Governor Baker Names MassDOT Chair and Final Board Appointment

Governor Baker Names MassDOT Chair and Final Board Appointment

BOSTON – Governor Charlie Baker today announced the administration’s remaining appointment to the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and designated Ruth Bonsignore as the Chair of the MassDOT Board. Former Commissioner of Public Works and Parks for the City of Worcester, Robert Moylan, Jr. will join Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack, Bonsignore and the five additional appointments named by Governor Baker last week, on the MassDOT Board.

“Robert joins a group of experts with tested experience and knowledge in their respective fields to begin the fresh start needed to lead the Commonwealth’s transportation initiatives,” said Governor Baker. “From the Registry to our highways, this group is tasked with enormous responsibility.  The MBTA panel uncovered monumental challenges in the aftermath of this harsh winter, and I look forward to this new board under Ruth’s leadership expanding and working alongside our proposed Fiscal Management and Control Board as we strive to do better than the status quo with our transit systems which left riders stranded and tax dollars squandered.”

“Worcester has benefitted tremendously from Bob’s decades of service and commitment to improving infrastructure and development,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “We look forward to having his energy and expertise alongside the new members and chair of the MassDOT Board and Secretary Pollack during what is a critical time for reforming the MBTA and improving the overall level of customer service for the Commonwealth’s traveling public.”

Yesterday, Governor Baker and Secretary Pollack testified in front of the legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation in support of the administration’s MBTA reform legislation, “H.3347 An Act for a Reliable, Sustainable MBTA.” The recommendations for the legislation were developed by Governor’s special MBTA review panel of transportation experts to evaluate the structural and operational problems exposed by a harsh winter and the resulting impairment of the MBTA’s ability to reliably serve its customers.  The Panel’s report, Back on Track:  An Action Plan to Transform the MBTA, was released on April 8.

The legislation establishes a Fiscal Management and Control Board (FMCB) and Chief Administrator to oversee the MBTA’s operations and finances through 2018 and includes reforms to improve the MBTA’s transparency, performance management, budget planning and procurement processes. It also reconstitutes the terms and structure of the MassDOT board to be chaired by the Secretary of Transportation and includes 11 members which will consist of representation by communities served by the MBTA and a regional transit authority.

The MassDOT board is comprised of seven (7) members appointed by the Governor with one designated as the chair.  Each member is required to fulfill a specific criteria with expertise in transportation, finance and engineering.  The Secretary of Transportation also serves on the board.  The MassDOT board serves as the governing authority for both the MassDOT and the MBTA and oversees the following: Highway, Mass Transit, Aeronautics, the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV), the Office of Planning and Programming and the Office of Performance Management and Innovation.

About the MassDOT Board Members:

Ruth Bonsignore (Chair) has over 30 years of professional consulting experience in transportation planning and design, systems analyses and operations, and policy for federal, state and regional public agencies and private sector clients throughout the east coast. Ruth earned her B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from University of Massachusetts and her Master’s in Transportation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Most recently, Ms. Bonsignore served as Senior Vice President and Transportation Practice Area Leader at the Massachusetts-based consulting firm VHB/Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

Robert Moylan, Jr. served the last 21 years as the Commissioner of the Department of Public Works and Parks for the City of Worcester, overseeing a $90 million operating budget, $45 million capital budget and 400 employees responsible for the city’s water, traffic, maintenance, waste, engineering and recreational activities. During that time he was selected as a Top Ten public works official from over 26,000 public works professionals. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner, Moylan held various other technical and managerial roles in the Department. Moylan is a Registered Professional Engineer and Land Surveyor, receiving a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Massachusetts in addition to postgraduate work at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Dominic Blue is the Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and a previous member of the Mass DOT board.  Prior to his current position, Blue gained nine years of legal experience at two firms in Boston where he represented and advised numerous companies, funds, and government organizations.  He has been involved in his community through leadership roles on associations and boards in the Commonwealth, most recently as a board member of the Greater Springfield YMCA. Blue received his M.B.A. and J.D. from Boston College in 2002.

Brian Lang currently serves as President of UNITE HERE Local 26, Boston’s hotel and food service union.  Lang has spent a total of seventeen years representing the union’s 7,000 members, starting as organizing director and eventually being elected as president in 2011.  Before joining the UNITE HERE Local 26 team, Lang was already involved as a community organizer for SEIU Local 285.  His previous work experience as a meatpacker and a bellman has given Lang a strong understanding for the needs of hotel and food service employees that he uses to advocate for workers’ rights.

Steve Poftak is executive director of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston at Harvard Kennedy School.  Poftak was Director of Research and Director of the Center for Better Government at the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research.  He has led research projects and authored a number of papers on transportation policy, government efficiency, municipal finance, and job creation.  Previously, Poftak worked at the Commonwealth's Executive Office for Administration and Finance, where he managed the $1.3 billion capital budget, prepared the state's quarterly cash flow reporting, and monitored non-tax revenue receipts.

Betsy Taylor is Director of Finance and Treasury at Massachusetts Port Authority , where she has  played a critical role in budgeting, financial planning, treasury management, and project financing for over 35 years.  In her current role, Taylor established the Massport Treasury Department, prepared major authority-wide financing strategy, and led Massport’s re-entrance to the bond market.  She previously worked in budget management and administration at University of Massachusetts, Smith College, and Lesley College.  Taylor earned her BA graduating cum laude from Oberlin College, and her MBA from Stanford University.