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The Board is authorized to have five members, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, each with a five-year term of office. Information on previous Board Members can be found here.
Ann Begeman was designated Chairman of the Surface Transportation Board by President Donald J. Trump, on March 19, 2018. Ann had been Acting Chairman since January 23, 2017. She is serving her second, five-year term as a Member of the Board following her nomination by President Barack Obama on December 7, 2016, and her unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate on December 9, 2016. Ms. Begeman first joined the Board on May 2, 2011, bringing over 20 years of transportation policy experience to the agency. Her current term expires December 31, 2020. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Begeman held Senate staff positions on Capitol Hill, playing a key role in the crafting of major transportation legislation, including the ICC Termination Act, which sunset the Interstate Commerce Commission and created the STB. She served as the Republican Staff Director for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation under the leadership of U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and as the Committee’s Deputy Staff Director and Transportation Policy Advisor under the leadership of U.S. Senator John McCain.
Ms. Begeman has also served as Legislative Director and Acting Chief of Staff for Senator John McCain. She first began working on transportation policy as a Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Larry Pressler. She also worked in the private sector, serving as a benefits specialist for First American Bankshares, Inc.
In carrying out her duties as Chairman, Ann is committed to working with her Board Member colleagues and Board staff to help make the agency more accountable, transparent, and timely. Since joining the Board, Ann has served as the Board’s Vice Chairman from May 2, 2011, to January 3, 2012; from January 4, 2013, to May 27, 2014; and from January 1, 2015, to January 7, 2016. She has also served as Co-Chair of the National Grain Car Council for 2011, 2013, and 2015.
Ann is a native of Humboldt, South Dakota. She earned a B.S. in business administration from the University of South Dakota.
Member – Patrick J. FuchsPatrick Fuchs was sworn in on January 17, 2019, as a Member of the Board for a term of office expiring on January 17, 2024, following his confirmation by the United States Senate on January 2, 2019.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Fuchs was senior professional staff member working on surface transportation and maritime issues for the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation under the leadership of Chairman John Thune of South Dakota.
Mr. Fuchs has played an integral role in the development and enactment of major railroad legislation, including the first reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Board since its creation in 1996 and the first passenger rail reauthorization in over seven years. He also worked on legislation to improve rail project delivery, rail financing, and hazardous materials safety, all of which were enacted as part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), the five-year, $305 billion surface transportation authorization.
Mr. Fuchs helped develop and enact the first reauthorization of the National Transportation Safety Board in over a decade. He also worked on legislation to increase safety by addressing opioid abuse in transportation, reforms enacted as part of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. His work also includes reauthorization of the Federal Maritime Commission as well as three reauthorizations of the Maritime Administration, enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Years 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Prior to serving Chairman Thune, he was a policy analyst and Presidential Management Fellow at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), where he managed railroad and maritime regulatory reviews. During his time at OMB, Mr. Fuchs worked on regulations pertaining to rail safety technology, rail tank car safety, and railroad operating practices, among other issues. He has also worked for the U.S. Department of State, where he received the Meritorious Honor Award for extraordinary contributions to substantive economic analysis. His experience also includes time with the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education.
Mr. Fuchs graduated with distinction in economics and political science and earned an M.P.A. from the University of Wisconsin, where he received the Director’s Achievement Award for his outstanding academic record. Mr. Fuchs and his wife, Katherine, were born and raised in Wisconsin.
Vice Chairman – Martin J. Oberman Marty Oberman was sworn in as a Member of the Surface Transportation Board on January 22, 2019.
Marty has had an extensive career in both the public and private sectors. His first public position was serving as the first General Counsel to the Illinois Racing Board from 1973 to 1974, where he worked closely with the Board’s chairman to bring long needed reforms to the Illinois horse racing industry.
From 1975-1987, Marty served on the Chicago City Council as Alderman of the City’s 43rd Ward where he earned a reputation as a reform leader, committed to promoting transparency in key governing processes while also working to reduce government corruption and profligate spending.
Following his departure from the Council, the Mayor of Chicago appointed Marty as Chairman of a special commission to fix Chicago”s eroding shoreline, which required collaboration with an extensive set of stakeholders, and resulted in the publication of formal recommendations, many of which have since been implemented.
In 2013, Marty was appointed to the board of Metra, the Chicago region’s commuter railroad, the second largest in the U.S. In 2014, he was unanimously elected Metra chairman and served until the end of 2016. While at Metra, he gained approval for the agency’s first long term fare program aimed at tackling the agency’s multi-billion dollar state-of-good-repair backlog, and led the Board’s effort to institute transparency and professional management in an effort to overcome an historic culture of politics and patronage abuses at the railroad.
Most recently, he served on the board of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) until November 2018.
Since 1975, Marty also maintained a successful practice in Chicago as both a trial and appellate lawyer.
His unique combination of litigation experience, elected public service, and exposure to the significant complexities of railroad infrastructure finance and operations will inform his work as a Member of the Surface Transportation Board.
Marty graduated from Yale University and the University of Wisconsin Law School, cum laude, and served as a Note Editor of the Wisconsin Law Review. He has been married to his wife, Bonnie, since 1971, and has two children, and three grandchildren. Marty is a native of Springfield, Illinois.
