William Lindley
Vice President Information Services; Scottsdale, Arizona
Mr. Lindley is a native of Washington, DC and lived 18 years in the Boston area. Upon moving to Arizona in 1991 at age 25, he discovered that for the first time he had to drive an automobile, as the Phoenix bus system at that time was rudimentary and nearly inaccessible to suburban areas.
After speaking with his State Representative at a Bashas’ grocery store “Meet Your Legislator Day” in 1993, Mr. Lindley attended a transportation meeting at the State Capitol and made the mistake of mentioning to some rail advocates that he had a laser printer. Within mere moments he was a member of the Arizona Rail Passenger Association… and its Newsletter Editor.
Since then, Bill has turned his love of trains, history and maps into a positive force for Arizona transit. “Even my few words at that 1993 meeting had an effect; every little thing we do today makes tomorrow possible,” says Mr. Lindley, pleased that his small contribution to the work of many is making Valley Metro Light Rail in Phoenix a reality, and looking forward to the start of Commuter Rail in southern Arizona and the return of intercity trains to Phoenix.
As a regular participant in the “All-Aboard” internet forum, Mr. Lindley made the acquaintance of rail advocates across the country. After serving twice as an Alternate at the national conventions of another rail passenger group, Bill decided to focus his efforts instead on the U.R.P.A., whose willingness to work with both major political parties echoed his experience at the State level, and whose vision for a dramatically expanded network of passenger trains closely matched his own.
Mr. Lindley graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, minoring in Art, from Northeastern University in 1988. During college he worked at Digital Techniques Incorporated on early interactive multimedia systems with touchscreen displays on a variety of projects, including the award-winning projects “Play Away Please” for the USGA Museum (winner, Nebraska Interactive Videodisc award, 1987) and the “Earth Over Time” science exhibit (winner, 1990 Nebraska Interactive Videodisc; winner, 1990 ITVA Golden Reel).
During the 1990′s, Mr. Lindley was a consultant for the semiconductor industry, working on process automation, computer aided design and manufacture, and document management systems.
Since 2000, his consulting corporation has kept him busy designing static and dynamic web pages, and creating and maintaining computer networks for small businesses in metro Phoenix.
