National Association of Railroad Passengers: www.narprail.org

NARP Director of Communications Matthew Melzer

Matthew Melzer initially joined the NARP staff as an intern for six months in 2005, and returned to the NARP staff to serve as Communications Associate in July 2007. In July 2008, he became Director of Communications. During his 2005 internship, Melzer gathered and analyzed information on rail advocacy and his experience here.  He used this knowledge to write and publish his undergraduate thesis on the history and near-term prospects of the rail advocacy movement.  In June 2006, he earned a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Community Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

After graduating, Melzer served as marketing and planning intern for Monterey-Salinas Transit in Monterey, CA, and worked as an ADA paratransit eligibility specialist there.

Melzer is primarily responsible for NARP member and other external communications, including the monthly NARP News, as well as our weekly News Hotline, the NARP Blog, and other forms of e-communication.  He is also the primary facilitator for our long-distance route teams effort.

As a member of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Intercity Passenger Rail Systems, Melzer serves as co-editor of the committee newsletter.  Melzer has also written and programmed for TrainWeb.com, and served as a director of the Rail Passenger Association of California (2002-2007).  While in Santa Cruz, he was appointed as a member of the Santa Cruz METRO Advisory Committee (2003-2005), and was a news and public affairs correspondent for KZSC-FM.

A native of Los Angeles, Melzer holds deep concern about the impacts that transportation and development have on the quality of life for all Americans in cities large and small.  He has traveled by rail on three continents and would like to add at least three more.