Abby Thorne-Lyman
Manager of Planning
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART)
- Alma Mater: Bryn Mawr College and University of California, Berkeley
- Favorite hobby: Chasing around her 3-year-old and 6-year-old
- Favorite transit system outside of the one you work for or have worked for: Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro) Los Angeles, California. In her previous job at CTOD, Thorne-Lyman spent a lot of time working with people in Los Angeles and always felt that the diversity in LA brings out people’s creativity and sense of opportunity. Thorne-Lyman feels they are really fighting to maintain that as they design their new $40 billion transit system.
Abby Thorne-Lyman is a great and trusted colleague who has intelligence far beyond her years as well as a deep commitment for the role that transit (and government) play in making lives better every day for people - regardless of their race or income. Since 2013, Thorne-Lyman has worked at BART and is currently the Manager of Planning. Thorne-Lyman is doing groundbreaking work to ensure that BART continues to positively impact the region and communities it serves. She is helping to lead efforts to create an affordable housing policy for the agency that will be a national role model for how transit agencies can leverage their assets and use their regional position to support community development.
Thorne-Lyman excels at working with diverse stakeholders, bringing people and institutions together around bold visions and executable implementation strategies
Her major accomplishments include launching BART’s Art in Transit Program. She is currently supporting the BART Board in implementation of a new TOD Policy, a new Strategic Plan Framework, and an Affordable Housing Policy. In addition to this very heavy workload, Thorne-Lyman is serving as a co-chair of the local host committee for this year’s RailVolution Conference, which will take place in October of 2016 in San Francisco.
Thorne-Lyman helped usher in a new TOD Policy that was adopted by the BART board in June of this year, which addresses the region’s critical issues: climate change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction, housing affordability, increasing transportation choices overall, and reducing barriers to infill development. This places BART back in a position of leadership to help the Bay Area get where it needs to be environmentally, economically, and socially.
"I'm most proud of the fact that I am able to confidently move forward with helping shape district and agency wide policies. To be stepping into a space of thinking about the long-term future of BART, I'm proud of my ability to be at the center of that process and be really collaborative with people."
Fun fact: Her husband and Thorne-Lyman met in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, playing ultimate frisbee.
