communications and Mobility Management learning experiences designed to provide transit professionals with practical tools, new ideas, and meaningful connections they can take home to their agencies.

SWTA Summer Leadership Lab 2026

September 14–15, 2026

Breckenridge, Colorado

Registration is open now: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/yncgyc5