People News: MARTA, SEPTA, STV, TexAmericas Center, WSP USA
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
On Jan. 1, 2022, Peter J. Andrews will become MARTA’s Chief Legal Counsel, succeeding Elizabeth M. O’Neill, who is retiring after 22 years of service.
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), STV, TexAmericas Center, and WSP USA have announced executive appointments.
On Jan. 1, 2022, Peter J. Andrews will become MARTA’s Chief Legal Counsel, succeeding Elizabeth M. O’Neill, who is retiring after 22 years of service. Andrews will transition into the role over the next three months.
With 20 years of legal experience, Andrews has served most recently at global law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP, representing clients in the areas of government law, state and local government contracts and procurement, public transportation, public-private partnerships, request for proposal (RFP) compliance, and public finance. He is a former Deputy City Attorney for Atlanta, where he negotiated agreements with MARTA and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to build the Atlanta Streetcar.
MARTA Senior Director of Corporate Law Jonathan J. Hunt will work with Andrews and assume the position of Deputy Chief Legal Counsel.
“Liz has been a tremendous asset to MARTA over the past two decades, previously serving as Associate Counsel, Chief of Litigation, and interim General Manager,” GM/CEO Jeffrey Parker said.
At SEPTA, Denise S. Wolf has been appointed as the agency’s Inspector General, succeeding D. James Bannan, who will retire following nearly 11 years of service.
Wolf is tasked with promoting “economy, efficiency and effectiveness at SEPTA, as well as preventing and detecting waste, fraud and abuse,” the agency reported. Her office will oversee both Audits and Investigations.
Most recently, Wolf was an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and served as the Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Prior to becoming a federal prosecutor, she was a Litigation Associate at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis, LLP. Wolf also worked as an Assistant City Solicitor in the Civil Rights Unit of the Philadelphia Law Department, and a Law Clerk for the late Hon. Lowell A. Reed, U.S. District Judge of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
“Given her impressive career in rooting out fraud and corruption, Denise shares our commitment to ensuring SEPTA and everyone at the Authority operates effectively and at the highest ethical standards,” SEPTA CEO/General Manager Leslie S. Richards said.
SEPTA Board Chairman Pasquale T. Deon Sr. thanked Bannan for his “numerous accomplishments and the sincere respect he garnered, not only from his team, but from outside law enforcement agencies.” Bannan came to SEPTA after 20 years with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “His vast federal law enforcement experience coupled with his dedication to SEPTA led to some of the most significant investigations in SEPTA’s history,” Deon said.
STV has hired Stephen Decker as Vice President and Planning Director in the firm’s Oakland, Calif., office. With 25 years of transit and transportation planning experience, Decker will work with clients in the Bay area and throughout the West.
Most recently, Decker served as the Northern California/Southwestern U.S. Transportation Planning Lead for HDR, and has also held the role of Principal at Cambridge Systematics, Inc. Throughout his career, he has excelled in multimodal transportation planning for federal, state, regional, and local agencies; managing multi-state, statewide, multi-regional, and regional transportation feasibility studies; and corridor planning for all modes and systems, STV reported.
Darrell Thompson has joined TexAmericas Center, a New Boston, Tex.-based mixed-use industrial park with 12,000 acres and 3.5 million square feet of commercial and industrial property. A 30-year railroad veteran, he has taken on the new position of General Manager of Railroad and Transload Operations.
Thompson served most recently as Chief Operating Officer of Starr Rail LLC; held positions at Plains All American, B&P Enterprises and Holland LP; and worked for Genesee & Wyoming and Watco.
“Adding this new position at TexAmericas Center is a first step toward long-term growth potential for rail,” CEO/Executive Director Scott Norton said. “We’re thrilled to have Darrell leading the efforts. Darrell knows every aspect of the rail and transload industry.”
Earlier this year, TexAmericas Center was awarded an $864,550 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to construct new rail facilities and refurbish those in use.
At WSP USA, Chris Harman has been named National Director of Digital Delivery and Innovation for Transportation, leading the development of new approaches to infrastructure design.
Based in Atlanta, Ga., Harman will participate in all phases of project planning, design, construction and asset management, and work with experts in modeling, simulation, data management, systems interface and artificial intelligence. He served previously as Technical Director, Digital Engineering at Atkins.
“Chris brings a wealth of emerging technology expertise to WSP, including augmented reality, virtual reality, machine learning and automation,” said Michael Mangione, WSP National Markets Director for Transportation. “This exciting new technology will greatly benefit our clients as they look for new ways to efficiently and safely deliver complex infrastructure programs using digital twins and other emerging technologies.”
