Ms. Valerie Santos was appointed by the DC Council as a Principal Director in December 2023. Ms. Santos was elected Chair of the Board in June 2024.

Valerie Santos was most recently a Senior Urban development specialist with the World Bank. As a leading expert on land-based financing and urban revitalization, Ms. Santos works with government leaders around the globe on financing urban infrastructure; revitalization of waterfronts and former industrial areas; increasing resilience of cities; and other strategic issues in city management, economic growth and development.

Before joining the World Bank, Ms. Santos served as Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development in Washington, DC. During her tenure, the city implemented ambitious downtown and neighborhood revitalization initiatives, invested in transforming hundreds of acres of underutilized areas into parks as well as mixed-use and commercial developments – seeking to promote the Administration’s goals for expanding and diversifying the city’s tax base and enhancing quality of life in all neighborhoods.

Prior to government service, Ms. Santos served as Vice President at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a global real estate firm, where she specialized in public sector real estate. Prior to JLL, she served as a Manager in Ernst & Young’s real estate group. Ms. Santos holds Master in Business Administration (MBA) and Master in Public Policy (MPP) degrees from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Santa Clara University.

Mr. Joe McAndrew was appointed by Maryland Secretary of Transportation Paul Wiedefeld as a Principal Director in April 2023. Mr. McAndrew serves as the Secretary’s designee on the WMATA Board of Directors. He was elected 2nd Vice Chair in June 2024. He previously served as 1st Vice Chair from June 2023 - June 2024.

Mr. McAndrew began serving as Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld’s Assistant Secretary for Planning and Project Development on March 8, 2023.

Mr. McAndrew, who served on Governor Wes Moore's Transition Team as Co-Chair of the Transportation Executive Policy Committee, joins the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) after serving as Vice President of Government Affairs and Infrastructure for the Greater Washington Partnership. In this role, he led the Partnership’s policy and engagement work with federal, state and local elected officials, and led efforts to achieve a 21st century regional mobility and infrastructure ecosystem in the Capital Region.

Prior to joining the Partnership, Mr. McAndrew served as legislative assistant for the Senate Commerce Committee and Senator Brian Schatz. Before working on Capitol Hill, he served as the Policy Director for Transportation for America.

As Assistant Secretary for Planning and Project Development, Mr. McAndrew will guide these efforts to help ensure Governor Moore’s Leave No One Behind Plan is incorporated into MDOT’s planning and investment program, inclusive of the State Highway Administration, Maryland Transit Administration, Motor Vehicle Administration, Maryland Aviation Administration, Maryland Port Administration and Maryland Transportation Authority.

Mr. McAndrew holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Luther College and a master’s degree in community and regional planning from the University of Oregon.

Mr. Walter Alcorn was appointed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) to serve as a Principal Director in June 2025. He previously served as an Alternate Director from January 2020 – June 2025.

Walter represents the Hunter Mill District on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Walter’s focus is on transit-oriented development in Reston and the western part of Tysons, pedestrian/bicyclist mobility and safety, affordable housing, and diversifying the local economy. Previously, Walter served on the county’s Planning Commission for 16 years and also served on the Fairfax County Park Authority Board. Professionally, he has worked on environmental issues in the tech industry and is a nationally-recognized expert on electronics recycling systems.

Walter is a graduate of the University of Virginia and resides in Reston with his family.

Dr. Tracy Hadden Loh was appointed by the DC Council as a Principal Director in November 2021. She previously served as 2nd Vice-Chair from June 2023 – June 2024.

Tracy Hadden Loh is a Fellow at Brookings Metro, where she studies commercial real estate. She also serves on the boards of Greater Greater Washington and District Bridges. Her most recent writing includes two co-authored chapters in “Hyperlocal: Place Governance in a Fragmented World.” She previously served two years on the city council of Mount Rainier, a small town in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Ms. Leslie Ford Weber was appointed by Governor Wes Moore to the Washington Suburban Transit Commission (WSTC). WSTC appointed her as a Principal Director in January 2026.

Ms. Weber is an Associate Director of Maryland Government Affairs for Johns Hopkins University & Medicine. She coordinates the regional legislative agenda at the state level and also directs local government affairs for Johns Hopkins in Howard and Montgomery Counties.

Leslie joined Hopkins-affiliate Suburban Hospital as Executive Vice President of the Suburban Hospital Foundation in 2004 and was also named Senior Vice President of Government and Community Relations in 2008. Prior to coming to Suburban, Ms. Weber held fundraising and alumni relations positions at Pine Manor College, Georgetown University, American University and the University of Maryland, College Park. She was also a Vice President of Grenzebach, Glier and Associates consulting with clients in independent secondary and higher education, museums, and healthcare.

Leslie’s current community engagements include service as the Chair of the Government Affairs committee of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and the Treasurer of Montgomery Women. She has previously served as Board Chair of both the Montgomery County and Greater Bethesda Chambers of Commerce and as a director of the National Association of Independent Colleges & Universities.

Leslie received her BA degree from the University of Michigan and also holds a Master’s in Public Policy (MPP) from Georgetown University. She is a graduate of the Leadership Montgomery program and resides in Bethesda.

Darien B. Flowers was appointed by Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) in January 2026 to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia as a Principal Director of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Board of Directors. Concurrently he serves as a NVTC Commissioner and a member of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) Board of Directors.

Darien is currently Group Vice President of Maritime Policy and Government Affairs at MSC Group (MSC). Prior to joining MSC, Darien’s career spanned both the public and private sectors. He previously held positions at two global law firms where he specialized in transportation and infrastructure matters. Darien’s experience in the private sector also includes his role as head of government relations at a venture-backed supply chain and logistics technology company.

His public service career spans nearly a decade, during which he held several key positions including Chairman Roger F. Wicker’s Deputy Policy Director at the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy at the US Department of Transportation. Darien began his Washington, D.C. career in the US Senate, serving on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for then-subcommittee ranking member Senator Rob Portman (OH) and in the personal office of Senator Bill Cassidy (LA).

His academic credentials include a Master of Arts in Transportation Policy, Operations, and Logistics from George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government where he was a Bryce Harlow Fellow, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Elon University. Additionally, he is a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security and the Thomas C. Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia.

In the 117th Congress, Darien was selected as a John C. Stennis Congressional Staff Fellow.

Ms. Spring Worth was appointed by the DC Council as an Alternate Director in December 2022.

Spring currently serves as the WMATA Budget & Policy Program Manager at the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). Since joining DDOT in 2013, Spring has led several large transit planning projects including the 16th Street NW Bus Lanes Project, the H Street NW Bus Priority Project and the Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE Bus Priority Project. In 2022, Spring accepted the role of chair of the Metropolitan Council of Governments Public Transportation Committee. She has served as the Vice Chair of the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Committee and the Secretary of the APTA BRT Standards committee. She is a 2018 APTA Emerging Leaders Program Graduate. She has also completed the District government's Capital City Fellows Program and the National Urban Fellows program. Spring holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from the City University of New York at Baruch and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rochester (NY). Spring lives car free in DC and is a regular bus and rail user.

Mr. Matt de Ferranti was appointed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) to serve as an Alternate Director in June 2025.

Matt's career, first as a teacher in a low-income community in Houston and later as a lawyer, has been dedicated to helping people build better lives for themselves and their children. First elected to the Arlington County Board in November 2018, Matt was unanimously elected as Chair of the County Board by his colleagues in January 2021 and as Vice-Chair in 2025. In addition, Matt served as Chair of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission from 2024-2025 and was elected Chair of the Northern Virginia Regional Commission in 2025.

A 2015 Leadership Arlington graduate, 2016 graduate of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership, and 2017 graduate of Arlington Neighborhood College, Matt grew up in McLean and lives in Arlington with his wife, Brooke, and their daughter.

Ms. April Rai was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation as an Alternate Director in December 2022.

April Rai joined COMTO in December 2021 as President & CEO with 20 years of management experience across the public & private sectors. With the mission as a focus, April works to build upon COMTO’s 50+year history of ensuring transportation meets the needs of all users across 40 chapters in North America. Previously, April served as Deputy Executive Director for WTS International advocating for leadership excellence in transportation. Prior roles include CEO for a National Transportation Safety coalition and leading government affairs for the University of Maryland, School of Nursing. April serves on several transportation related boards, including the Mineta Transportation Institute and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

Mr. Canek Aguirre was appointed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) to serve as an Alternate Director in January 2020.

Mr. Aguirre was elected in November 2018 to serve a three-year term on the Alexandria City Council. He is the first Latino elected to the City Council. Prior to his election, Mr. Aguirre served in leadership roles on numerous boards and commissions. He is a past chair of the Economic Opportunities Commission, past president of the Tenants and Workers United (TWU) Board of Directors, and past vice-chairman of the Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia (HSANV) Board of Directors. He also served on the Leadership Council for the Alexandria Campaign on Adolescent Pregnancy (ACAP) and the Steering Committee for the Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria (PHA). In 2016, Mr. Aguirre was appointed to the Virginia Board of Social Work by Governor Terry McAuliffe.

He co-founded a parent group for Spanish-speaking families at George Washington Middle School and helped launch a citywide family and community engagement program. As a community advocate, he has fought to increase affordable housing in the city, improve equity in our schools, and built coalitions to promote government transparency and accountability. In his professional capacity, he works with underserved communities throughout Northern Virginia to increase access to care and improve health outcomes. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mr. Michael Goldman was appointed by the Washington Suburban Transit Commission (WSTC) as an Alternate Director in December 2022. He was re-appointed by the Montgomery County Executive to serve a 4-year term as an Alternate Director and WSTC Commissioner beginning in September 2024. In 2023-24 Mr Goldman served as WSTC Chair, and serves as WSTC Treasurer for 2024-25. He previously served as a Principal Director on the WMATA Board from June 2013 to June 2021.

Mr. Goldman has practiced in the areas of international, antitrust and transportation law since 1972; he currently acts as Managing Partner of Silverberg Goldman PLLC, a law firm specializing in transportation law based in Washington, DC He previously served as a Principal Director on the WMATA Board from 2013 – 2021. During his time as a Principal Director, Mr. Goldman served as the Board’s Second Vice Chair and the Chair of its Safety and Operations Committee. Mr. Goldman is currently an active member of the District of Columbia Bar, the American Bar Association(ABA) sections on antitrust and administrative law, and the ABA Forum on Air & Space Law. He is a member of the DC Chapter of the International Network of Boutique Law Firms ( INBLF).