Strategic Communications Leader, Writer, and Speaker

Stewart Mader works with transit agencies and policy makers to build better transit. He founded the VaxTransit initiative to build public awareness of more than 580 transit providers connecting communities with COVID-19 vaccines. Stewart previously served as the first Chief Customer Experience Officer for NJ Transit, where he strengthened communication with customers and introduced contactless fare payment on its light rail systems. He also helped the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey establish its customer advisory board, the PATH Riders Council, and he served as the council’s chair and chief spokesperson.

Stewart has written about building better transit for the Community Transportation Association of America, Mass Transit, Mobility Lab, Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Architect’s Newspaper. He holds an undergraduate degree in Chemistry from University of Hartford, and a master’s degree in curriculum development and instructional technology from University at Albany.

Stewart created the Transit Standards project, New York & New Jersey Subway Map, and New England Transit Map to elevate the importance of design and wayfinding to the transit experience.

He previously worked as a senior executive in Silicon Valley and Wall Street. As Global Head of Digital Strategy, Mader streamlined customer experience at Fitch Ratings to accelerate its market intelligence and e-learning businesses. He transformed CFA Institute with a digital-first learning approach, and built a social media presence named #1 in finance by Association Trends. CQ Roll Call named @CFAInstitute one of 100 Association Twitter Handles You Should Follow.

Stewart wrote the book Wikipatterns drawing on his experience as Chief Evangelist for Atlassian, and as a digital strategy consultant to global organizations including Airbus, ICANN, SAP, Thales, and World Bank-International Finance Corporation.

Earlier in his career, Stewart led instructional design at Brown University, Emerson College, Long Island University, and University of Hartford. PBS stations aired “Skysight” and “Seeing the Scientific Light”, two NASA Space Grant-funded films he wrote, directed, and edited.