A Life of Service
For more than 20 years, Rebecca Saltzman has been a dedicated local policy leader, guiding El Cerrito and our region on numerous efforts to create more resilient and livable communities. Her expertise is in building bridges and solving problems. Rebecca knows how to secure resources for government agencies, knows how to build and grow coalitions, and knows how to manage organizations large and small, from multi-county government agencies to national issue-based non-profit organizations. She’s especially passionate about climate change solutions, improving our housing affordability crisis, and making our streets safe and accessible to people of all ages, abilities, and modes of transport.
12 Years of Service Representing El Cerrito on the BART Board
Rebecca Saltzman has represented El Cerrito as an elected BART Director for the past 12 years. Throughout her time on the BART Board, she has championed projects and programs to improve the two El Cerrito stations and to improve BART for everyone.
El Cerrito del Norte BART: Saltzman worked to secure funding to fully modernize this station, bringing beautiful mosaic artwork depicting El Cerrito to the center of the station, adding new elevators and stairways, improving access for people walking, biking, riding buses, and driving to the station, and adding new restrooms. When an El Cerrito resident reached out to Saltzman about the pigeon problem at the station, she met with staff and the resident, and this led to the start of BART’s effective (and non-lethal) Hawk program. Saltzman championed the Safe Routes to BART grant program and helped secure funding for walking and biking safety improvements on the streets surrounding del Norte BART. A frequent user of the station, Saltzman saw that the restrooms were heavily used and needed more support, so recently she worked with management to get restroom attendants at the station, ensuring cleaner and safer restroom facilities. Del Norte is the first and only above ground station to have restroom attendants, open and accessible most hours BART is running.
El Cerrito Plaza BART: Saltzman has been working closely with the El Cerrito City Council and City staff since 2016 to bring a housing development to El Cerrito Plaza BART. A development will soon move forward with 743 housing units, and nearly half of the units will be affordable. The project will also include significant open space and potentially a new City library. Saltzman helped secure $50 million in state and county funds to support housing and access improvements at the station, as part of the development project.
Improving BART: Throughout her twelve years on the Board, Saltzman has focused on improving the fiscal responsibility of the agency, authoring a policy to increase reserves and championing a policy to start a trust to pay down pension obligations. During the pandemic, she helped bring billions of federal and state dollars to Bay Area transit, preventing drastic service cuts. Saltzman has championed equity, passing a 50% discount for low income riders and an affordable housing policy that requires at minimum 20% affordable housing at every on-site development and 35% systemwide. She, along with allied directors, spearheaded the BART Police Department's award winning Progressive Policing Bureau, which has added unarmed Ambassadors and Crisis Intervention Specialists to the department to respond to people experiencing homelessness, mental health crises, or other issues that don’t require a response by an armed police officer. Saltzman has always been responsive to constituents, which led her to introduce policies to help BART riders - like the one that reopened BART restrooms - and to get BART staff to quickly address smaller issues, like painting over graffiti or cutting down overgrown plants.
Saltzman served as BART Board President in 2017 and 2022. She also has chaired the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Board and BART-AC Transit Interagency Liaison Committee, and she currently chairs the BART Audit Committee. As BART’s representative on the West Contra Costa Transportation Commission, she has worked to improve transportation throughout West Contra Costa County.
A Lifelong Environmental Champion
Today, Rebecca serves as the Development Director at Bike East Bay, where she’s focused on making the East Bay a place where our streets are safe for all people. She previously worked at the California League of Conservation Voters (now California Environmental Voters), where she advanced pro-environment policies at the State Capitol.
In 2011, Saltzman received the League of Women Voters of Oakland’s Making Democracy Work Award in recognition of her work and commitment to increasing citizen engagement in local government.
Family Rooted in El Cerrito
Saltzman graduated with a BA in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. She lives with her wife Caitlin and their daughter near the El Cerrito Swim Center, which they all love using. Their daughter is about to attend TK at an El Cerrito public elementary school. They’re also avid readers and visit the El Cerrito Library weekly. You’ll often find them walking along the Ohlone Greenway or hiking through the Hillside Natural Area.