Who We Are

On January 1, 2003 a new regional transportation district was established to oversee the development and implementation of passenger rail service in Sonoma and Marin Counties. The new rail district, created with the passage of California State Assembly Bill 2224 (Nation, District 6), holds in public ownership, over seventy miles of railroad right-of-way (ROW), estimated to be worth more than $1 billion.

The Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) District is governed by a 12-member Board consisting of elected officials: two county supervisors each from Marin and Sonoma counties, three appointed City Council members from each county and two representatives from the Golden Gate Bridge District.

The SMART District is charged with planning, engineering, evaluating and implementing passenger train service and corridor maintenance from Cloverdale to a Ferry Terminal that connects to San Francisco. The Directors include:

Marin County

Judy Arnold - Marin County Board of Supervisors

Al Boro - Mayor of the City of San Rafael

Madeline Kellner - Novato City Council

Joan Lundstrom - Larkspur City Council

Charles McGlashan - Marin County Board of Supervisors

Sonoma County

Valerie Brown - Sonoma County Board of Supervisors

Debora Fudge - Chairwoman SMART Board of Directors, Windsor City Council

Jake Mackenzie - Rohnert Park City Council

Carol Russell - Cloverdale City Council

Shirlee Zane - Sonoma County Board of Supervisors

Golden Gate Bridge and Highway Transportation District

Barbara Pahre - Vice-Chairwoman SMART Board of Directors, GGBHTD Board

Jim Eddie - GGBHTD Board

SMART Staff

Lillian Hames - General Manager
Erin McGrath - Chief Financial Officer
Bill Gamlen - Senior Rail Engineer
Nina West - Office Manager
Rob Krantz - Property Manager
John Nemeth - Planning Manager
John Lackey - Capital Projects Director

Chris Coursey - Community Outreach and Education Manager

LaVon Allan - Senior Administrative Assistant

Joan Thomas - Real Estate Assistant