Bouchard named as Caltrain’s new executive director

“I couldn’t be happier to be the first executive director to be able to lead the staff, even through times like this,” Bouchard said. “I think this is when we really rise to the occasion.”

Bouchard started as an assistant planner in 2000 before she spent some time with the Bay Area Rapid Transit District. She returned in 2015 to serve as Caltrain’s chief operating officer, working on the Caltrain Business Plan and associated 2040 Service Vision Plan. In more than 20 years with Caltrain, she has also served as a director of rail transportation, managing transition of operations, maintenance and management services. Some of her achievements include operations and capital program planning in support of high-speed rail service on the Caltrain corridor and implementing Caltrain’s Baby Bullet service in the early 2000s. As acting executive director, she oversaw the change in Caltrain governance and electrification from gas trains, with the first electric cars delivered several weeks ago. Bouchard holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Brown University and a Master of Science in urban and regional planning from the London School of Economics.

Bouchard is the first executive director chosen under the new Caltrain governance agreement in August, which provides more board oversight for San Francisco and Santa Clara counties. The Caltrain board has nine members, with three each from San Mateo, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties. The memorandum of understanding took more than a year of discussions to hammer out. Under the agreement, Caltrain established a separate executive director and other senior staff positions from the San Mateo County Transit District, which is the managing agency for Caltrain. SamTrans had ultimate oversight in hiring and firing staff, a concern for the two other counties that the transit agency addressed with the August agreement.

Bouchard took on the acting executive role in April 2021 following the retirement of Jim Hartnett, general manager of the San Mateo County Transit District. Hartnett was responsible for the executive management of Caltrain and SamTrans as part of the old governance agreement. When Hartnett retired, Caltrain separated executive power between the two agencies, with Bouchard picked as the interim boss, which has now become permanent.

“She knows us well,” Caltrain Chair Steve Heminger said. “We know her well, and most importantly, she knows our railroad better than anyone else in the country. We didn’t need to mount a search to find Michelle because she was already here.

“I’m excited about this for a number of reasons, but I think it’s the right move for Caltrain to move in this direction of being able to have our own executive officer,” said Director Cindy Chavez, also a Santa Clara County supervisor. “Michelle is such a talent, and I’m really excited that she will be our first executive officer, and I look forward to what this means for the agency in terms of attention and focus.”

Bouchard will have an annual salary of $352,000 over four years, with a $20,000 signing bonus. Her perks include a vehicle. She will have a severance package of nine months for termination unless there is misconduct and service of one year in the event the Caltrain governance agreement becomes void.