Leslie S. Richards | |
---|---|
General Manager of SEPTA | |
Assumed office January 1, 2020 | |
Preceded by | Jeffrey Knueppel |
Secretary of Transportation of Pennsylvania | |
In office May 11, 2015 –December 31, 2019 | |
Governor | Tom Wolf |
Preceded by | Barry Schoch |
Succeeded by | Yassmin Gramian |
Member of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners | |
In office January 3,2012 –January 2015 Served with Josh Shapiro,Bruce Castor | |
Preceded by | Jim Matthews |
Succeeded by | Val Arkoosh |
Personal details | |
Born | April 3,1967 |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Ira Richards |
Residence | Whitemarsh Township,Pennsylvania |
Alma mater | Brown University University of Pennsylvania |
Leslie Richards (born April 3,1967) is the current general manager of SEPTA,the public transportation agency serving the Philadelphia area. [1] She previously served as a member of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners and as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation,from 2015 to 2019 under Governor Tom Wolf. [2]
Richards earned a bachelor's degree in economics and urban studies from Brown University,and a master's degree in regional planning from the University of Pennsylvania. She has three children with her husband,Ira:Rebecca,Benjamin,and Sophie. [3]
Richards was elected to the Whitemarsh Township Board of Supervisors in 2007,and became chairwoman of the board in 2008. [4]
Richards was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners in 2011. Her election,along with that of fellow Democrat Josh Shapiro,marked the first time in over a century that Democrats controlled the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. [5] Richards served as Montgomery County's representative on the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. [6] Richards also serves on the board of SEPTA. [7]
Pennsylvania political operatives had mentioned Richards as a potential Congressional candidate in Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district. [8] Richards declined to run for the seat after incumbent Congressman Jim Gerlach retired in 2014. [9]
In 2015,following the election of Democratic Governor Tom Wolf,Richards was nominated to serve as Secretary of Transportation of Pennsylvania. She was subsequently confirmed by the Pennsylvania State Senate in May 2015. [2] er
In 2017,Richards was appointed the first female chair of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission as well as the Public Private Partnership (P3) Board. [10]
On November 21,2019,Richards was named as SEPTA's new general manager,replacing Jeff Knueppel in January 2020. [1]
On October 25,2024,Richards announced she would be stepping down from her position as SEPTA’s general manager &CEO on November 29,2024. [11]
Award | Organization | Year |
---|---|---|
Urbanist Changemaker of the Year | 5th Square | 2022 |
International Woman of the Year | Women's Transportation Seminar | 2018 |
Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation | Conference of Minority Transportation Officials | 2018 |
Above and Beyond Distinguished Service Award | City and State PA | 2018 |
Service to Humanity | March of Dimes of Southeastern Pennsylvania | 2018 |
Female Innovator of the Year | The Stevie Awards | 2017 |
Female Executive of the Year | The Stevie Awards | 2017 |
Women of Distinction | Philadelphia Business Journal | 2017 |
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Whitemarsh Township is a home rule municipality in Montgomery County,Pennsylvania,United States. It retains its former classification of "Township" in its official name despite being a home rule municipality. The population was 19,707 at the 2020 census. Whitemarsh is adjacent to the neighborhood of Andorra in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia,and is bordered in Montgomery County by Springfield,Upper Dublin,Whitpain,and Plymouth townships,Conshohocken,and the Schuylkill River,which separates it from Lower Merion Township.
Whitpain Township is a township in Montgomery County,Pennsylvania,United States. Founded in 1701,it has grown to a total population of 18,875 as of the 2010 census.
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Interstate 476 (I-476) is a 132.1-mile (212.6 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton,serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania. It consists of both the 20-mile (32 km) Mid-County Expressway,locally referred to as the "Blue Route",through Delaware and Montgomery counties in the suburban Philadelphia area,and the tolled,110.6-mile (178.0 km) Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike,which connects the Delaware Valley with the Lehigh Valley,the Pocono Mountains,and the Wyoming Valley to the north.
The Schuylkill Expressway,locally known as "the Schuylkill",is a freeway through southern Montgomery County and Philadelphia. It is the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 (I-76) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It extends from the Valley Forge interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in King of Prussia,paralleling its namesake Schuylkill River for most of the route,southeast to the Walt Whitman Bridge over the Delaware River in South Philadelphia. It serves as the primary corridor into Philadelphia from points west. Maintenance and planning for most of the highway are administered through Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) District 6,with the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) maintaining the approach to the Walt Whitman Bridge.
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The 2014 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 4,2014,to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania,concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania were held on Tuesday,November 4,2014,to elect the 18 U.S. representatives from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,one from each of the state's 18 congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections,including the Governor of Pennsylvania and Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania.
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