Dan Bartholomay Chosen to Lead Rail~Volution Forward.
Following a nationwide search, Dan Bartholomay has been selected as the next Chief Executive Officer of Rail~Volution, announced Diane Filippi, Board Chair of Rail~Volution and Director of the Urban Center at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association. His appointment is effective November 1, 2011. He succeeds Adam Cummings, who led the organization through the transition when its long-time Executive Director, Mary Simon, retired last fall.
A respected leader with over 25 years of public, non-profit and philanthropic experience, Bartholomay brings a deep understanding and appreciation for Rail~Volution’s mission of creating a national movement to develop livable communities with transit, coupled with proven executive leadership skills and the expertise to develop effective partnerships.
"During this era when innovative approaches to building livable communities with transit are so critical to creating economically vibrant neighborhoods and regions, Dan’s leadership, creativity, cross-sector experience and collaborative approach will ensure Rail~Volution’s successful impact at the next level," said Filippi. "He is the ideal person to lead Rail~Volution into the future."
Since 1995, Rail~Volution has energized the field of livable communities, producing an annual conference that has become renowned as the best gathering of minds on livability in the nation. Bartholomay will be officially introduced at this year’s conference, to be held in Washington D.C. from October 16-19. For more information, visit Rail~Volution’s website at www.railvolution.org.
"Building livable communities is at the heart of improving the quality of life for people in the United States and strengthening our role in the global economy," Bartholomay said. "I am thrilled to be able to join such a highly regarded organization and broaden Rail~Volution’s reach and impact. Although we’ve made real progress by increasing transit options in many regions, there’s still plenty of work to do, particularly in these economically-stressed times," Bartholomay added.
Bartholomay has a strong record of community involvement and nonprofit work. Previously he has served in executive positions as the Commissioner and CEO of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, as Director of Region and Communities & International Programs at the McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis, and as Executive Director of North End Area Revitalization (NEAR) in St. Paul. As a board member of the Funders Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, he helped build that organization and has served since inception on the Itasca Project workgroup, a business-led civic group of CEOs committed to improving transit, education, and economic competitiveness of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan region.