Former Atlanta DOT chief to join MARTA
Josh Rowan, left front, then the commissioner of the Atlanta Department of Transportation, speaks at a May event while Mayor Andre Dickens looks on. (Photo from Atlanta DOT Facebook.)
By John Ruch
Josh Rowan, the first chief of the Atlanta Department of Transportation (DOT), says he is taking a new job with MARTA.
“I’m delighted to announce I will be joining MARTA in August,” Rowan wrote in a July 22 post on his LinkedIn page.
He declined immediate comment on what his job at the transit agency will be. MARTA could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Atlanta DOT was created in 2019 as the brainchild of then City Councilmember, now Mayor Andre Dickens. Rowan was named its commissioner at that time. He previously had served as chief of the Renew Atlanta bond and Transportation Special Local Option Sales Tax programs, working to reform them after public dismay over the lack of progress and changes in their priorities.
Rowan was popular with much of the public, frequently appearing at community meetings to get input and explain policies. In May, about five months after Dickens took office, Rowan announced his resignation effective on July 1. Marsha Anderson Bomar was named interim commissioner this month.
Rowan’s LinkedIn announcement was met with a deluge of positive comments, including from several former DOT colleagues and from MARTA Deputy Chief Counsel Jonathan Hunt, who said, “Welcome to the MARTA Family! Can’t wait to continue to work with you, Josh.”
