COMMISSIONERS
Christopher Hart (District of Columbia), Chair
Mr. Hart is chair of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission. 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 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 from 1990 to 1993 and 2009 to January 2018. He served as chairman of the NTSB from 2014 to 2017. 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.
Robert Lauby (Commonwealth of Virginia), Vice Chair
Mr. Lauby is the former Associate Administrator for Railroad Safety and Chief Safety Officer for the Federal Railroad Administration and is currently an independent consultant with RCL Rail Safety Consulting, LLC. He is a licensed mechanical engineer with more than 40 years of railroad and rail transit experience involving safety, security, accident investigation, and engineering. Mr. Lauby’s career included positions at the National Transportation Safety Board, Knorr Brake Corporation (a railroad and rail transit brake supplier), and Conrail. He has led safety regulation initiatives and safety oversight programs, has been involved in the development of passenger rail safety standards, and has conducted railroad and rail transit accident investigations worldwide.
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.
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.
Christopher Conklin (State of Maryland)
Christopher Conklin serves as the director of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), and previously served as Deputy Director for Transportation Policy. He has guided the implementation of new transit services and worked to advance pedestrian safety and bicycle infrastructure projects. Prior to joining MCDOT, Conklin spent 23 years at the planning, engineering and environmental firm VHB, where he was managing director for the National Capital Region. Mr. Conklin holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and two masters degrees in transportation and technology policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a licensed professional engineer in Maryland.
Devin C. Rouse (Commonwealth of Virginia)
Devin Rouse is the former Executive Officer of the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Office of Railroad Systems, Technology and Innovation, and the former director of the Passenger Rail Division within the FRA’s Office of Railroad Safety. He previously served on the board of directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, as well as FRA’s Railroad Safety Board, and chaired the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee’s Passenger Safety Working Group and Engineering Task Force. He has served as a subject matter expert in areas related to passenger rail safety, passenger rail equipment, Positive Train Control and emerging technologies, high-speed rail, and the development and construction of new railroads. Mr. Rouse is the owner of DCRail Advisory, providing services to passenger railroads, public transit agencies, and railroad industry executives. He holds a master’s degree in Civil and Transportation Engineering, and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech. Mr. Rouse is a registered Professional Engineer in Virginia.
Kathryn O’Leary Higgins (State of Maryland – Alternate)
Kathryn (Kitty) O’Leary Higgins is a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board. In addition to her work as a member of the NTSB, she served as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor and Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Labor, Vice Chair of the Presidential Commission on U.S. Coast Guard Roles and Missions, Acting Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, and Vice President for Public Policy for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Ms. Higgins previously served in various roles on White House staffs where she worked closely with the federal transportation agencies. She is the President of the Higgins Company, a government relations firm. Ms. Higgins holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska.
Tiffany Robinson (Commonwealth of Virginia – Alternate)
Tiffany Robinson is the Director for the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. She also serves as a member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, chair of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority board, and as a board member for several transit organizations around the Commonwealth. She previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff in the Virginia Governor’s Office. Ms. Robinson also served as the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, as a Deputy Chief of Staff in the Maryland Governor’s Office and as Assistant Secretary in Maryland’s Department of Housing and Community Development. Ms. Robinson holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Previous Commissioners
Mark Rosenker (2017-2020)
Greg Hull (2017-2022)
Barbara Reese (2017-2018)
Howard Roberts (2017-2019)
John Contestabile (2017-2021)
Christopher Geldart (2018-2020)
Michael Rush (2019-2023)
Suhair Al Khatib (2019-2023)
Victoria Wassmer (2020-2021)
Jennifer DeBruhl (2023-2024)
* List and dates of service include time as alternates, who participate fully except as described in the WMSC Compact and Bylaws.