Director of Transportation

Organization chart, Jan. 17, 2012; tagged PDF

Organization chart, Jan. 17, 2012; accessible text

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The SFMTA Management Team

In July 2011, Edward D. Reiskin was named the Director of Transportation of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA).

In this role, Mr. Reiskin oversees the Municipal Railway (Muni), parking, traffic engineering, pedestrian planning, bicycle implementation, accessibility and taxi regulation. Muni is one of the oldest public transit agencies in America and the largest in the Bay Area, currently carrying over 200 million riders per year and 700,000 a day. Mr. Reiskin runs Muni’s historic streetcars, modern light rail vehicles, diesel buses, alternative fuel vehicles, electric trolley coaches and the world famous cable cars. Mr. Reiskin utilizes Muni every single day, bringing the perspective as a customer to his role as leader of the agency.

Mr. Reiskin has the responsibility for over 5,000 employees, a $780 million operating budget, and a $4.8 billion capital budget. He oversees the advancement of the Central Subway Project, the 1.7 mile extension of the Third Street Light Rail line that will provide rail service to the Financial District and Chinatown - the most densely developed areas of San Francisco. Mr. Reiskin will also lead the agency through the Transit Effectiveness Project, a comprehensive review of the Muni system to improve overall performance.

He also oversees key projects such as Clipper Card’s integration into the Muni system. Clipper is the all-in-one transit card that keeps track of any passes, discount tickets, ride books and cash value that can be used on most Bay Area regional transit systems. He also oversees SFpark, which uses new technologies and policies to improve parking in San Francisco, reduces congestion and makes our streets safer.

Mr. Reiskin has more than 20 years of experience in the private, academic, nonprofit, and public sectors. Before joining the SFMTA, he was appointed in 2008 by Mayor Gavin Newsom and then City Administrator Edwin Lee as Director of the Department of Public Works (DPW) for the City and County of San Francisco. He led DPW’s three divisions with more than 1,100 employees, whose responsibilities ranged from engineering, construction management and project delivery to graffiti removal, street cleaning, and public engagement programs.

During his tenure, he oversaw the development and opening of several LEED-certified landmark structures, such as Laguna Honda Hospital and several branch libraries and recreation centers. Under Mr. Reiskin’s leadership, DPW not only resurfaced streets, but prioritized comprehensive public realm improvements, which improved public spaces for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders. He also oversaw the predevelopment work that led to the voter approval of two general obligation bonds: $887.4 million to build a new, seismically safe, LEED-certified San Francisco General Hospital; and $412.3 million for seismic and safety upgrades to fire stations and the city’s high pressure firefighting water system, and a new seismically safe, LEED-certified Police Department headquarters and command center.

Mr. Reiskin also served as the first Director of the City and County's new 311 Customer Service Center. Prior to joining the City and County of San Francisco, he served as the Interim City Administrator and as Deputy Mayor for the Government of the District of Columbia. As City Administrator, he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of government, provided oversight to government agencies under the Mayor's authority, and guided functional, policy, and budgetary decision-making on behalf of the Mayor. As Deputy Mayor, he served as senior advisor on public safety issues and provided leadership and direction in the management of departments such as police, fire/EMS, corrections, and 911/311. He also served as the District's liaison to independent, federal, and regional public safety agencies, and as the District of Columbia's Homeland Security Advisor.

Prior to joining the District government, Mr. Reiskin worked for three years for the City of Oakland, California as an assistant to the city manager. In that capacity, he led citywide initiatives; supported and coordinated the work of city agencies, particularly in the areas of public safety and community development; and implemented programs and policies of the City Council and Mayor of Oakland. From 1988 to 1998, Mr. Reiskin performed business and community environmental work for a nonprofit research and consulting organization, conducted academic research on sustainable development at a business school, and worked as an engineer and manager in the private sector.

Mr. Reiskin holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University's Stern School of Business, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He lives in the Lower Haight with his wife and three children.

Debra A. Johnson is Director of Administration. Ms. Johnson has 20 years of progressively responsible management experience including policy and strategic communications development and implementation, advocacy and community outreach and government and media relations. She has invaluable experience in interacting and coordinating with federal, state, regional and local elected representatives; agency officials; civic organizations; and special interest groups which was primarily gained in the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C.

Ms. Johnson began her career working in the private sector for an engineering-based consulting firm whereby she had a pivotal role in the public awareness campaign for the I-80 Reconstruction Project in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. She later transitioned into public transit and has held varying positions with the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) including, but not limited to, a Senior Government/Community Relations Specialist, the Community Outreach Department Manager at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and Director of Project Communications and later the Board Secretary at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in Washington, D.C.

Ms. Johnson joined the SFMTA in early 2007 as Chief of Staff/Director of External Affairs and subsequently was appointed Director of the Division of Administration, Taxis and Accessible Services. On July 1, 2011, the SFMTA Board of Directors named her Acting Executive Director/CEO while the Board conducted its search for the new Director of Transportation.

Ms. Johnson earned her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the California State University, East Bay (formerly Hayward) and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of California, Davis. Additionally, she is an alumna of the 2000 Class of Leadership San Francisco, the 2008 Eno Center for Transit Leadership's Executive Development Program, is President of the Northern California Chapter of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), active with the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) San Francisco Chapter, serves on the California Transit Association’s Executive Committee, the Workforce Investment  San Francisco Board and Urban Habitat’s Board of Directors.

Shahnam Farhangi, Acting Director of Capital Programs and Construction has more than thirty years of professional experience in engineering, project management, contract administration and management of complex transit programs. Mr. Farhangi joined the City and County of San Francisco in 1992 and held the positions of Acting Deputy General Manager for Construction and Acting Deputy Director for Transportation Planning and Development. For the past twelve years Mr. Farhangi has managed the contract administration section and has been responsible for all procurement activities within the Capital Programs and Construction Division.

Mr. Farhangi earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from UCLA and an MBA from the UCLA Graduate School of Management. He holds a Professional Engineering license from the State of California.

Sonali Bose, Chief Financial Officer/Director of Finance and Information Technology, has held senior level finance positions in the public and private sectors over the last 25 years. The public sector positions include Chief Financial Officer for the Metro Gold Rail Line in Los Angeles, Chief Financial Officer for the Port of Oakland, Director of Finance for the City of Berkeley and Treasurer for the City of Oakland. Her private sector positions include Chief Financial Officer/Administrative Officer for a third party administrator for pension, health and welfare funds, Managing Director and Finance Manager for international consulting firms focusing on infrastructure projects and Vice President of Finance for a merchant bank. In her various roles, Ms. Bose has provided strategic advice to Boards of Directors and senior executives, managed operational functions in large organizations with several business lines and provided oversight of complex multi-year projects.

Ms. Bose has been involved in obtaining various federal, state and local funds for projects and programs and managed various taxable and tax exempt financing. She also has significant experience in securing funding and managing and developing real estate and information technology projects. Ms. Bose has led strategic planning efforts for large public and private organizations, completed business plans, developed long term operating and capital budgets, established policies and procedures and managed cultural and business process change initiatives.

Ms. Bose has business administration and public policy graduate degrees from Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of California, Berkeley.

Reginald A. Mason, Director of Safety, Training, Security and Enforcement, is a transit professional with diverse experience in the transportation field which included managing Safety and Training for Houston’s Metro Light Rail Start-Up where he developed and trained all Rail Supervisors, Rail Controllers and Train Operators for the light rail system. Prior to working for Houston’s Metro System, Reginald worked for the Chicago Transit Authority, Valley Metro Rail and Ryder/ATE all in the area of Safety.  Reginald has over 15 years of experience in the Health and Safety field including two years working in the Oil and Gas Industry, deepening his knowledge and experience in State and Federal Regulations related to EPA.

Reginald is currently the Director of Safety, Training, Security and Enforcement/Chief Safety Officer for the SFMTA.  In this position he is responsible for the System Safety, Operations Training, Safety Administration, Emergency Preparedness, and the Security and Enforcement Units ensuring agency compliance with the System Safety Program Plan (SSPP), System Security Plan (SSP), all applicable regulatory agency policies, and ensuring the safety and security of employees, customers and the public.

Reginald has a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Masters Degree in degree in Occupational Safety and Health Management from Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana. He is also an Associate Safety Professional from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, and a Certified Safety and Security Director – Rail from the World Safety Organization.  He is also an Associate Staff Instructor for the Transit Safety Institute teaching Rail Transit Incident Investigation, and a part-time Instructor for the National Transit Institute.  Reginald is also a current Board Member At-Large for the American Public Transportation (APTA), the Chair of the APTA Bus Safety Committee, the Chair of the APTA Security Standards Emergency Management Working Group, and a recent graduate of the Leadership APTA Class of 2010.

Bond Yee, Director of Sustainable Streets, previously was Director of the Department of Traffic and Parking which was combined with the San Francisco Municipal Railway as the new San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency in July 2002 under Proposition E. He has been practicing professionally for 37 years, initially working in the private sector as a transportation engineer with the firm of Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade and Douglas (PBQ&D). With PBQ&D, Mr. Yee worked on various transportation and transit projects such as the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, Portland’s starter light rail line, Kansas City Transit Master Plan and Fullerton’s Multimodal Transportation Center facility. He has been with the City since 1982, starting with the Department of Public Works’ Traffic Engineering Bureau and has been with the Department of Parking and Traffic since its inception in 1990.

Mr. Yee earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master’s Degree in Transportation from the University of California at Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies. He holds licenses in civil and traffic engineering from the State of California and is a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer licensed by the Transportation Professional Certification Board. He also is a Fellow of the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

John J. Haley, Jr., Director of Transit since Feb. 16, 2010, is a nationally recognized leader in the transportation industry with over 30 years of public and private sector experience. He joined the SFMTA from the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) in Houston, where he was the Vice-President of Infrastructure and Service Development. At METRO, Mr. Haley implemented new bus rapid transit and commuter rail services which significantly contributed to improved service reliability and ridership gains. He also directed internal accountability initiatives to improve operational efficiency and advanced Authority-wide plans to improve system safety.

Prior to his work in Houston, Mr. Haley served as Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, General Manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), Deputy General Manager of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) and as a strategic advisor to major transportation agencies nationwide. He has a Master of Public Administration from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Science in Government from Northeastern University.

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