Meetings are held at 870 Market Street in the historic Flood Building at Powell & Market, where the F-line meets the cable cars. Meetings begin at 6:30 and generally run about 2 hours in length. Meeting room numbers will be posted on the door of Suite 803.

We ask that all visiting members remain quiet throughout the first part of the meeting. After this, President Laubscher will open the floor to member comments and questions, and there is often an informal talking session with the directors following the meeting.

Annual Member Meeting
The Market Street Railway Annual Meeting for Members is held each year at the IBEW Hall, located at 55 Fillmore, one block off the N-Judah Muni Metro streetcar line.

Elections
Elections for the Market Street Railway Board of Directors are held annually in early November. If you are interested in running for a position on the Market Street Railway Board of Directors, please email us at volunteer@streetcar.org.

Directors
If you would like to contact a Market Street Railway director, send an email to their attention via info@streetcar.org, or leave a message at (415) 956-0472, and we will attempt to forward your correspondence to the person you seek.

Rick Laubscher, President and Board Chair of Market Street Railway has also served as Transportation Committee Chair and a Board member of both the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and SPUR, an influential civic group. Rick helped organize and was selected as Founding Chair of The City Club of San Francisco, a leading business and civic organization that today has 1000 members.

In his business life, Rick heads Messagesmith, a strategic communications consultancy that serves clients in the transportation, technology, and tourism fields. Before founding Messagesmith in 2000, Rick held senior public affairs/public relations/marketing positions at several leading firms including Bechtel, the San Francisco-based global engineering and construction firm.

Rick began his career as a broadcast journalist, winning numerous reporting awards, including an Emmy, at television and radio stations in San Francisco and San Diego. Rick holds a B.A. in History, with College Honors, from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University in New York, finishing first in a class of 125 and winning the prestigious Pulitzer Fellowship.

Craig Walker, Vice President of the Board of Directors, is a San Francisco based Financial Consultant for A. G. Edwards, specializing in providing investment management services to individuals and numerous public sector labor organizations. Born and raised in Berkeley, he graduated with honors from the University of California with a degree in Political Science and City & Regional Planning. Previously, he spent ten years as a police officer in the East Bay. Craig has a deep and abiding interest in California history and the Bay Area's transit heritage. He joined the board of directors in 2003 and also serves as Chair of the Friends of the University of California's Bancroft Library. Craig is married and lives in the East Bay.

Art Curtis, Secretary, is a retired Chief Transit Control Inspector for the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), with over 37 years serving various operations positions. He is a native San Franciscan and a life-long transit fan, active with both MSR as a director and corporate secretary, and the Western Railway Museum at Rio Vista Junction. Art is also a retired Lieutenant Commander in the US Coast Guard Reserve, and is involved in many activities with the Reserve Officers Association of the US.

George Pleasant, Treasurer, teaches Business at Mills High School in Millbrae. Born in San Francisco's Mission District, a third-generation San Franciscan, he attended Sanchez School, Mission Dolores Elementary, Riordan High, San Francisco City College, and San Francisco State University, and did his student teaching at Galileo and Balboa High Schools. George enjoys a memory of riding Muni's first streetcar, 1912 Car No. 1, in 1963 with a friend's father who worked for Muni, as they passed the Fox Theatre being torn down on Market Street.

Steve Ferrario is current Vice-chair of the Citizens Advisory Council for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and a member of its engineering and safety committee. He is also a current member of the Geary Street Corridor Citizens Advisory Committee for the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. A resident of the Castro neighborhood, Steve served in 2003-2004 as an assistant to San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty, and he previously served Market Street Railway as corporate secretary and member of the Board of Directors from 1996-2000.

A retired US Navy officer, Steve served as a bridge officer and communications maintenance officer aboard the USS Enterprise. He also performed as the public affairs officer on the Enterprise and at Naval Air Station, Alameda. Steve holds master’s degrees in telecommunications management and media technology, and a BA in communications and political science. Steve has also served Market Street Railway on numerous volunteer activities, most recently creating a video about the organization. His additional not-for-profit activities have included public relations work for the Names Project, Castro Theater house manager for both the Frameline Film Festival (LGBT) and San Francisco Silent Film Festival, and as a database coordinator for Davies Hospital.

Will Flynn is a union-side labor attorney with the San Francisco firm of Neyhart, Anderson, Freitas, Flynn & Grosball since 1981, and represents unions at the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), Golden Gate Transit, Santa Clara VTA, Sacramento RT, Los Angeles MTA. Will lives with his wife and daughter in Berkeley, and has served Market Street Railway for a number of years, including past service as both President and Treasurer. He was President of Market Street Railway in 1995 when the F-line opened, and was the first revenue passenger on the F-line on September 2, 1995.

Mike Frew is Senior Vice President - Investments with Wachovia Securities in San Francisco. A native San Franciscan, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Business Administration, and is a past member of the Citizens Advisory Committee for Transportation in San Francisco. Mike has had a lifelong interest in City history and historic streetcar preservation and has been active in MSR-sponsored restorations at the David L. Pharr Historic Streetcar Facility, specializing in woodworking and wood finishing of streetcars and cable cars. In addition to these volunteer activities and his donated work with other rail museums, Mike is a charter member of MSR and has served on the Board of Directors since 1995, including a term as Vice President.

Stephen Sutro is proprietor of Sutro Architects, a San Francisco architecture and design firm. He has designed numerous residential and commercial projects, including, pro bono, Market Street Railway's San Francisco Railway Museum. He is a San Francisco resident and holds a BA with Honors in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley.

Walt Vielbaum is a retired auto repair business owner who has long had a passionate interest in San Francisco transit. He owns an extensive photography collection of San Francisco's historic streetcars, and has recently co-authored a book on the history of the Market Street Railway Company, our namesake, and Muni's private competitor from 1921-1944. Walt has three children, and five grandchildren.

Douglas Wright is principal of Douglas Wright Consulting, providing transportation and land use planning, funding, and government relations services to public and private clients. As Deputy Mayor under Art Agnos, Doug was the driving force in the demolition of the Embarcadero Freeway and the construction of the Embarcadero Boulevard and the F-line. He has served as a member of the San Francisco Planning Commission, Assistant General Manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Associate Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the Carter Administration, and City Planning Director for Portland, Oregon. He holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Iowa.

Alexander Zwissler most recently served six years as Executive Director of Fort Mason Foundation, overseeing a fulltime staff of 35 and an annual budget of $6 million. He previously spent 17 years in the cable television industry in a series of increasingly responsible assignments, including CEOs roles in several local cable systems in England, New Mexico, and California. Alex also serves on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Business Arts Council. He holds a BA in Political Science with Honors from the University of California at Berkeley.