ORLANDO – OUC– The Reliable One’s Board of Commissioners announces the following appointments, effective January 23, 2024.
Commissioner Larry Mills, Th.D., has assumed the role of OUC Commission president for a two-year term. Mills joined the board in 2018 and served as chair of the Audit-Finance Committee for two years. Retired, Mills served as corporate vice president of human resources and business conduct for corporate operations with Lockheed Martin for 23 years. Additionally, he was pastor of Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Orlando for 32 years. Mills is the former president of the African American Council on Christian Clergy and is a member of the Boy Scouts Executive Council, Central Florida Urban League (formerly the Metropolitan Orlando Urban League), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Inter-Denominational Faith Council.
Mills replaces Britta Gross, who served as board president for the last three years. An OUC board member since 2017, she will continue to serve as an OUC commissioner in the role of immediate past president. Gross serves as director of transportation at Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), an independent non-profit energy research, development, and deployment organization. With extensive experience in alternative fuels for transportation, she worked for General Motors as director of advanced vehicle commercialization and as managing director of the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Carbon Free Mobility Global Program. She has held numerous board seats in the automotive industry, including the North American Council for Freight Efficiency, MobilityData, Plug in America, and the Electric Drive Transportation Association.
Roger Chapin, who joined the board in January 2023, was recently appointed chair of the Audit-Finance Committee. Chapin is president of Chapin Communications, a public affairs firm. Prior to this, he served as executive vice president of public affairs for Mears Transportation, where he continues to serve as a member of the firm’s executive committee. In addition to his business background, Chapin’s extensive involvement in the community through various board roles serves as an asset to his work as commissioner. He currently serves as director of the Martin Andersen-Gracia Andersen Foundation and is a member of the University of Central Florida’s (UCF) Coastal Advisory Board, Captains for Clean Water, and Florida’s Coastal Conservation Association. Previously, he chaired the City of Orlando’s Municipal Planning and Redistricting Advisory boards and the Downtown Development Board & Community Redevelopment Agency.
Linda González joined OUC’s board in January 2024. González is the retired vice president of community relations and government affairs for the Orlando Magic and current president of the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation. She also is the former director of diversity and community relations for Darden Restaurants and vice president of multicultural marketing and Hispanic sales for Barnett Bank. She brings extensive experience as a community and business leader to her role. González has served in board leadership positions for a variety of community organizations, including the Heart of Florida United Way, United Arts of Central Florida, UCF, Early Learning Coalition of Orange County, Orange County Public Schools Foundation, Prospera, and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando, among others.
González replaces Cesar Calvet, who served eight years on OUC’s board until his term expired in December 2023. He served as second vice president, first vice president, president, and immediate past president of the board. During his tenure, Calvet supported a series of transformational initiatives, including the Connected 2025 Strategic Plan, which established OUC’s mission, vision and values, and pledged net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, with interim carbon reductions of 50% by 2030 and 75% by 2040. OUC is appreciative of Calvet’s positive and lasting impacts during his years of service on the board.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer will continue as an ex officio member of the OUC Board.
