The MARTA Board of Directors Thursday elected new leadership as the agency prepares for a new era of possible expansion.

Chairman Robbie Ashe stepped aside after five years of leading the board. The board elected Freda B. Hardage, who represents north Fulton County, to be the new chair.

William F. Floyd will serve as vice chairman, with Ashe sliding into the treasurer’s post. Roberta Abdul-Salaam will continue as secretary.

Ashe led the board during a series of major initiatives, including Clayton County's decision to join MARTA and the agency's expansion in Atlanta. He also helped negotiate a deal that led to the upcoming Gwinnett County referendum on joining MARTA.

Freda Hardage
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Hardage is director of foundation services for the Alpharetta Medical Campus of Northside Hospital. She has served on the board since 2013 and has been vice chair since 2016.

Hardage said she looks forward to leading the board during “exciting times for our region.”

“The growth of transit is vital to the future of our region, and I’m excited to be a part of it, as is the entire board,” she said.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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