Metrolinx welcomed six new members to its board of directors Thursday, kicking off the first meeting of the new year with an infusion of new talent to the board.

Metrolinx board chair Donald Wright welcomed each new director, noting their diverse backgrounds in architecture, real estate, land development and other areas.

“A warm welcome to you all and I look forward to serving with you,” Wright said.

Michael Kraljevic is a real estate and land development professional who has worked with both private and public sector real estate development companies for over 30 years.  Currently executive advisor to createTO, the city’s real estate agency, Michael has held key positions managing large scale land redevelopment projects with the federal government.

Emily Moore is a professional engineer with more than 20 years of experience in engineering and new technology development. She is currently the Director of the Troost Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering at the University of Toronto.

Paul Tsaparis is currently Chair of the Board of Governors at York University, and a board member at Teranet, Humber River Hospital and Indspire.

Luigi Ferrara is a registered architect , a member of the Ontario Association of Architects and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. He is the dean of the Centre for Arts, Design and Information Technology at George Brown College.

Robert Poirier holds his ICD.D designation – noting a “lifelong commitment to excellence in the boardroom” – from the Institute of Corporate Directors and has a 25-year career in banking, investments and technology.

Clio Straram’s career in finance began in 2008. She is currently a senior analyst at TD Bank in the financial restructuring group. She is a member of Fond du Lac First Nation in Saskatchewan and serves as the board vice president of Anishnawbe Health Toronto.

The new directors replace five recent departures at the board.

“Today, we acknowledge several outgoing board members who have contributed extensively to improving transit for our region through their years of service on the Metrolinx Board,” Wright said.

Outgoing directors include Rahul Bhardwaj, Marianne McKenna, Bonnie Patterson, Howard Shearer and Sharleen Stewart.

Other items discussed at our Feb. 7th board meeting:

• We released a detailed ridership map for GO and UP Express stations. 

• An update on the Relief Line South was discussed.

• A report detailing the launch of the PRESTO mobile app and adoption rates was discussed.

• Read more on the new directors and their areas of expertise here.