Alix Bockelman Elevated to Deputy Slot at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission

OAKLAND, CA — The management team at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) today welcomed longtime MTC section director Alix Bockelman as the Bay Area regional agency’s new deputy executive director for policy. Bockelman succeeds Ann Flemer, who retired on April 4 after 32 years at the agency.

Bockelman, 42, has served as director of MTC’s Programming and Allocations section since 2005, overseeing the agency’s strategic financial planning and managing the distribution of more than $1 billion annually in federal, state and regional transportation funds (including Regional Measure 1 and Regional Measure 2 bridge toll funds) for transit, highway, roadways and other modes. In her new position, Bockelman will continue to preside over these functions while also assuming oversight of MTC’s Legislation and Public Affairs section – and its state and federal legislative advocacy, and public involvement and community affairs activities – and the Planning section, which is broadly focused on regional transportation/land use, sustainability, air quality and freight issues.



“In addition to a proven record of success as the region’s premier transportation ‘banker,’ Alix and her group also made important contributions to the development of Plan Bay Area, the landmark regional transportation plan and sustainable communities strategy adopted in 2013 by MTC and the Association of Bay Area Governments,” said MTC’s executive director, Steve Heminger. Bockelman played a lead role in the development of the One Bay Area Grant program, which uses transportation funds to reward cities that channel housing growth into designated Priority Development Areas, where good transit connections and other infrastructure provide ideal conditions for the sort of infill development that is essential to sustainable growth in the region.



“Alix has helped to create key policy and funding levers that will deliver some of the benefits promised in Plan Bay Area. She is well-equipped to quarterback MTC’s efforts to implement the new plan’s policy and funding innovations, and to build on these achievements in successor plans,” Heminger noted. 



Bockelman joined MTC in 1998 and her early assignments included stints as project manager, funding liaison, transportation forecaster and multimodal program manager. In 2003 she was appointed principal analyst to oversee the region’s $18 billion transit expansion program. Outside MTC, Bockelman is the chair of the Committee on Transportation Programming and Investment Decision-Making for the Transportation Research Board, in Washington, D.C. She also is a member of the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS), and in 2007 was named “Woman of the Year” by the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of WTS. Bockelman is a registered Professional Engineer in California, and holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and a master’s degree in Public Policy – both from the University of California, Berkeley. 



Ann Flemer is stepping down as deputy executive director for policy after serving five years in that capacity. From 2001 to 2009, Flemer was MTC’s deputy executive director for operations, and prior to that she held managerial posts in the funding, transit coordination and transportation access departments at MTC. Flemer led the development efforts that resulted in the Clipper® card, the MTC-sponsored universal transit-fare card for the Bay Area, and the award-winning 511 phone- and web-based traveler information service – both of which have established themselves as mainstays in MTC’s customer- and service-oriented operations portfolio. 

           

“Ann championed promising and innovative improvements that had the potential to transform the way we deliver transportation services to the region’s travelers,” said Heminger. “And she persevered until the promise had been turned into reality, which took patience and skill. The Bay Area owes Ann a great debt, and we at MTC wish her the best in her retirement.” 

           

For her record of accomplishment at MTC and in recognition of other contributions to the transportation field – she is a long-time board member and the first woman chair of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America – Flemer was recently given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the San Francisco Chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar. Flemer is the first person to be so honored by this group.

            

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

Contact:

John Goodwin: (415) 778-5262

Randy Rentschler: (415) 778-6780