Chicago Transit Authority chief of staff Nora Leerhsen was named acting president of the agency Wednesday as CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. prepares to leave the post.Leerhsen will assume the role Feb. 1, a day after Carter resigns from his nearly 10 years at the helm of the CTA. She is the first woman to lead the agency. As acting president, Leerhsen will run the CTA until Mayor Brandon Johnson nominates a replacement, who must then be approved by the CTA's board.In a statement, Leerhsen said, "I look forward to serving our riders and employees in this new role. This is a critical time for our agency and for the future of public transit. As acting president, I will build on our accomplishments as an agency and am confident that we are up to the task of carrying CTA successfully through this transition."She joined the CTA in 2014 as a project coordinator and took on the role as Carter's chief of staff in 2018, after serving various positions. She has served as the primary liaison with the mayor’s office, CTA Board, city departments, RTA and service boards, the CTA said in a statement. Leerhsen holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School, a master’s degree in social science from the University of Chicago, a master’s degree in education from Chestnut Hill College and a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University.Carter, in a speech at CTA's board meeting Wednesday, discussed his plans to become president and CEO of St. Anthony Hospital."I have a long relationship with St. Anthony, including a tenure as board chair," Carter said. "And will follow in the footsteps of my father, who was a doctor at the hospital for 40 years and served for 10 years as chair of the obstetrics and gynecology department."Carter on Monday announced he would resign as CTA president at the end of the month. The move followed over a year of critics prodding Carter to leave his post. Nearly half the City Council had demanded Carter’s ouster. The CTA’s $376,060-a-year president had to be forced to testify before the Council after repeatedly sending underlings to answer questions about ghost buses and other service and safety issues.Gov. JB Pritzker also wanted a change in leadership, as did key lawmakers whose support is critical if the CTA is to have any chance of getting new money from Springfield to avoid a mass transit funding crisis in 2026.Johnson campaigned on a promise to overhaul the CTA, but he became one of Carter's top defenders after taking office. One of Carter's key strengths was his ability to obtain large federal grants for construction projects. One of Carter's last acts, completed last week, was securing $1.9 billion in federal grants to begin the Red Line extension to 130th Street.