About
Board of Directors
Board Description
General members who are qualified may also opt to run for election to the positions of Officers or Directors of the Association. Officer and Director positions are elected by the Council of Representatives at the annual spring meeting, per the by-laws. The Board normally meets in-person during the Spring and Fall meetings and via electronic methods/teleconference once during other months. The in-person meetings are open to the general members. As the teleconferences have a strictly limited time period, non-Board members are allowed to participate only if invited. The Board may have up to 15 elected positions, of which seven are the Officers: the Chair, four Vice Chairs, Secretary, and Treasurer; and eight are Directors. The Immediate Past Chair and Treasuer serve as ex-officio, non-voting, members of the Board for the two years following their active, elected, service.
A directory of Board & Council Representatives with contact information is available to Rail Passenger Association members (login required).
The minutes from Board of Directors meetings are also available to Rail Passengers Association members (login required).
Become a Rail Passengers Association Board Member
To learn more about the qualifications to run and to self nominate, click here.
Members of Rail Passengers Association's Board of Directors
(Page Revised on 4/3/23)
Officers
- Meredith Richards (VA), Chair - Term To Spring 2024
- Bruce Ashton (TX), Vice Chair - Term To Spring 2024
- Harvey Bowen (WA), Vice Chair - Term To Spring 2024 - Bylaws Committee Chair
- Thomas Girsch (MA), Vice Chair - Term To Spring 2024
- Ken Joseph (PA), Vice Chair - Term To Spring 2024
- William C. Dunn (VA), Secretary - Term To Spring 2024
- Kenneth T. Clifford (OH), Treasurer - Term To Spring 2024
Directors
- Dan Bilka (CO), Director - Term To Spring 2024
- Richard Bruss (PA), Director - Term To Spring 2025 - Mid-Atlantic Division Liaison
- Michael Christensen (UT), Director - Term To Spring 2025 - Mountains & Plains; Northwest & Southwest Division Liaison; Membership Subcommittee Co-Chair
- Tom Compson (TX), Director - Term to Spring 2026
- Kevin Buettner (OH), Director - Term to Spring 2026
- Gary Lanman (OK), Director - Term to Spring 2026
- Andrew Lodriguss (LA), Director - Term To Spring 2024 - Grassroots Involvement Liaison
- VACANT DIRECTOR SEAT (Term to Spring 2024)
Ex-officio
- Ken Briers (DC) - Immediate Past Chair
"It is an honor to be recognized by the Rail Passengers Association for my efforts to strengthen and expand America’s passenger rail. Golden spikes were once used by railroads to mark the completion of important rail projects, so I am truly grateful to receive the Golden Spike Award as a way to mark the end of a career that I’ve spent fighting to invest in our country’s rail system. As Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, it has been my priority to bolster funding for Amtrak, increase and expand routes, look to the future by supporting high-speed projects, and improve safety, culminating in $66 billion in new funding in the Bipartisan infrastructure Law."
Representative Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
March 30, 2022, on receiving the Association's Golden Spike Award for his years of dedication and commitment to passenger rail.