The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced James Sincaglia will succeed PATH director and general manager Clarelle DeGraffe when she retires later this year.
DeGraffe announced she will retire after 37 years with the Port Authority. Sincaglia, a former NJ Transit Sr. VP of Rail Operations will join the transition team and take over when DeGraffe steps down at the end of 2026. DeGraffe spent the last seven years leading the PATH rail transit system during which time the organization was awarded the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) highest honor, the Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award for railroads with more than 20 million riders annually.
Long-time NJ TRANSIT (NJT) executive James Sincaglia succeeds DeGraffe as director, alongside Matthew Reddell, a rail operations executive formerly with Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in northern California, who has been appointed deputy director for infrastructure maintenance and rolling stock delivery. Sincaglia and Reddell join Zandra Ford, who was appointed in June 2026 as deputy director for operations, as part of the organization’s new senior management team. DeGraffe will assist in the transition of PATH’s new leadership team until her retirement, effective at the end of 2026.
“We thank Clarelle for her leadership at PATH, as well as for her work and mentorship to female staff throughout the Port Authority,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “PATH has been through many changes in the past few years, emerging after each a stronger and much improved system. To ensure a smooth transition as the new leadership team comes on board, Clarelle will mentor and support them before she retires from the Port Authority.”
Sincaglia will be joined by Matthew Reddell, a rail operations executive formerly with Bay Area Rapid Transit in northern California, who will assume the position of deputy director for infrastructure maintenance and rolling stock delivery, and Zandra Ford, who was appointed deputy director for operations for PATH rail in June.
“I’m honored to take on this role and grateful for the opportunity to serve PATH and the people who rely on it every day,” Sincaglia said. “I look forward to working with the team and our partners to build on PATH’s strengths and support its future.”
Recently, Sincaglia served as NJT’s senior vice president and general manager of rail operations. With nearly 30 years of experience with NJT, he brings with him knowledge of transit from the bus division to rail operations as a train dispatcher, to management where he served as a supervisor of train operations, before being named manager of train operations and then senior director of system operations. Between 2015 and 2020, he served as NJT’s deputy general manager of transportation, and in 2020 was appointed acting head of rail operations for the railroad before being named senior vice president. He has overseen the successful implementation of NJT’s Positive Train Control project, as well as the restoration of the railroad’s depleted ranks of locomotive engineers.
Reddell has most recently managed track and structures for BART. His career has included leadership assignments with Amtrak, Canadian Pacific, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, BNSF Railway, NJ Transit and others.