A member of the ERA since 1970, Bob is a graduate of MIT and has worked in the transit and transportation planning profession for 40 years. He retired from MTA NYC Transit in 2019 after 26 years in the Office of Management and Budget, Operations Planning and Strategic Initiatives. Bob has served as ERA’s president since 2012, and five years previously as third vice president and recording secretary. Bob has successfully managed ERA’s annual conventions in Los Angeles (2009), Chicago (2011), Boston (2012), Denver/Salt Lake City (2013), Minneapolis/St. Paul (2014), Houston/Dallas-Fort Worth (2015) Washington-Baltimore (2016), Atlanta and New Orleans (2017), Tucson/El Paso (2019), San Diego (2022), Portland/Seattle (2023), and Edmonton/Calgary (2024). Bob’s goals include membership expansion and retention, participation in the Association’s missions, continue successful management of Zoom programs and opportunities for selected in-person meetings, and continuation of ERA’s high-quality offerings of publications, monthly programs, and local, national and international trips.
Jeff has been a member of the ERA for 54 years, having joined in January of 1970. He has always been active, initially by helping to stuff envelopes for mailings at the ERA’s old offices at 145 Greenwich Street and 4 West 40th Street. Jeff, along with the late James Mattina, created the initial database of members when the ERA received its very first personal computer back in the 1980s. During those years, Jeff served as membership secretary and also helped to arrange several memorable excursions on the Long Island Rail Road. For several years he was the recording secretary of the New York Division and was an occasional contributing editor of The Bulletin. When the New York Division was merged into the National, he became a director on the new Board and once again has been able to help on the National level. After retiring from NYC Transit in April of 2018, Jeff took on the editorship of The Bulletin and in January of 2022, Jeff took over the desktop publishing of The Bulletin.
A member of the ERA since 1976, Andrew was born and grew up in Montreal. He was attracted to the US by a job offer in 1991 under the then new US-Canada Free-Trade Agreement. He is a graduate of McGill University with a degree in Civil Engineering and a minor in Computer Science, which lead to a career in various jobs in IT and software development. In 2004 he switched back to his first love of transportation engineering and planning while also obtaining a Master’s degree from Rutgers. He retired from NJDOT‘s Office of Freight Planning at the end of 2021. He has been a life-long railfan with a particular interest in all things electrical. He took up rail photography as a teenager. He is a member of many other rail organizations and serves on the board of the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club. He has traveled extensively, even more for his love of classical music than transit and trains. In retirement he does part-time consultant in his areas of expertise: Goods Movement and Geographic Information Systems.
Andrew has been a frequent speaker at ERA meetings and has assisted in facilitating and troubleshooting for the smooth operation of ERA’s Zoom presentations.
A member since 1989, Bill was elected to the New York Division ERA Board in 1992, and then Chairman in 200, a position he held until the merger of the New York Division into the current national ERA Board of Directors. Bill has been a fan of electric traction since childhood including trolleys, trams and trolleybuses. He brings to the Board his years of experience running the New York Division and a career in managing budgets at non-profits as well as NYC Transit’s Office of Management of Budget until retirement.
A member of ERA since 1963, Michael previously held office as director of ERA. He has served as a member of the New York Division Board of Directors for many years and national treasurer since 1990. He is a retired transportation industry professional with over 50 years of experience as a transportation planner, light rail operations planner and transit scheduler.
Nick a candidate new to running for the Board but not a new member. He joined ERA in 1989. He is a native of NYC and has just retired from a long and successful career as a Subway Dispatcher in NYC Transit’s Department of Subways. He is very familiar with ERA’s convention travel program as having participated in many of them. Nick has been a frequent speaker at ERA’s monthly meetings with his presentations drawing from his many travels throughout North America and Europe. He has also published numerous annual electric traction calendars over the last ten years so is very engaged with traction interests and history.