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.
