Sarah Feinberg

Sarah Elizabeth Feinberg (born October 3, 1977) is an American civic employee who previously served as the Interim President of the New York City Transit Authority from 2020 to 2021, and a former Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. She was nominated for the role of MTA Chairperson but was ultimately not selected for the position.[2] Her background is mostly in communications.[1]

Sarah Feinberg
President of the New York City Transit Authority
Interim
In office
March 2, 2020[1] – July 2021
GovernorAndrew Cuomo
Preceded byAndy Byford
Succeeded byCraig Cipriano (interim)
Richard A. Davey
Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration
In office
2015–2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byJoseph C. Szabo
Succeeded byPatrick Warren (Acting)
Personal details
Born (1977-10-03) October 3, 1977
Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2006; div. 2011)​
EducationWashington and Lee University (BA)
National Defense University

Early life and education

Feinberg is a native of Charleston, West Virginia.[3][4][5][2] Her father is attorney Lee Franklin Feinberg, a West Virginia state legislator, and her mother is Mary Elizabeth Stanley, until 2013 a U.S. District Court judge in West Virginia.[6][7][8]

She attended Washington and Lee University, where she obtained a B.A. in Politics in 1999. She also attended National Defense University in 2008-09, studying Middle East foreign policy.[2][6]

Early career

Feinberg spent a number of years on Capitol Hill beginning in 1999, including working for the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, as the communications director for the House Democratic Caucus, the press secretary at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and the national press secretary to then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle.[4][2][9][7]

From 2009-10, she served in the Obama administration as special assistant to the president, and senior advisor to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.[4][5]

Career

Communications

Feinberg served as Bloomberg LP’s Global Communications Director (2010-11), and as the Director of Policy and Crisis Communications at Facebook (2011-13).[4][5][2]

In 2017 she founded Feinberg Strategies, LLC, a strategic business and communications consulting practice focused on the tech sector.[4]

Transportation
Feinberg's first day as Interim President of New York City Transit Authority.

From 2013 to 2015 she served as chief of staff of United States Secretary of Transportation Anthony R. Foxx in the US Department of Transportation, providing strategic advice and counsel to the Secretary regarding operational and legislative initiatives.[4][5][2][9]

Feinberg, from 2015 to 2017, served as the 13th Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, the safety regulator of the U.S. rail system, becoming the second woman in history to do so.[10][11] She was nominated for the post by President Obama in June 2015, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.[12] Feinberg served on the Amtrak board of directors during that time, and has been a member of the Northeast Corridor Commission, starting in 2015.[4][2] Feinberg was instrumental in helping Governor Andrew Cuomo resolve a LIRR dispute in 2016.

Beginning in February 2019, she was a member of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board, where she was the Transit Committee Chair.[4][5][11] In March 2020, Cuomo appointed her interim President of the New York City Transit Authority after the resignation of Andy Byford.[4][5][13] She stepped away from her position as an MTA Board member to serve.[11] On June 8, 2021, Cuomo nominated Feinberg to be chairperson of the MTA, succeeding Pat Foye, who had been both chairperson and CEO.[14] Due to opposition to splitting the top role between two people, the state Senate did not act on her nomination; as a result, Feinberg left the MTA on July 30, 2021.[15]

Other work

Feinberg currently serves on the StoryCorps board of directors.[4][2]

Personal

She is a resident of the East Village in Manhattan, New York City, with her partner and daughter.[4][5][16] She was previously married to Dan Pfeiffer.[1]

References
  1. Carmon, Irin (May 26, 2020). "The Woman Tasked With Saving the Subway Is Still Commuting on It". New York. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  2. "Nomination of Sarah E. Feinberg to be Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation". Senate Hearing 114-227; U.S. Government Publishing Office. September 17, 2015.
  3. Hennelly, Bob (April 16, 2020). "Air They Breathe on Job a Factor In High Total of Transit-Worker Deaths". The Chief Leader. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  4. "Sarah E. Feinberg; Interim President of the New York City Transit". MTA.
  5. "MTA appoints Sarah Feinberg as interim president of New York City Transit; Feinberg has previously served as chief of staff at USDOT and was the second woman in history to lead the Federal Railroad Administration". Mass Transit Magazine. February 27, 2020.
  6. Andrews, Helena. "Sarah Feinberg; Rahm's talking point woman". Politico.
  7. Straehley, Steve (October 3, 2015). "Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration: Who Is Sarah Feinberg?". AllGov.
  8. "Sarah Feinberg, H. Daniel Pfeiffer". The New York Times. July 16, 2006.
  9. Uffelman, Louise (February 5, 2015). "Sarah Feinberg '99 Named Acting Federal Railroad Administrator". W&L Magazine.
  10. Rivoli, Dan (February 21, 2019). "Cuomo nominates ex-Federal Railroad Administration chief to MTA board". Daily News. New York.
  11. Hallum, Mark (February 25, 2020). "MTA names Sarah Feinberg to take over for Andy Byford as interim NYC Transit president". amny. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  12. Nixon, Ron (September 17, 2015). "Lawmakers Press Railroad Nominee on Safety Deadline". The New York Times.
  13. Guse, Clayton (February 25, 2020). "MTA names Cuomo-appointed board member as interim replacement for ex-NYC Transit President Andy Byford". Daily News. New York.
  14. Yakas, Ben (June 8, 2021). "MTA Shakeup: Pat Foye Departs, Sarah Feinberg & Janno Lieber Tapped To Co-Lead Agency". Gothamist. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  15. WABC (July 29, 2021). "Sarah Feinberg leaving MTA after legislature fails to approve leadership changes". ABC7 New York. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  16. Nessen, Stephen (March 2, 2020). "A Q&A With Sarah Feinberg, New Interim President Of New York City Transit". Gothamist.
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