COMMISIONERS
Christopher Hart (District of Columbia)
Mr. Hart is chair of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC). Mr. Hart earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a Master of Science in Engineering from Princeton University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Mr. Hart has extensive experience working on transportation and transportation safety issues in both the public and private sectors. He served as an attorney for the Air Transport Association of America, as an associate attorney for the law firms Peabody, Rivlin, Lambert, & Meyers and Dickstein, Shapiro & Morin, and as a managing partner for the law firm Hart & Chavers. He also served as the Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Administration and as Assistant Administrator for System Safety and Deputy Director of the Air Traffic Safety Oversight Service at the Federal Aviation Administration. Mr. Hart served two terms as a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) from 1990 to 1993 and 2009 to January 2018. He served as chairman of the NTSB from 2014 to 2017. Mr. Hart’s term on the WMSC expires in 2022 and his term as chair expires in 2020.
Mark Rosenker (Commonwealth of Virginia), Vice Chair
Mr. Rosenker is vice chair of the WMSC. Mr. Rosenker is a transportation consultant and safety analyst. He serves on the boards of several companies. He was chairman of the NTSB from 2005 to 2009 and served as a member from 2003 to 2009. Previously, Mr. Rosenker served two years (2001-2002) at the White House as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Military Office. He also worked for the United Network for Organ Sharing and the Electronic Industries Alliance. Mr. Rosenker is a retired major general in the Air Force Reserve. Mr. Rosenker’s term on the WMSC expires in 2019.
Debra Farrar-Dyke (State of Maryland), Secretary-Treasurer
Ms. Farrar-Dyke is Secretary-Treasurer of the WMSC. Ms. Farrar-Dyke is a senior manager with over 30 years of successful, progressive leadership in transportation and procurement management. Ms. Farrar-Dyke also serves as a Commissioner on the Maryland Transportation Commission. Previously Ms. Farrar-Dyke was responsible for the Disadvantaged Business and Small Business Programs at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). She also led oversight of operating and capital budgets preparation and implementation at WMATA. Ms. Farrar-Dyke’s term on the WMSC expires in 2021.
Robert Bobb (District of Columbia)
Mr. Bobb earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Grambling State University and a Master of Science degree in Business from Western Michigan University. He furthered his education by earning a Certificate for Senior Executives in State and Local Governments from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Mr. Bobb is known as a turnaround specialist and has served as emergency financial manager of Detroit Public Schools and as city administrator for the District of Columbia, among many positions. Mr. Bobb’s term on the WMSC expires in 2020.
John Contestabile (State of Maryland – Alternate)
Mr. Contestabile is the Program Manager for Emergency Preparedness and Response Systems in the Homeland Security practice of the Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Lab. In this role, he manages a public safety focused-program and provides project management for a variety of projects for government sponsors. Prior to working at JHU/APL, Mr. Contestabile served the state of Maryland in a variety of roles such as Acting Assistant Secretary with the Maryland Department of Transportation, Acting Homeland Security Director, and Public Safety Communications Interoperability Director. He also served on the DC region’s Tri-State Oversight Commission (TOC) from 1999 to 2007 and has experience as a rail incident investigator. Mr. Contestabile participates on several national and local committees including the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) Resilience Section, where he serves as chair. He is also a member of the TRB Transit Safety and Security Task Force and has served a term on the District of Columbia Homeland Security Commission. Mr. Contestabile’s term on the WMSC expires in 2020.
Chris Geldart (District of Columbia – Alternate)
Coming Soon
Greg Hull (Commonwealth of Virginia)
Mr. Hull served for many years as assistant vice president of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). Mr. Hull conducted hundreds of public transit safety reviews, audits, and investigations and was responsible for the management of APTA’s programs for safety, operations support, security, and emergency management. Prior to joining APTA, Mr. Hull held various senior management positions with Calgary Transit from 1979 to 1999. Mr. Hull also served as secretary to the US Mass Transit Sector Security Coordinating Council and chaired the European Commission’s “SECUR-ED Project” Advisory Board. Mr. Hull is certified in system safety, system security, systems auditing and is a certified safety professional. Mr. Hull’s term on the WMSC expires in 2021.
Howard Roberts (State of Maryland)
Howard Roberts is the President of Harrier LLC. Harrier’s clients have included major U.S. and European companies and authorities such as Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, Coach USA, Stagecoach, the Santa Clara Transportation Authority, and CGEA Transport. Mr. Roberts was the Senior Vice President for Transit & Rail at Sam Schwartz Engineering (SSE) from February 2010 to June 2013. At SSE, he completed an operations assessment of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro), which was expanded to include an evaluation of LA Metro’s safety culture. He also served as the Principal Investigator/Project Manager and primary author of the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) TCRP Report 174: Improving Safety Culture in Public Transportation. Mr. Roberts was the President of New York City Transit (NYCT) from April 2007 to November 2009. Mr. Roberts took many actions to instill a robust safety culture throughout the agency’s sizeable subway and bus systems. Mr. Roberts’ major accomplishment at NYCT came from collaborating closely with labor representatives to advance an effort that significantly curtailed deaths of track workers and dramatically improved track worker safety. The success of this safety intervention is notable, as found in the TRB’s TCRP Report 174. In the 20 years prior to the safety effort, track worker deaths averaged approximately one per year; in the six years after the safety intervention, track deaths plummeted with only one track worker death in the six-year timespan. Mr. Roberts served as the Deputy General Manager of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) from 1989 to 1997 and the Senior Vice President of Surface Transit at NYCT from January 1983 to September 1986. Mr. Roberts served in the U.S. Army from 1961 to 1981, retiring with the rank of full colonel. His military career included service in Vietnam and assignments on the White House staff. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy and a Master of Science in Engineering and a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton University. Mr. Roberts’ term on the WMSC expires in 2019.