Tony Brennan

PATH pays tribute to
Tony Brennan, Assistant Director

On May 31, the California Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) program lost its Assistant Director, Anthony (Tony) Brennan. Tony passed away at his home in Danville after a long battle with leukemia. During his 12 years at PATH, he was known for his unwavering dedication to the program, his mentoring of staff, and as someone with a true moral compass.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy and Naval Post Graduate School, Tony served 20 years before retiring as a Commander in the Supply Corps. While in the Navy, CDR Brennan held many senior operational management positions that helped develop his primary expertise in government contracting and contract administration. His capstone achievement before retiring was designing and implementing a successful restructuring of the largest US Navy contracting operation on the West Coast.

After retiring from the Navy, Tony moved to private industry, working for Continental Maritime and Autek Systems. As a senior executive of Autek, he drew on his experience in the Supply Corps to negotiate governmental and commercial contracts while simultaneously managing product delivery. During his tenure as General Manager/ Corporate Business Operations Manager, he was instrumental in helping the company grow ten-fold to more than $50 million in annual sales.

In 1994, Tony moved to the University of California, where his zeal for staff and organizational development had a huge impact at the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS). Working under five successive PATH Directors, Tony's administrative leadership was decisive in more than tripling the size of the research program. He also played a crucial role in the spin-off of the California Center for Innovative Transportation (CCIT) and successfully managed the renovation of their new facility in downtown Berkeley.

Tony's contract expertise and tireless advocacy of the PATH program were instrumental in successfully negotiating several key research agreements between the University and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and earned him the nickname, "the man who saved PATH." In 2006, Tony was recognized for his many efforts with the Chancellor's Outstanding Staff Award, which he received in November.

Originally from St. Louis, Tony was married to his wife Anne for 47 years, with whom he had six children and eight grandchildren. Tony will be greatly missed by his many friends and co-workers at PATH, ITS and UC Berkeley.

Please e-mail your memories of Tony Brennan to Bill Stone and we will publish them on our website.

Click here to sign a guestbook for Tony's family in the Contra Costa Times