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TransLink board gets three new directors

Newcomers include ex-Bombardier engineer who worked on Evergreen Line and was president of Partnerships BC
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SkyTrain running on a new section of the soon-to-open Evergreen Line extension.

Three new TransLink board members have been appointed to replace outgoing directors.

The one with the most direct transit-related expertise is professional engineer Sarah Clark, the chief operating officer of Fraser River Pile and Dredge, who previously worked on transit projects such as the Evergreen Line for Bombardier, and was formerly president and CEO of Partnerships BC, which coordinates public-private partnerships.

Also new on the 11-member TransLink board are YWCA Metro Vancouver CEO Janet Austin, and lawyer Anne Giardini, who is also SFU chancellor, a member of the university's board of governors, and former president of forestry giant Weyerhaeuser.

The three new appointees were chosen by the Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation, from a short list vetted through a screening panel.

"We set out to find people who are community builders with a passion for this region, its future, and who use and believe in the role of public transit,” Mayors’ Council Chair Gregor Robertson said.

The new appointees will replace outgoing board directors Brenda Eaton, Barry Forbes and board chair Don Rose, whose terms all expire at the end of the year.

A new TransLink board chair is yet to be selected.

The annual election of the mayors' council chair and vice-chair happens later this year, and the mayors who serve those roles next year will also be eligible to sit on the TransLink board in 2017.

Each TransLink director collects close to $50,000 a year, depending on the number of meetings they attend, while the board chair receives $100,000.

For mayors, the TransLink compensation is in addition to what they get as local mayors, and for serving on the mayors' council and Metro Vancouver regional district.