SFMTA CFO Bree Mawhorter takes a break from bicycling in Glen Park.
It’s a big job, but Bree Mawhorter is up to the challenge.
Mawhorter is our Chief Financial Officer, and she is featured in the latest episode of our podcast, Taken with Transportation. The episode, called “About Town with Our CFO,” is a mix of Mawhorter’s professional life and her personal transportation life.
Getting around town
In the episode, we take a transportation tour with Mawhorter to learn how she gets around the city.
“Most of the time when I’m coming to work, I ride on the bike path from Glen Park up Chenery or the Slow Street on Arlington where I connect to the bikeway on Valencia and ride it all the way to work,” Mawhorter tells Taken with Transportation Host Melissa Culross. “If it’s rainy, I take the J Church.”
Finances
Of course, we also discuss the agency’s budget. Mawhorter goes over the process of creating and approving our two-year spending plan. She also talks about balancing revenue with expenses, the impacts of the pandemic and where our funding comes from.
“Our two biggest sources of revenue are actually operating grants, which are largely funded through state revenues, and the city’s General Fund” Mawhorter explains. “And I frequently say: ‘As goes the health of the General Fund, goes the health of the SFMTA.’”
Mawhorter (left) and Transit Director Julie Kirschbaum (right) recognize managers Leslie Bienenfeld and Diana Hammons at a recent SFMTA Board of Directors meeting.
Hard work and dedication
Mawhorter has lived in San Francisco for about two decades and has worked for the city for years. She became our CFO in late 2022. Despite the agency’s serious financial challenges, Mawhorter loves her role and respects her colleagues.
“I’ve been impressed with the passion that staff bring to their daily jobs and how much they care,” she says. “When people care this much and are working this hard, we’re finding ways to do things that are going to increase public trust in our work. We’re finding ways to do things better and more efficiently, which brings down expenditure. And we’re finding new ways to raise revenue.”
You can find “About Town with Our CFO” and all the Taken with Transportation episodes on our podcast webpage (SFMTA.com/Podcast) and on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.