John Robert Smith is the chairman of Transportation for America. He served as mayor of Meridian, Miss., for 16 years and on Amtrak's board of directors from 1998 to 2003, chairing the board for his last two years. Before becoming chairman of Transportation for America, he led Reconnecting America as its president and CEO.
A two-time graduate of the University of Mississipi and a graduate of the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at the Harvard Kennedy School, Smith is the co-owner of Point Investments and a senior policy adviser to Washington, D.C.-based Smart Growth America.
