The Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) welcomed three new members to its governing board this year, adding new perspectives to the agency’s leadership team for what promises to be “a year of action” as the district continues its post-pandemic growth.

The new trio are Elk Grove Vice Mayor Rod Brewer and Sacramento City Council members Lisa Kaplan and Mai Vang.

Rod Brewer, elected to the Elk Grove City Council in 2022, has a background serving families and the needy, and has worked in the state legislature and in Congress.

“As Elk Grove’s newest member to the SacRT Board, I greatly look forward to working with my fellow board colleagues and SacRT staff to identify ways to increase ridership throughout the Greater Sacramento region while working to establish new routes that would enhance accessibility and connect all of our communities” Brewer said.

Lisa Kaplan, a mother of two who manages her own law firm, served for 20 years as a Natomas Unified School District board trustee. She says she hopes to advance SacRT’s efforts to bring more service to newly developing areas of Sacramento.

“I’m excited to join the board as it seeks to implement progressive and positive changes in our region to combat climate change by increasing ridership – including expanding services to my district in Natomas,” Kaplan said.

Mai Vang, a Sacramento native, a daughter of Hmong refugees and a former School Board member, has long focused on helping disenfranchised communities.

“I’m excited to be serving on the SacRT Board,” Vang said. “Regardless of income level, every resident deserves to have mobility options to help them connect and thrive in our region. I look forward to serving the people in this role to help shape transportation policies and increase transit access for all.”

SacRT board chairman Patrick Kennedy said the new faces will bring fresh points of view as the agency continues to modernize its system, expanding service options, and welcoming back riders post COVID pandemic.

The agency experienced ridership levels jump 22 percent in 2023. By year’s end, ridership levels on buses in particular had reached 98 percent of the levels they had been prior to COVID.

“2024 will be a year of action,” SacRT CEO/General Manager Henry Li told the new board members. “Time is of the essence.”

SacRT’s multi-year Light Rail Modernization Project will hit landmark moments this year with the launch of the first new low-floor trains, and the opening of a passing track to provide 15-minute service frequency to Folsom area stations.

The agency also will team with our clean air partners to open “mobility hubs” at three light rail stations. Those hubs likely will include EV chargers and other services, such as EV car share and e-bike and scooter rentals, aimed at helping riders get more easily to and from light rail stations.

The Watt/I-80 Station will undergo a $20 million rehabilitation and modernization project starting this spring, making it more convenient and comfortable for riders.

SacRT will also team with community partners to construct a new light rail station just north of downtown at the site of the emerging Marisol Village and railyards neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, the agency continues its efforts to convert its bus fleet to electric and possibly hydrogen power by 2040, as well as add a new streetcar line into West Sacramento and a Bus Rapid Transit corridor on Stockton Boulevard.

Learn more about SacRT Board meetings at sacrt.com/board.

Your Sacramento Regional Transit Board for 2024: 

Patrick Kennedy, SacRT board chair, is a member of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, and has served on the SacRT board since 2017. Patrick is a fourth-generation Sacramentan and an attorney with a long history of activism. He championed healthy foods and anti-bullying programs as a local school board member. He previously also served as president of the Oak Park and Hollywood Park neighborhood associations.

Rick Jennings, II, SacRT board vice chair, is a member of the Sacramento City Council and has served on the SacRT board since 2015. He is chief executive officer of the nonprofit Center for Fathers and Families, and previously served as a member of the Sacramento City Unified School District board. Sports fans may remember Rick as a Super Bowl champion and a kick-return specialist for the Oakland Raiders in 1977.

Rod Brewer, elected to the Elk Grove City Council in 2022, is a longtime Elk Grove resident and UC Davis graduate who has worked as a high-level staff person in the U.S. House of Representatives and the state legislature. He currently is a government relations advisor for Southern California Edison. He formerly served on the Cosumnes Community Services District board, and helped bring back All-American Soap Box Derby racing to Elk Grove. He also has served on the Elk Grove Food Bank board and the city Human Rights/Fair Housing Commission advisory board.

Linda Budge, the Mayor of Rancho Cordova, was first elected to public office in 1978 and has held an elected or appointed office ever since. She was a founding city council member during city incorporation in 2003. Linda has served on the SacRT board since 2012. She is owner of Geometra Planning & Permitting.  Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce named her Volunteer of the Year in 1999 and, as a past president of the Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce, she was key in saving the historic Mills Station building, now known as the MACC Mills Station Arts and Culture Center, at the Mather Field/Mills light rail station.

Bret Daniels, a Citrus Heights City Councilman, joined the SacRT board in 2023. Bret is a former Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff and the Co-Founder and President of Toys for the Troops Kids, providing toys to the kids of our military troops during Christmas.  He also represents Citrus Heights on the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District board.

Pat Hume is a member of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors who has served on the SacRT board since 2007. Pat is a former member of the Elk Grove City Council and planning commission. He is board president of the Elk Grove Regional Scholarship Foundation. He previously worked in the family home-building business, and often serves as a volunteer auctioneer and emcee.

Lisa Kaplan, a McGeorge School of Law graduate and head of her own law firm, Kaplan serves the Natomas area of Sacramento on the city council. She served for 20 years as a Natomas Unified School District board trustee. She also worked as a staffer in the state legislature, as an executive with the State Allocation Board, and more recently as a consultant on legal matters for school districts. A mother of two, she’s a Girl Scout and PTA leader.

Mike Kozlowski, a member of the Folsom City Council, joined the SacRT board in 2023. Mike, an architect, is an executive with an energy efficiency company. He is a youth track & field coach and participates in master track competitions. He is Folsom’s representative on the Sacramento Area Council of Governments Board.

Caity Maple, a member of the Sacramento City Council, joined the SacRT board at the beginning of 2023. Caity is a small business owner and former Vice President of Government Affairs for a multi-state company. She has also served as a policy expert for California Forward and in the State Legislature. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she co-founded the nonprofit SAC SOUP to bring food, sanitation supplies, and survival gear to unhoused people. She is a former board member on the Oak Park Neighborhood Association.

Phil Serna is a four-term member of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and has served on the SacRT board since 2011. Growing-up a Sacramento native, Phil was no stranger to civic participation and community leadership as his late father Joe Serna, Jr. served as Sacramento’s first Latino Mayor and as a long-time SacRT board member. Phil chairs the Sacramento First 5 Commission and he also served for nearly a decade on the California Air Resources Board. His interests include transit, housing, homeless issues, and improving the American River Parkway. In what little spare time he has, Phil enjoys playing music with his band ‘UnSupervised’, as well as photography.

Bobbie Singh-Allen, mayor and 30-year resident of the city of Elk Grove, joined the SacRT board at the beginning of 2023. Bobbie is a native of India and served on the Elk Grove Unified School District board for over 8 years. Currently she is an elected statewide commissioner for Visit California and represents the voice of small businesses professionally. She earned her law degree in 2002 and is a graduate of California State, University, Sacramento. She is actively involved in her community and serves on numerous boards and commissions.

Mai Vang, a native Sacramentan who represents south Sacramento on the City Council, is the daughter of Hmong refugees from Laos. She previously served as director of the prestigious Buck Scholars Association, and taught in the Department of Ethnic Studies at California State University, Sacramento and in the Department of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Davis. She also co-founded Hmong Innovating Politics, whose mission is to strengthen disenfranchised communities. She likes to hike with her dog, Coffee.