John Robert Smith is the former Mayor of Meridian, Mississippi, and a long-time activist on behalf of passenger rail. He is co-chairman of the National Forum on the Future of Passenger Rail, is a member of Amtrak’s board, and a member of the transportation committees of the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He is a veteran of the station-centered community development movement, and led the drive to renovate the City of Meridian’s Union Station, a $7 million historic restoration project that created a new multimodal transportation center, dramatically increased use of the station, raised property values and city tax receipts, and lowered crime in the station's neighborhood. He served on Reconnecting America’s board for five years, and was a founding partner and board member of Reconnecting America’s predecessor organization, the Great American Station Foundation, voting to expand its mission and change its name in 2004.

As Managing Director of Reconnecting America, Allison Brooks is responsible for overseeing all grants and contract work and in helping to guide the overall strategic direction of the organization. Prior to joining Reconnecting America, Allison served as Program Officer for the Livable Communities Program at the East Bay Community Foundation where she spearheaded a number of innovative and collaborative transit oriented development and community development efforts across the Bay Area, particularly in low-income and under served communities. Allison has an extensive background in building broad collaborations, working in partnership with diverse local and regional stakeholders, to foster healthier, more equitable and sustainable communities. She has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego and a Masters in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.

Gloria Ohland is vice president for communications and helps synthesize and disseminate lessons learned from Reconnecting America’s engagements with the public and private sectors in regions across the U.S. She writes and edits reports, case studies and books, and helps coordinate public education and media campaigns. She co-edited and co-wrote The New Transit Town, and “Hidden in Plain Sight: Capturing the Demand for Housing Near Transit,” and is writing a book on streetcars and development. She serves on the national steering committee of Railvolution, the top national conference on transit and development. Previously she headed the Surface Transportation Policy Project's Southern California office, where she did extensive media, organizing and outreach work.

Catherine Cox-Blair is program director for Reconnecting America. She provides TOD training to regions and helps set up land acquisition funds. Prior to her arrival at Reconnecting America, Catherine served as a senior associate with Cherokee Investment Fund in Denver, a leading private equity firm that invests in brownfield redevelopment. Before that she worked for the city of Denver, managing the city’s exemplary transit oriented development program. Catherine also led station area planning efforts and a number of other TOD initiatives, including a public housing redevelopment strategy. Catherine is based in Denver; she lives in Highlands with her husband and daughter.

Annie Finkenbinder is a program associate in Reconnecting America's Washington, DC office. She performs policy research on the federal and local levels and provides support on technical assistance projects, Previously, she was a Community Planner working on urban design and policy planning processes for neighborhood and commercial corridors in Orlando, Florida. She also served as a Legislative Aide for Congressman Earl Pomeroy, focusing on housing and community development issues. She has a Master's degree in Urban Design from Carnegie Mellon University, where she developed a form-based zoning approach to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in order to support transit-oriented development.