Texas, USA (CU)_ According to the media, Sanjay Ramabhadran, an Indian-American engineer, has been nominated as the new chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County. He will be the state’s first Indian-American to oversee a public transportation organization in Texas. Ramabhadran will succeed Carrin Patman, who is the first female chairman of METRO board, and now has been selected by the Biden Administration to serve as the United States’ ambassador to Iceland.
The 51-year-old graduate of BITS Pilani and Texas A&M University has served on the board since 2015. He now chairs the Capital & Strategic Planning Committee and serves on the Finance & Audit Committee as well. Rambhadran has been a community leader for a longer period of time and served as president of the Indo-American Chamber of Greater Houston (IACCGH).
According to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s statement, “Ramabhadran knows how to get people together and knows how to get things done. There is incredible talent in our city. That gives me hope that no matter what challenges we face, we will overcome those challenges if we work together”. He added, “As a prepared and proven leader, Ramabhadran is ready to steer Texas’ largest metropolitan transit authority. His leadership will play a big role in getting the ambitious METRONext and other projects right”.
The selection was also hailed by Houston’s Indian-American community. Jagdip Ahluwalia, the founding secretary/executive director of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston (IACCGH), expressed pride over the appointment. He said, “We are proud of Ramabhadran who was our first volunteer when the IACCGH was created in 1999 and rose to serve on the board and lead as president of the Chamber and continues to serve on its board”.
Further, the present IACCGH president, Tarush Anand, expressed hopes over Ramabhadran’s appointment. He said, “Ramabhadran is a role model for the Indo-American community and a proven leader who will undoubtedly do great things in his new leadership role.”
