The Metropolitan Transportation Authority today announced the appointment of Williams, a former Long Island Bus president and deputy county executive of Nassau County, to serve as the president of the Long Island Rail Road. In five years at the helm of the bus company, Williams oversaw the implementation of Metrocard, transition to a fleet of clean, eco-friendly buses, initiation of a new paratransit service and development of an employee availability program that dramatically cut costs. Helena s unique combination of experience in transportation management and Long Island policy issues made her the obvious choice to lead the LIRR to the next level, said Elliot G.
Sander, MTA Executive Director and CEO. We interviewed candidates from throughout the MTA family and around the world, but Helena rose to the top and I expect her to hit the ground running. Williams will start June 18 and will be the first woman to lead the nation s busiest commuter railroad.
Her initial priorities for the LIRR include customer safety, service reliability and laying the groundwork for meeting future transportation demand. The LIRR employs approximately 6,300 employees and runs a system comprising more than 700 miles of track on 11 different branches, stretching from Montauk to Penn Station, approximately 120 miles away. Williams, a Garden City resident, takes over for Acting President Raymond P.
Kenny, who oversaw the agency since James Dermody departed in September. Dermody was president of LIRR from September 25, 2003 to September 1, 2006. A lawyer by training, Williams began her career in New York City, working for the Mayor s Office of Municipal Labor Relations.
After a brief stint in private practice, Williams began a fruitful 13-year career at the MTA in 1985, where she rose from labor counsel to chief of staff of Long Island Bus before assuming the presidency of Long Island Bus in 1993. She most recently worked as Senior Counsel at Cablevision and previously served as Nassau Deputy County Executive where she was a key member of the team that helped turn around Nassau s nearly bankrupt finances. Williams holds a law degree from the St.
John s University School of Law and a B.A. with honors from the State University of New York at Oneonta.
This entry was posted by Caren Halbfinger on Monday, June 4th, 2007 at 11:14 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
News RSS