Member Spotlight: Ira Goldstein, Executive Director, The Black Car Fund

Professional

1. How long have you been a member of TTA?  15 years

2. Why did you join TTA?  TTA, TLPA at the time, is the preeminent transportation industry association. Also, my predecessor at the BCF, Victor Dizengoff, was a past TTA president. 

3. What’s your favorite part of being a member of TTA?  More than anything, it is the people. 

4. What committee do you currently serve on? Government Relations

5. What city are you located in and what is the size of your fleet?  New York.  The Black Car Fund is not a typical TTA member. We do not operate a fleet. BCF provides workers compensation, additional health related benefits and safety instruction to primarily independent contractor drivers. BCF represents over 500 member fleets and over 100,000 drivers statewide. 

6. What do you love most about the transportation industry?  It is a dynamic, always changing industry. 

7. How do you define success?  Continuing to be able to provide our benefits to our Covered Drivers who are often an underappreciated and underserved population. 

8. Who inspires you?  Henrik Lundqvist.

9. If you could choose anyone as a mentor, who would you choose and why? There is no one that comes to mind. I never really had a mentor. 

10. What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter the transportation industry? Join TTA!   It is quickest most cost-effective way to gain a wealth of knowledge. Members are always willing to share their knowledge and experience. 

11. What’s one thing you learned in the last month? Beware of people in competing industries that say we are in this together. 

Personal

1. What’s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?  I was the starting goalie on my high school hockey team. 

2. What’s the last book you read? Tuesdays with Morrie.

3. What is your favorite hobby?  Collecting memorabilia.  I started collecting when I was around 9 or 10 years old. Now I want to start selling it!

4. What’s the first concert you ever attended? Led Zeppelin. 

5. What’s the next place on your travel bucket list?  Alaska. (I was at the airport waiting to board my plane to Alaska as I was filling this out!)

6. Are you currently binge-watching any shows?  My most recent binge was The Pitt.  

7. If you had to eat one meal every day for the rest of your life, what would it be? Not taking into account health considerations, Alaskan King Crab or pastrami and corned beef. 

8. What’s one item you can’t live without? TV. At the end of a long workday, it is how I unwind. 

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