Metro News Release

For immediate release: November 12, 2010

Marcel Acosta appointed voting member of Metro's Board of Directors

Marcel Acosta has been elevated from a nonvoting to a voting member of the Board of Directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro), effective immediately. Acosta, who was appointed by Martha Johnson, Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration, has been a non-voting alternate member of the Board of Directors as a Federal appointee since January 2010. He is one of two federally appointed members of the Metro Board.

“I congratulate Mr. Acosta on his appointment as a principal, voting member of the Board,” said Metro Board Chairman Peter Benjamin. “Since his initial appointment Mr. Acosta has been a thoughtful, constructive, and articulate member of the Board, dedicated to the Authority’s best interests and those of its riders. I am certain that his experience in the transit industry, as a key player in regional planning and as a regular user of the Metro system, will continue to serve our Board and our customers well,” said Metro Board Chairman Benjamin.

As Executive Director for the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), Acosta has extensive knowledge of the Washington Metropolitan region. Prior to joining the NCPC, he served as an executive of the Chicago Transit Authority, where he successfully oversaw initiatives to reduce operating costs of the bus and rail systems and to increase system ridership.

Metro’s Board has 16 positions, eight voting and eight nonvoting alternate members. The federal government, the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia each are responsible for appointing two voting and nonvoting alternates. There are currently two federal nonvoting vacancies.

Acosta, whose two-year term as voting member runs through Dec. 1, 2012, is a District of Columbia resident who rides Metro to work daily.

News release issued at 3:22 pm, November 12, 2010.