Running for Chair of the Riders’ Advisory Council

Fellow RAC Members,

Why I am interested in running for Chair of the Riders’ Advisory Council.

Personally, I believe given the opportunity everyone of us could be a successful Chair, as we all have shown our willingness to participate and set an example by just being on the RAC.

I initially was reluctant to run for the position of Chair given my work schedule, my tentativeness about Roberts Rules, and my desire to lead through active participation. But, three things changed my mind:

1. A kind note from a fellow RAC Member, and the brief discussion we had during the Meet and Greet.
2. A desire to quickly get Metro to allow us to actively participate in the selection of a new General Manager (and/or) goal setting for Dan Tangherlini, AND a desire for the RAC to have a “non-voting” seat on the WMATA Board of Directors.
3. My feeling that given my experience, I could assist in getting the RAC up-and-running quickly. Originally, my preference was to let someone else do the heavy-lifting of getting us started and run for Chair at a future date and inherit a smooth running RAC.
   

As I said earlier, anyone of us could be Chair. Why do I have the experience to be Chair at this point in time?

• I’m experienced as a facilitator. I am currently working at the U.S. Department of Transportation providing facilitation, and systems architecture support to the Intermodal Hazardous Material Safety Program. In other words, I’m providing guidance and assistance to Division Directors or their representatives on how to better collaborate, share information, share data, and establish common goals and expectations for a new initiative. In my first months as a consultant I had them all working towards common goals. Eight months later, they have me bringing on a team to help them to select a contractor to build them a system. Past efforts resulted in studies stored on a shelf.

• I have transportation experience. Besides the above job with U.S. DOT, I have 7 years of experience working with the U.S. Coast Guard to architect and build the Fleet Logistics System to manage the full life-cycle of maintenance activities in support of their fleet of 350 cutters and 1000’s of small boats. Tasking initially involved mentoring up to 60 developers and analysts in new technology, and later managing the entire project from implementation through deployment of 6 system releases. I began my career as a Project Manager responsible for the implementation of Routing and Scheduling systems for the Los Angeles County Office of Education’s Special Education Program. A service similar to the Para-Transit operation of WMATA only serving an area of over 9000 sq miles; 4 time the size of the area serviced by WMATA. I provided similar services in support of 5 other counties in California. As PM I rode busses; timed drivers; recorded observations; and met with dispatchers, teachers, students, and drivers. As I said in an earlier post, maybe MV Transportation and WMATA should have done the same.

• I have ideas; I want to hear your ideas; and I have a drive for success. I have been communicating my ideas to most of the RAC over the last month. I’ve attended both WMATA Board Meetings, since our selection. I’m driven to find ways to get everyone involved. I don’t believe that any one of us is as smart as all of us. I want to find ways for us to address the needs of all riders (MetroRail, MetroBus, and MetroAccess.)

• I’m an educator. I speak frequently at conferences and serve as the President of a 300+ organization of Information Technology professionals. I’ve been the Scoutmaster for a Boy Scout Troup for the past 12 years, helped found the troop for my son and his friends, and continuing even after he graduated 5 years ago. My role as Scoutmaster is to help young men to become leaders, good citizens, and stewards of the environment. I have a Masters in Administration from Johns Hopkins University.
  I have leadership skills. I’m the Vice President and Partner in a small business. I’m president of MAOP as discussed earlier. I’ve been an Adult Scout Leader for 17 years. I set an example for others through a life of service and volunteering for good causes.

• I believe in Customer Support. I was the Operations Manager at the Federal Trade Commission with responsibility for the help-desk and IT customer service. I was asked to join the Federal Government as a Branch Chief by the CIO and the Executive Director to extend my good work into other areas of the organization. The FTC has as one of its key missions, Consumer Protection, and I was proud of my work in support of this mission. My company was invited back to assist the FTC in the Do-Not-Call registry and systems that track Telemarketing Complaints years after I left government service.

What would I do as my first order of business as Chair?

1. Give each RAC member an opportunity to identify their top priorities for WMATA over the next 1-3 years.
2. Organize the priorities into logical groups of topics. (ie: Better Communication)
3. Identify RAC members with common goals for the establishment of “working groups” or committees.
4. Establish some goals for each group, including:
• Elect or allow me to appoint a committee chair or lead;
• Setup a meeting time for the group;
• Establish your own goals for reporting back to the RAC;
• Identify WMATA staff who can assist in your education;
• Look for ways to get Riders to participate in your efforts;
• and Establish a Forum or Web presence to communicate with each other and your constituent riders.
5. I’d do the same for the Executive Committee and the Hiring Committee; including meet with Past Chair Dana Kaufmann, Incoming Chair Gladys Mack, Outgoing GM Dick White, Interim GM Dan Tangherlini, and other Sr. Staff and Board Members to solidify our place (or) desired place within the WMATA Infrastructure. As well as reach out to other transportation entities, volunteer organizations, and transit riders.
   

If not selected as Chair, I promise to provide the same level of energy and participation to assure the success of who ever you choose as Chair for the inaugural RAC.

Thanks,

I. Michael Snyder
wmata_rac@imsnyder.com