LACMTA names first chief innovation officer

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) has selected Dr. Joshua Schank as the first-ever head of its newly created Office of Extraordinary Innovation, effective October 5, 2015.

 

Schank currently serves as president and CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation in Washington, D.C., a nonpartisan transportation policy think tank. At Eno, Schank successfully sought innovative solutions to pressing national transportation concerns through consensus and coalition building among industry leaders, elected officials and academics. In this role, Schank also directed Eno’s highly-visible working groups on public-private partnerships (P3s), freight, aviation and transportation finance.

Schank started his career at the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority as a transportation planner and went on to work as a congressional transportation fellow and legislative assistant in the United States Senate. He also worked as a senior associate for two major international transportation consulting firms, specializing in public transit and federal transportation policy. He also served as director of transportation research for the Bipartisan Policy Center based in Washington, D.C., where he directed a large panel of former elected officials, policy experts, business executives and civic leaders overseeing a national study of federal transportation policy that resulted in recommendations for accountable, performance-based transportation programs.

“Dr. Schank is highly regarded across the transportation industry as a collaborator and an innovator,” said LACMTA Chief Executive Officer Phillip Washington. “He is a leader in transportation policy and driving mobility solutions through his own unique vision.”

In July, Washington announced the creation of an Office of Extraordinary Innovation. The intent of this office is to champion new ideas to improve mobility in L.A. County. The responsibilities are threefold: 1) Inform the high-level vision for LACMTA through exposure to innovative people, organizations and industries; 2) Support LACMTA departments in piloting and implementing new and experimental programs and policy and 3) Serve as the primary liaison for new ideas relevant to LACMTA coming from entrepreneurs, private sector entities, academia or individuals.

“This office will be responsible for mining and implementing the most out of the box and innovative strategies the transportation industry has ever seen in this country,” said Washington. “This will be our Innovative Strike Force Team in areas, such as public-private partnerships, value capture opportunities, high technology and autonomous vehicle impact on transit, as well as leading the agency’s strategic planning efforts.”

 

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