Organization also Elected Officers and Extended the Appointment of Existing Board Members at Annual Meeting, Held Sept. 15
Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT) – the region’s transit advocacy organization – has named Cynthia Crim of Commerce Bank, Adam Kazda of Greater St. Louis, Inc., Travis Pfeiffer of HNTB and Sal Martinez of Employment Connection as the newest members of its Board of Directors. All four members were elected during CMT’s 39th Annual Meeting, held Sept. 15 at the Marriott Grand Hotel in downtown St. Louis, and will each serve a three-year term. CMT also elected six officers to one-year terms and extended the appointment of current board members Len Toenjes, Aaron Burnett and Mark Grossenbacher for another three-year term.
Cynthia Crim is the Grants Manager for the Norman J. Stupp Foundation, part of Commerce Trust Company, and has more than 14 years of management experience in the nonprofit sector developing new programs, serving as technical advisor and as a connector of people and organizations. Before joining Commerce Bank, Crim served as Director of Sector Relations for the Nonprofit Services Consortium in St. Louis. Her first job in the field of grantmaking was as Associate Executive Director of the Steans Family Foundation in Chicago. Crim serves on the board of the St. Louis Community College Foundation and the St. Louis City Senior Fund and is also a Commissioner of the Missouri History Museum Subdistrict.
Adam Kazda is the Vice President of Government Relations at Greater St. Louis, Inc., where he leads a team of government relations professionals focused on implementing pro-growth public policy for the St. Louis region at the local, state, and federal levels. Kazda previously served in various public policy roles, including working as a staffer for U.S. Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, U.S. Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, and Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson of southeast Missouri. Kazda also served as one of the founding staffers to former Senator Tom Coburn’s nonprofit Pursuit, a think tank formed to help young Americans understand and take active ownership in discussions on the national debt.
Travis Pfeiffer is a licensed professional engineer with over 19 years of experience in delivering critical transportation infrastructure improvements throughout the bi-state area. As HNTB’s St. Louis Practice Leader, Pfeiffer is passionate about enhancing safe and equitable mobility in the St. Louis Region and supporting the successful delivery and implementation of our region’s most complex infrastructure projects, including the ongoing St. Louis Metro Secure Platforms Project and Northside-Southside MetroLink expansion project. Before joining HNTB in 2021, Pfeiffer worked for the City of Edwardsville, Illinois Public Works, URS (now AECOM) and Parsons. Throughout his career, he has been involved in some of the region’s most complex infrastructure projects, including the I-270 North reconstruction project, which includes a significant focus on multi-modal users and accommodations for efficient transit mobility.
Sal Martinez has been CEO of Employment Connection since 2018, after a distinguished career serving as an executive in place-based community development. As CEO, he leads the company in assisting individuals with limited opportunities to self-sufficiency. Under his leadership, the company also manages three violence prevention sites in St. Louis City, with the goal of reducing gun violence. Martinez serves on a number of civic boards, including St. Louis Housing Authority, Civil Rights Enforcement Agency, North Newstead Association and the Community Builders Network. He has also received numerous community service awards from entities that include Community Development Administration, Park Central Development, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Better Family Life and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Martinez is also a past recipient of the Harris-Stowe State University Distinguished Alumni Award.
During its annual meeting, CMT also appointed the following officers: Chair – D’Andre Braddix of St. Louis Community College; Vice Chairs – Robert Blaine of Washington University in St. Louis, Nancy E. Cross of the City of St. Louis and Sheila Holm of AARP in St. Louis; Secretary – Ellie Glenn Harmon of BJC HealthCare; Treasurer – Brandon Flinn of Missouri and Kansas Laborers District Council; Past Chair – Hart Nelson of St. Louis Community College and At-Large – Adella D. Jones of the University of Missouri–St. Louis.
“We are thrilled to able to work with each of these individuals,” said Kim Cella, executive director of Citizens for Modern Transit. “Their collective experience, coupled with their diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise, will go a long way towards furthering the organization’s mission to expand a safe, integrated and affordable public transportation system throughout the St. Louis region.”