Press Release
☷President Biden Announces AMTRAK Board Member Nominees
White House ( By Press Release office)
Apr 29,2022
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WASHINGTON – Today , President Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve as members of the AMTRAK Board of Directors:David Capozzi , Nominee for Member of the AMTRAK Board of DirectorsAnthony Coscia , Nominee for Member of the AMTRAK Board of DirectorsChristopher Koos , Nominee for Member of the AMTRAK Board of DirectorsSamuel Lathem , Nominee for Member of the AMTRAK Board of DirectorsRobin Wiessmann , Nominee for Member of the AMTRAK Board of DirectorsDavid Capozzi , Nominee for Member of the AMTRAK Board of DirectorsDavid Capozzi is a retired federal senior executive . He was the Executive Director of the U . S . Access Board from 2008 - 2020 and was the Director of the Board’s Office of Technical and Information Services from 1992 - 2008 . Prior to joining the Access Board , Capozzi was Director of Project ACTION and Vice President of Advocacy for Easter Seals , and was the National Advocacy Director for the Paralyzed Veterans of America . He was a member of the legal team and lobbying captain for the disability community that helped craft the Americans with Disabilities Act . Capozzi was the lead negotiator on the Department of Transportation’s Federal Advisory Committee that negotiated proposed regulations implementing the Air Carrier Access Act , and chaired the Urban Mass Transportation Administration’s ( UMTA ) ADA Federal Advisory Committee . He received the 2020 Service to the Citizen Award and an award from the Zero Project recognizing his longstanding cooperative efforts with the European Commission to harmonize global ICT accessibility standards . Capozzi serves on the United Spinal Association’s Board of Directors , Mobility Fitness’ Advisory Committee , and Access Living’s Program Committee . He is an Advisory Council Member for Morphic , and a Member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals Built Environment Taskforce . Capozzi graduated from the State University of New York ( SUNY ) at Buffalo School of Law , and was an honors graduate and Phi Beta Kappa recipient at SUNY at Buffalo with an undergraduate degree in Psychology . He and his wife Patti live in Gaithersburg , Maryland , and are the proud parents of adult triplets and their older brother . Anthony Coscia , Nominee for Member of the AMTRAK Board of DirectorsAnthony R . Coscia serves as Chairman of AMTRAK Board of Directors appointed to the Board by President Barack Obama in 2010 and reappointed in 2015 . Coscia is a partner and Executive Committee member of Windels Marx , LLP one of the region’s oldest law firms and has for over 30 years worked on transactions in the finance , real estate , healthcare , and infrastructure areas . Coscia also serves as a Director of OceanFirst Financial Corp and the Neighborhood Property Group , LLC; Vice Chairman of the Gateway Development Commission; and Senior Advisor to Oaktree Transportation Infrastructure Fund , L . P . He previously served as Chairman of Suez North America Inc . and a Director of Suez SA . He recently served on New Jersey Governor Murphy’s Restart and Recovery Commission . Coscia was Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from 2003 through January 2011 where he played a leadership role in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan after 9/11 . From February 1992 to March 2003 , Coscia served as Chairman of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority . In addition , Coscia serves on the Board of Directors of Georgetown University , the New Jersey Community Development Corporation , and the Regional Plan Association . He is also a member of The Partnership for New York City and The Economic Club of New York . Coscia is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and received his J . D . degree from Rutgers University School of Law . Christopher Koos , Nominee for Member of the AMTRAK Board of DirectorsMayor Chris Koos was elected to his first term on the Normal Town Council in April of 2001 . He was sworn in as Mayor of the Town of Normal on February 17 , 2003 , and his current term runs until 2025 . Koos has the longest running term of any mayor in Normal’s history . Koos is a Bloomington - Normal native , and attended Central Catholic High School and Illinois State University . He served his country in Vietnam as an Infantry Platoon Leader with the Army 101st Airborne/Airmobile Division . He served as Chairman of the Town of Normal Historic Preservation Commission for ten years , and during the restoration of the historic Normal Theater , served as Chair of the Restoration Advisory Committee and on the Normal Theater Advisory Board . During his tenure on the Town Council , Koos represented the Town on the Bloomington - Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Committee , Economic Development Council , and Illinois Municipal League . He is also very involved with the Bloomington - Normal Japanese Sister Cities Committee . The expertise of Koos in urban development and transportation were provided in testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee in 2014 , and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform , Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Assets in 2016 . He currently serves on the Advisory Board of Transportation for America and is Vice Chair for Passenger Rail with the US Conference of Mayors . During his tenure as the Chief Elected Official for the Town of Normal , development in the Central Business District included a Multimodal Transportation Center/City Hall , the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center , the Hyatt Place Hotel , the Children’s Discovery Museum , and other major multi - use construction . Samuel Lathem , Nominee for Member of the AMTRAK Board of DirectorsRev . Samuel E . Lathem was elected as the first African - American President of Delaware State AFL - CIO in October 2003 , a position that he continues to hold today . In 1965 , Lathem began work at the Chrysler Plant in Newark , Delaware . He was elected and served two three - year terms as Chief Steward in the Body Shop at Newark Assembly Plant . He was appointed as Civil Rights Chairman of Local 1183 UAW . He was then assigned the position of Administrator of the UAW - Chrysler Training Center in 1990 and was promoted to an International Rep of the UAW in February 1999 . Lathem was ordained a Baptist Preacher in 1992 at the First Baptist Church of Morton , Pennsylvania by the New Hope Baptist Association . He currently serves as Associate Minister at Cornerstone Fellowship Baptist Church in Wilmington , Delaware . Lathem’s spiritual integrity and diligence to serve his church and community has earned him the privilege of honored appointments such as the following: by Governor Dale Wolf to serve on the Interagency Council on Literacy , and by Governor Carper to serve on the Board of Directors for the Diamond State Port Corporation ( Port of Wilmington ) and the Workforce Investment Board . Lathem also serves as Chairman of the Delaware Advisory Council on Career and Vocational Education , and was appointed by Governor Minner to serve as the first African - American Delaware Commissioner on the Board of Directors of the Delaware River Bay Authority . Lathem serves on the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement , Kids Count Steering Committee , 4 - H Foundation Committee , Board of Directors of SURJ ( Stand Up for What’s Right and Just ) , Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League , and United Way of Delaware , and serves as a Member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists . Lathem is married to Jean Lathem , and has two stepsons and two grandsons . Robin Wiessmann , Nominee for Member of the AMTRAK Board of DirectorsRobin Wiessmann is Executive Director and CEO of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency ( PHFA ) . As CEO of PHFA , she manages operations and directs initiatives that promote development of affordable rental housing , and provide financing for homeownership . Prior to PHFA , Wiessmann served as Secretary of Banking and Securities in the cabinet of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf , and previously as State Treasurer of the Commonwealth . Wiessmann has devoted her career to both the private and public sectors . As a national infrastructure investment banker , Wiessmann was a Founding Principal and President of Artemis Capital Group , the first women - owned investment banking firm on Wall Street , and held positions at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch . Wiessmann served as Chairman of the Board for Vantagepoint Funds Mutual Fund , an Act 40 company , on the Board of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board , a self - regulatory organization under the SEC , and as a Board member of the Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy . She chaired the Environmental Financing Advisory Board during the Clinton Administration . Wiessmann is Secretary/Treasurer of the National Council of State Housing Agencies and is on the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Economic and Community Advisory Council . She served as Secretary of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and Chair of the Non - Depository Committee , and served multiple other economic development , policy , and supervisory boards , including the Public School and State Employees’ Retirement Systems and the Investor Protection Trust . She is a recipient of the Arthur E . Armitage , Sr . Distinguished Alumni Award from Rutgers Law School and is a graduate of Lafayette College . ###
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