FL: SFRTA names “commuting commissioner” as executive director
Steven L. Abrams has been selected by the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority (SFRTA) as executive director. He will succeed Jack Stephens, who is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31, 2018, after leading the transportation authority for more than four and a half years.
Abrams had served on SFRTA’s governing board since 2010, but resigned in May 2018 to enter into the search process for the executive director position. He was chair of the governing board from July 2012 to June 2014 and again from July 2017 to June 2018.
Abrams gained the nickname the “commuting commissioner” because he was the first governing board member to be a regular commuter on the SFRTA-operated Tri-Rail.
“I have a passenger perspective,” Abrams said. “I know first-hand what Tri-Rail means to the economy of South Florida when each day, I join thousands of workers, students and tourists traveling on our train throughout the region.”
During his tenure as SFRTA chair, Abrams was the SFRTA Governing Board’s designee to represent the authority in the negotiations with All Aboard Florida. The authority explains that his efforts were invaluable in crafting the agreement to bring direct Tri-Rail service into downtown Miami via the new station, known as MiamiCentral.
Abrams served five terms as a Boca Raton city council member and mayor of Boca Raton. He is also a past president of the Palm Beach County League of Cities and a founding board member of the Florida League of Mayors.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
