Board of Directors

Walter represents the Hunter Mill District on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Walter’s focus is on transit-oriented development in Reston and the western part of Tysons, pedestrian/bicyclist mobility and safety, affordable housing, and diversifying the local economy. Previously, Walter served on the county’s Planning Commission for 16 years and also served on the Fairfax County Park Authority Board. Professionally, he has worked on environmental issues in the tech industry and is a nationally-recognized expert on electronics recycling systems.

Walter is a graduate of the University of Virginia and resides in Reston with his family.

Darien is currently Group Vice President of Maritime Policy and Government Affairs at MSC Group (MSC). Prior to joining MSC, Darien’s career spanned both the public and private sectors. He previously held positions at two global law firms where he specialized in transportation and infrastructure matters. Darien’s experience in the private sector also includes his role as head of government relations at a venture-backed supply chain and logistics technology company.

His public service career spans nearly a decade, during which he held several key positions including Chairman Roger F. Wicker’s Deputy Policy Director at the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy at the US Department of Transportation. Darien began his Washington, D.C. career in the US Senate, serving on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for then-subcommittee ranking member Senator Rob Portman (OH) and in the personal office of Senator Bill Cassidy (LA).

His academic credentials include a Master of Arts in Transportation Policy, Operations, and Logistics from George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government where he was a Bryce Harlow Fellow, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Elon University. Additionally, he is a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security and the Thomas C. Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia.

In the 117th Congress, Darien was selected as a John C. Stennis Congressional Staff Fellow.

Leslie joined Hopkins-affiliate Suburban Hospital as Executive Vice President of the Suburban Hospital Foundation in 2004 and was also named Senior Vice President of Government and Community Relations in 2008. Prior to coming to Suburban, Ms. Weber held fundraising and alumni relations positions at Pine Manor College, Georgetown University, American University and the University of Maryland, College Park. She was also a Vice President of Grenzebach, Glier and Associates consulting with clients in independent secondary and higher education, museums, and healthcare.

Leslie’s current community engagements include service as the Chair of the Government Affairs committee of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and the Treasurer of Montgomery Women. She has previously served as Board Chair of both the Montgomery County and Greater Bethesda Chambers of Commerce and as a director of the National Association of Independent Colleges & Universities.

Leslie received her BA degree from the University of Michigan and also holds a Master’s in Public Policy (MPP) from Georgetown University. She is a graduate of the Leadership Montgomery program and resides in Bethesda.

Prior to MetroLab becoming part of FAS, she served as Executive Director at MetroLab Network beginning in 2022. Before joining MetroLab, she was a Senior Associate at Cityfi, a firm focused on fostering innovation and new thinking in the urban environment. Previously, she was a part of two mayoral administrations, serving as the Technology Policy Advisor for Mayor Jenny Durkan in Seattle, WA and the Innovation Policy Advisor for Mayor Sly James in Kansas City, MO. These roles shared similar missions and values, including drafting new regulatory schemas for transportation networks and short term rentals, as well as implementing and promoting privacy and surveillance regulations. She sits on the board of the Coleridge Initiative.

Ms. Burns has a juris doctorate from the University of Missouri Kansas City, and a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Kansas. Kate lives in Arlington, VA with her family that includes two young humans and a joyful, yet demanding dog.

Before joining the World Bank, Ms. Santos served as Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development in Washington, DC. Ms. Santos and her team created and implemented a multi-pronged strategy that promoted local economic growth -- including implementing ambitious downtown and neighborhood revitalization initiatives, transforming hundreds of acres of underutilized areas into park and public space as well as into commercial developments. 

She and her team negotiated complex public-private partnership structures, leveraged tax increment financing, and deployed other policy, regulatory and financing tools to achieve the Administration’s goals for expanding and diversifying the city’s tax base, catalyzing development of thousands of new units of housing, increasing economic opportunities for residents, and enhancing quality of life in communities across the city.  The Fenty Administration has since been widely credited with boosting Washington DC’s transformation into a highly sought-after city to live, play, invest and work.  

Prior to government service, Ms. Santos served as Vice President at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a global real estate and financial services company, where she specialized in public-private development. Prior to JLL, she served as a Manager in Ernst & Young’s real estate group. Ms. Santos holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Master in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Santa Clara University. 

On May 1, 2017, he was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental and Tribal Affairs by U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Elaine L. Chao. Secretary Chao then promoted Bedell to the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs, the number two governmental affairs position in the Office of the Secretary on March 31, 2019.

Before joining U.S. DOT, Mr. Bedell was President of Red Five Strategies, a prominent government relations firm he started in 2014. He was also the former Director of Federal and State Government Affairs for a Fortune 500 software company. In that role, Mr. Bedell was responsible for operating the company’s Federal and State government relations programs and contributing to the growth of several of the company’s software programs.

Bedell also has additional executive branch experience. In 2001, he was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao as Senior Legislative Officer for Congressional Affairs, handling various legislative matters for the U.S. Department of Labor. In 2003, he was appointed Associate Administrator for the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs by U.S. Small Business Administrator Hector V. Baretto, where he served as the chief advisor to the Administrator.

Prior to his election, Mr. Aguirre served in leadership roles on numerous boards and commissions. He is a past chair of the Economic Opportunities Commission, past president of the Tenants and Workers United (TWU) Board of Directors, and past vice-chairman of the Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia (HSANV) Board of Directors. He also served on the Leadership Council for the Alexandria Campaign on Adolescent Pregnancy (ACAP) and the Steering Committee for the Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria (PHA). In 2016, Mr. Aguirre was appointed to the Virginia Board of Social Work by Governor Terry McAuliffe.

He co-founded a parent group for Spanish-speaking families at George Washington Middle School and helped launch a citywide family and community engagement program. As a community advocate, he has fought to increase affordable housing in the city, improve equity in our schools, and built coalitions to promote government transparency and accountability. In his professional capacity, he works with underserved communities throughout Northern Virginia to increase access to care and improve health outcomes. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In 2022, Spring accepted the role of chair of the Metropolitan Council of Governments Public Transportation Committee. She has served as the Vice Chair of the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Committee and the Secretary of the APTA BRT Standards committee. She is a 2018 APTA Emerging Leaders Program Graduate. She has also completed the District government's Capital City Fellows Program and the National Urban Fellows program. Spring holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from the City University of New York at Baruch and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rochester (NY). Spring lives car free in DC and is a regular bus and rail user.

Prior to joining Meridiam, Sargent served as Deputy Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Virginia under Governor Glenn Youngkin, where he helped lead a team that provided top-ranked transportation infrastructure and services to 8.7 million residents. Sargent previously worked in consulting and policy research with a focus on infrastructure and public finance.

He resides in the District of Columbia and is a certified public-private partnership professional by the Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure.

Mr. Goldman has practiced in the areas of international, antitrust and transportation law since 1972; he currently acts as Managing Partner of Silverberg Goldman PLLC, a law firm specializing in transportation law based in Washington, DC He previously served as a Principal Director on the WMATA Board from 2013 – 2021. During his time as a Principal Director, Mr. Goldman served as the Board’s Second Vice Chair and the Chair of its Safety and Operations Committee. Mr. Goldman is currently an active member of the District of Columbia Bar, the American Bar Association(ABA) sections on antitrust and administrative law, and the ABA Forum on Air & Space Law. He is a member of the DC Chapter of the International Network of Boutique Law Firms ( INBLF).

First elected to the Arlington County Board in November 2018, Matt was unanimously elected as Chair of the County Board by his colleagues in January 2021 and as Vice-Chair in 2025. In addition, Matt served as Chair of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission from 2024-2025 and was elected Chair of the Northern Virginia Regional Commission in 2025.

A 2015 Leadership Arlington graduate, 2016 graduate of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership, and 2017 graduate of Arlington Neighborhood College, Matt grew up in McLean and lives in Arlington with his wife, Brooke, and their daughter.

Prior to joining K&L Gates, Finch served as vice president of policy and strategy for a Pittsburgh-based autonomous truck company. He led their regulatory, legislative, communications, marketing, and standards development strategies. He also served as a staffer in both the US House of Representatives and US Senate.

Finch is a graduate of the University of Alabama and received an MBA from Johns Hopkins University.