Christopher S. Canning and Greg Koeppen were unanimously elected chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the Regional Citizens’ Advisory Board (RCAB).
Canning is the president of the village of Wilmette and the Northwest Municipal Conference. He was appointed to the RCAB in April 2010, as a representative of Suburban Cook County, and will serve a two-year term as chairman. Koeppen is the executive director of the Lake County Farm Bureau, vice-chairman of the Lake County Zoning Board of Appeals, and the president of the Grayslake Chamber of Commerce. He was appointed to the RCAB in April 2012, as a representative of Lake County, and will also serve a two-year term as vice-chairman.
After the election, Chairman Canning welcomed back all of the returning members of the RCAB—Phil Bus (former director of Development for Kane County, representing Kane County), Sheila Schultz (former Wheeling Village president & Pace Citizens’ Advisory Board chairperson, representing Pace), Joanne Alexander (senior director & economic development chairperson for the Village of Glenwood, representing Suburban Cook County), and Jeffrey Berman (village of Buffalo Grove trustee & Metra Citizens’ Advisory Board chairperson, representing Metra).
He also welcomed all of the newly appointed members of the RCAB and said, “It is wonderful to see all of the new faces on the board and I look forward to working with all of you to take the RCAB in a new and exciting direction.”
The newly appointed members of the RCAB include — Judith Aiello (collaborative member, Neighborhood Capital Institute, representing the city of Chicago), Wendie Garlich (transportation coordinator, Washington Township, representing Will County), David B. Hill, III (president & CEO, Superior Air-Ground Ambulance Service Inc., representing DuPage County), Mary Jo Imperato (director of Welfare Services, Hanover Township, representing Suburban Cook County), Gerard Kraus ( application development specialist, Health Care Services Corp., representing Suburban Cook County), Derek Lee (assistant foreman, Algonquin Highway Department, representing McHenry County), Maria Lopez (director of Institutional Advancement & Latino Leadership Connections, El Valor, representing the city of Chicago) and Rendel Solomon (vice-president, Muller & Monroe Asset Management, representing the city of Chicago).
“I am very excited about this new board. All of the new appointees are well known as transit advocates within their respective communities and I am very excited about what they will be able to contribute under Chris Canning’s leadership,” said RTA Executive Director Joe Costello.
The Regional Citizens’ Advisory Board is made up of citizens throughout the Regional Transportation Authority’s (RTA) six-county region and serves as a source of informed and timely advice to the RTA board on the impact of the RTA’s policies and programs on the communities within the region.