A former official with the U.S. Department of Transportation will lead Nashville's latest transit initiatives.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell announced Friday the hiring of Sabrina Sussman as chief program officer of the Choose How You Move transit improvement program.
Sussman comes to Nashville with nearly 20 years of experience working in transportation policy. She previously served as senior adviser to former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and as chief of staff to former Deputy Secretary of Transportation Polly Trottenburg.
Sabrina Sussman
Sussman earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from American University and a master’s degree in political management from George Washington University.
Some 66 percent of Nashville voters cast their ballots in favor of the transit program in a referendum last year. The program is funded by a half-cent increase to the local sales tax and could see $3.1 billion in spending over the next 15 years.
“Voters’ overwhelming approval of Choose How You Move gives us the opportunity to make generational change to our transportation infrastructure,” O’Connell says in a release.
“Sabrina has all the experience necessary to help us successfully implement one of the largest capital programs in Nashville history. I am excited to work with her to deliver the change Nashvillians seek.”
Sussman was brought to Nashville through Civic Match, a nonprofit that pairs federal employees with jobs in state and local governments. She will officially begin the role in early summer.
Voters give mayor’s $3.1 billion plan the green light
“This is an exceptional moment in Nashville’s history,” Sussman says in Friday’s release. "In an era of division, Nashvillians transcended that to overwhelmingly support a better transportation future for each of us."
“I feel a tremendous amount of responsibility to help bring that future to reality, and I appreciate the chance to work with the talented local leadership team already in place.”
Relatedly, and during the transition, O’Connell appointed Kendra Abkowitz, the mayor’s office senior director of sustainability and resilience, as the acting program director for the transit initiative. Abkowitz has been informally serving in the role since November.
O’Connell also appointed the final nine community members for the Choose How You Move Advisory Committee on Transportation. Ashley Northington, Clay Haynes, Gary Moore, Gracie Sloan, Jennifer Carlat, Joseph Gutierrez, Rashed Fakhruddin, Walter Searcy and Zach Young will join Vice Mayor Angie Henderson and five other members selected by Metro Council on the 15-member committee.
In March, O’Connell proposed a $60 million, 11-point spending plan looking to improve bus efficiency, signal upgrades and fare subsidies. The plan also looks toward larger projects like a new downtown transit center and nearly 40 miles of street infrastructure.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
