A strong advocate of affordable and seamless transportation coupled with urban and rural growth, John Robert Smith is Senior Policy Advisor at Transportation for America, a program of Smart Growth America, and former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Amtrak.

He served for 16 years as mayor of Meridian, Mississippi, whose Union Station, his signature project, is recognized as one of the best multi- modal transportation centers in the country. Having served as a mayor of a city with a wealth of late 19th century buildings, he worked with developers to restore those buildings, and is a strong advocate for historic preservation, believing that each community must respect its past and play to its strengths in order to develop and maintain a strong community identity.

He helped define Meridian’s role as a cultural center with the restoration of the Grand Opera House of Mississippi, the creation of the Riley Education and Performing Arts Center, and the selection of Meridian as the site for the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center. Additionally, he secured $17 million in HUD HOPE VI funding to develop low- and middle-income housing.