People on the Move: JTA, SFMTA, Sound Transit

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA), the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and Sound Transit have made new appointments to their respective leadership teams.    

JTA 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed Max Glober and Donnie Horner III to the JTA.  

Glober is the vice president of marketing at First Coast Energy, LLP. Active in his community, he previously served as a member of the Jacksonville Historical Preservation Commission. Glober earned his bachelor’s degree in government from the College of William and Mary and his master’s degree in business administration and juris doctor from the University of South Carolina.   

Horner is the vice president of investor relations for Intrepid Capital Management. A veteran of the United States Navy, he is a trustee for the United States Naval Academy Alumni Association and a fundraiser for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Horner earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from the United States Naval Academy and his master’s degree in business administration from Jacksonville University. 

Both appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate. 

SFMTA 

Julie Kirschbaum will lead the SFMTA as its permanent director of transportation. Kirschbaum has been the acting director of transportation since Jan. 1, 2025. Kirschbaum becomes the first women appointed to the position.  

She brings two decades of transportation experience to the role, most recently leading the SFMTA’s largest division as director of transit from 2018 to 2024. In this capacity, she guided the agency through unprecedented and extraordinary challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, not only rebuilding the entire Muni system multiple times, but also helping to improve the SFMTA’s customer satisfaction ratings. In 2024, the agency says its customer satisfaction ratings were the highest they’ve been in the agency’s history. SFMTA notes Kirschbaum’s efforts have helped reduce subway delays by 70 percent. 

Kirschbaum launched an innovative customer experience initiative to systematically identify and resolve pain points for riders. She is also spearheading a new plan to prioritize fair enforcement of California’s “daylighting” law. 

Kirschbaum was recently awarded the 2024/2025 Katherine G. Johnson Trailblazer Award by the Women’s Transportation Seminar SF-Bay Area Chapter.  

“Julie Kirschbaum has delivered transformative change and real results for hundreds of thousands of Muni riders and that’s exactly the kind of leader the SFMTA needs right now,” said San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie. “Under her leadership, Muni has reached new heights for speed, reliability, cleanliness and safety, and with her commitment to collaborating with residents and businesses, Julie Kirschbaum is the right leader to tackle the significant challenges facing our transportation system and bring it forward into a new era.” 

“I’m incredibly honored by this opportunity to serve the city I love,” Kirschbaum said. “Having a world-class transportation system is key to San Francisco’s economic recovery, and I’m going to make sure we maintain the incredible improvements we’ve made to the Muni system, despite the SFMTA’s daunting financial challenges. Fighting for transportation funding is going to be one of my top priorities but an equally important priority is going to be rebuilding trust where trust has been lost between our agency and some of the communities and businesses we serve. I’m committed to listening, collaborating and bringing people together to come up with solutions that will benefit all of us.” 

Sound Transit 

Victoria Baecher Wassmer and Hughey Newsome have joined Sound Transit to lead the Finance and Business Administration (FBA) Department. Wassmer assumes the role of deputy CEO – FBA, and Newsome takes on the position of chief financial officer (CFO), reporting to Wassmer. Sound Transit says the two will work together to ensure the agency can affordably deliver the voter-approved transit system expansion program. 

Wassmer most recently worked as assistant secretary/CFO at the U.S. Department of Transportation, where she led the budget, finance, risk, evaluation and performance administration through the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Sound Transit notes she has extensive financial leadership experience that spans federal, state and regional agencies and a comprehensive understanding of both the funding mechanisms and implementation of capital projects. 

Newsome comes to Sound Transit from Piston Group, where he was CFO. His experience includes strategic financial management and administrative oversight to ensure the financial health of a variety of large organizations. Newsome also has a track record of municipal finance leadership, including serving as CFO for both county and city governments, where he led successful bond financing initiatives and credit rating improvements. 

"We are thrilled to bring on two deeply skilled and experienced leaders to steer Sound Transit through this complex economic and financial environment," said Sound Transit Interim CEO Goran Sparrman. "Victoria and Hughey's demonstrated success with organizational transformation and their shared commitment to Sound Transit's values position them to be a fantastic team to join the agency's leadership." 

Wassmer will oversee a newly restructured FBA Department, which Newsome will join as a direct report. The team includes finance, information technology, procurement, contracts and agreements, administrative services and business transformation. In her role as deputy CEO, Wassmer will also be a member of the agency’s leadership cabinet. 

Wassmer holds a Master of Public Policy from Harvard’s John F Kennedy School of Government and is also a proud graduate of Bryn Mawr College. Newsome graduated from Harvard’s Business School with a Master of Business Administration and has a Master of Electrical Engineering degree from Stanford University. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville.