AFTER THE FINANCIAL CRISIS IN
2008, Sraeya Crowder-George went
from working with logistics supply chain
management to an opportunity in public
transportation. Crowder-George joined
Veolia/Transdev and quickly made positive
changes to the Gwinnett County
Transit Customer Service department
by decreasing the call volume by implementing
“fi rst-call resolution” expectations
and streamlining call-center
processes and procedures.
She was promoted to a regional marketing
and customer relations role in 2014
where she directed the customer service
and marketing functions for both Gwinnett
County Transit and CobbLinc.
She spent two years in the regional
marketing and customer relations role
before transitioning to assistant general
manager in September 2016, managing
the north operation for both Gwinnett
County Transit and GRTA Xpress. Since
entering that role, she has been instrumental
in improving the operations of
that facility: improving on-time performance,
client relations, employee relations,
routing and contract compliance.
32 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
Crowder-George led implementation
of a strategic emergency plan for GCT
and GRTA Xpress aft er the I-85 bridge
collapse and a passenger communications
emergency plan for GCT during Atlanta’s
snow storm “Snowpocalypse” 2014.
Crowder-George helped pioneer the
CobbLinc, the fi rst fl ex-transit system in
Georgia, including branding and creating
all marketing collateral. It was the fi rst
such project piloted and funded by the
Federal Transit Administration.
Crowder-George has also been instrumental
in the roll-out of innovative
technology for GCT, including a
real-time app, on-demand text alert
feature and innovative bus stop signs
with QR codes and individual IDs for
the text-messaging features.
Fact:
Crowder-George
served on the
committee for
the first regional
transit marketing
campaign
through the
Atlanta Regional
Commission.
MassTransitmag.
com/12355106
“Something I talk to my employees about when
they come in here, especially if I talk to you on more than
one occasion : ‘Excuses are tools of the incompetent a nd
those who specialize never go far.’ I expect to have a real
confrontation with my operator instead of a whole bunch
of excuses so we ca n figure out how to move forward.”
Sraeya
Crowder-George
Assistant General
Manager
Gwinnett County
Transit/Xpress
Commuter
Services,
Transdev Inc.
Bypass, Amtrak’s FreightHouse Square
Station, Link Maintenance of Way Facility,
and Sound Transit’s East Link Extension
and Federal Way Link Extension.
For the East Link Extension, Sound
Transit has the unique challenge of adding
light rail to the Homer M. Hadley Memorial
Bridge crossing Lake Washington.
Galer worked with designers, University
of Washington faculty, and the general
contractor/construction manager to help
develop and test a resilient rail plinth block
attachment system with minimal impact
to the existing bridge structure. For this
light rail segment, he also initiated and
oversaw design for the retrofi t and re-use
of an existing Washington State Department
of Transportation pedestrian bridge,
which was originally slated for demolition.
NATHAN GALER HAS MORE THAN 15
years’ experience in structural engineering
for bridges and light rail infrastructure,
as well as commercial, residential
and industrial buildings. Before his employment
at Sound Transit, Galer provided
consultant structural engineering
services for notable transit projects, including
the Sound Transit East Link preliminary
engineering phase and the SR
520 Eastside Transit and HOV Project, in
which he served as lead transit structural
engineer for the more than $300 million
design-build contract.
Galer moved to Seattle in 2007 in
hopes of joining in the strong green building
movement the region has embraced.
Aft er a short stint with a residential highrise
consulting fi rm, the recession hit and
he shift ed over to a company with steady
infrastructure work. As a full-time employee
of Sound Transit since 2014, Galer
takes pride in helping free people in the
region from traffi c congestion and internal
combustion engine vehicles.
Notable projects Galer has been actively
involved in as owner’s technical
representative include: the Point Defi ance
Fact:
Galer enjoys
working on small
projects as well
as the big ones,
including the
fun project of
installing radiant
heaters in Sound
Transit’s vehicle
wash-bays.
MassTransitmag.
com/12359046
“The sheer complexity of the projects we’re working
on, there are just so many different factors involved with the
designs and you have the third-party municipalities. You know,
you have linear projects that are going through several different
municipalities and just logistics of dealing with all of these
stakeholders in addition to the project itself is just a challenge.”
Nathan Galer, P.E.
Structural Engineer
Sound Transit