Two New Members Added to GCRTA Board of Trustees

Cleveland, OH – The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) welcomed Deidre McPherson and Stephen Love as new members to their Board of Trustees during today’s Board meeting inside GCRTA’s Main Office Building at 1240 W. 6th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44113.

Trustee McPherson was sworn into service on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, and Trustee Love was sworn into service before the start of today’s Board Meeting, by Anna Hlavacs, GCRTA Senior Counsel Contracts, Real Estate and Administrative Law in preparation for their first official call to service on October 17, 2023. Their appointments were made by Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne, with Trustee McPherson serving an unexpired term ending in March 2024, and Trustee Love serving a term ending in March 2026.   

“GCRTA welcomes the appointments of Deidre McPherson and Stephen Love to our Board of Trustees. We agree that their professional expertise and dedication to arts and culture, and the environment will be beneficial as we continue to enhance public transportation’s impact on the social economics of our community,” said GCRTA General Manager and Chief Executive Officer India L. Birdsong Terry.

About the Board Appointees:

Deidre McPherson currently serves as Chief Community Officer at the Assembly for the Arts, where she leads efforts to increase the equity in Cleveland's arts and culture industries. Ms. McPherson also currently serves on the board of Cleveland VOTES. She is an avid cyclist who actively supports advocacy, education, and equity initiatives through Bike Your Neighborhood, Slow Roll Cleveland, and the Heights Bicycle Coalition (a chapter of Bike Cleveland).   

Ms. McPherson holds an MBA in Marketing from the University of Maryland, and a BSA in Business Administration with concentrations in Arts Management and Violin Performance from Miami University in Ohio.

Stephen M. Love currently serves as Program Director of Environmental Initiatives for the Cleveland Foundation. While in this role, he leads environmental grantmaking strategy with a focus on the intersections between climate, clean energy, equitable mobility, and environmental justice. Mr. Love also previously served on the board of directors of the Cleveland Lakefront Parks Conservancy and the Northeast Shores Development Corporation. He is an active volunteer in the community, a champion for climate and clean energy, sustainability, and is a regular RTA rider.   

Mr. Love holds an MPA with a concentration on Economic Development from Cleveland State University, and a BA in Political Science from Baldwin Wallace University.