ITS AMERICA CONFERENCE & EXPO FEATURES A ROBUST CONFERENCE PROGRAM WITH CUTTING-EDGE PLENARY SESSIONS AND SPEAKERS

PHOENIX, AZ – ITS America Events announced the details of the ITS America Conference & Expo plenary sessions. The featured programming will offer expert insights regarding issues at the cutting-edge of ITS, including artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure. The event, hosted in partnership with ITS America and produced by RX Global, will take place at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona from April 22 to April 25, 2024.

“This year’s ITS America Conference & Expo’s plenary sessions offer attendees an unparalleled opportunity to hear from leading innovators in both the public and private sector about the issues that are top of mind for the intelligent transportation community,” said Jaime McAuley, ITS America Conference & Expo event director at RX Global. “Our top-notch programming will educate and inspire attendees, enabling them to create the next generation of ITS solutions.”

The first plenary session, “Rethinking Infrastructure in the New Digital Era,” sponsored by AECOM, will take place on Wednesday, April 24 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. on the Main Stage in the Exhibit Hall. This session will feature a fireside chat between Brian Cronin, Program Director of the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office and ITS America President & CEO, Laura Chace. A panel discussion will follow the fireside chat, moderated by Selika Talbott of the Los Angeles Board of Transportation Commissioners discussing how public and private sector leaders are investing in digital infrastructure to modernize and transform the United States’ transportation systems:

Panel Speakers include:

• Joanna M. Pinkerton, President and CEO, Central Ohio Transit Authority
• Bob Edelstein, Senior Vice President, Global ITS Practice Leader, AECOM
• Ed Zuercher, Managing Executive Director, Maricopa Association of Governments
• Kurtis McBride, CEO, Miovision

“I’m looking forward to joining our esteemed speakers on the Main Stage next month in Phoenix, Arizona, where we will take deep dives into how advances in digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence provide new opportunities to deliver safer, greener smarter transportation” said Laura Chace, President and CEO of ITS America. “The ITS America Conference and Expo brings together the brightest minds from across our industry and allows us to grow, evolve, and build a better transportation system for all Americans.”

The second plenary session, “Artificial Intelligence – Unlocking the Next Frontier in Transportation,” sponsored by Amazon Web Services, will take place on Thursday, April 25 from 10:00 to 11:30 am on the Main Stage in the Exhibit Hall. Highlights of the day two plenary session include a fireside chat between Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology Robert C. Hampshire, along with Acting Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, Veronica Vanterpool, and Laura Chace. Following the fireside chat, a panel discussion on AI will be moderated by Junhua Zhao, Professor of Cities and Transportation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Panelist and other speakers include:

• Maya Dillon, AI Specialist, Cambridge Consultants
• Anne Flanagan, Vice President for Artificial Intelligence, Future of Privacy Forum
• David Swallow, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, RTC of Southern Nevada
• Gerry Petrella, General Manager of U.S. Public Policy, Microsoft

The newly announced plenary sessions round out a robust program which features a range of notable roundtables, workshops, and education sessions. Highlights include:

Gender Equity Roundtable - Making Changes and Moving Forward Together

• On Wednesday, April 24 from 8:00 – 9:30 a.m., participants will discuss the evolving role of women in the workplace through the lens of McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace 2023 Report. This interactive session will highlight insights, lessons learned, experiences, best advice for women in ITS, and ample opportunities for discussion.

Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Roundtable - Supporting Sponsor: WSP USA

• On Thursday, April 25 from 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. MPO leaders are assessing the potential benefits of integrating AI technology into their operations to address various challenges including enhancing safety, mitigating climate impacts, reducing congestion, and improving accessibility. During this conversation, MPO leaders will share insights on how they are currently utilizing AI solutions and their expectations for future implementation. The focus will be on real-world use cases where these organizations have successfully incorporated AI technologies into their processes and how it has influenced the planning phase. The objective is to understand how AI can be effectively harnessed today while also exploring its potential applications in the near future. By hearing from MPO leaders who have firsthand experience with implementing AI solutions, we can gain valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges associated with leveraging this technology in transportation planning.

Gender Equity Workshop

• On Thursday, April 25 from 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. Discussion will focus on the theme for International Women's Day, "Invest in Women - Accelerate Progress," the goal of this year’s discussion is to press towards concrete goals and increase the progress towards an equitable future. How do we best advocate for increased representation of women in the transportation and technologies sectors? How do we move towards better equity on the user side of transportation? Do we have universal agreement on what the concept of "Invest in Women" entails?
  

To genuinely expedite progress, substantial investments are required both within workplaces and across society as a whole. In 2024, progress transcends mere recruitment and pay equity, and must include robust real-time support for women's professional advancement and ability to live balanced lives. Employers need to strategically foster inclusive environments, provide avenues for growth and development, and encourage transparent communication with employees. Do women feel empowered to articulate their perspectives on what “investing in them” truly signifies? What systemic barriers inhibit investment in women in the workplace? 

Hosted by ITS America and partner WTS International, join workshop participants for a lively discussion, considering new perspectives and identifying actionable takeaways that can be put to work immediately.

State DOT Roundtable - Premier Sponsor: HNTB

• On Tuesday, April 23 from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. State Departments of Transportation across the United States are increasingly investing in connectivity and deploying digital infrastructure solutions to save lives, increase transportation mobility, and improve sustainability within the nation’s transportation system. Please join ITS America for a roundtable discussion with some of the leading public sector deployers of these technologies, in which they will share some of their best practices, lessons learned, and successful strategies on how to enhance our physical infrastructure with proven digital solutions.

Digital Infrastructure Workshop - Premier Sponsor: HAAS Alert

• On Tuesday, April 23 from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. This workshop aims to build and expand the stakeholder collaboration and partnerships required to support multi-modal, multi-jurisdictional and integrated national-scale digital infrastructure. The workshop aligns various ongoing strategic efforts around building a committed and diverse stakeholder community that can meaningfully support the continued and sustained evolution of digital infrastructure to support national transportation priorities.

ITS America Events
ITS America Events, managed by RX, encompassing ITS America Conference & Expo and ITS World Congress when in North America, brings together decision-makers and their supporting teams from public and private sector transportation agencies to learn about the implementation of new technologies, work together to advance mobility solutions that will enable a safer, greener, and smarter transportation system across the globe.

ITS America
The Intelligent Transportation Society of America advances the research and deployment of intelligent transportation technologies to save lives, improve mobility, promote sustainability, and increase efficiency and productivity. Our vision is a better future transformed by transportation technology and innovation: Safer, Greener, Smarter. For All. For more information, please visit www.itsa.org.

About RX (Reed Exhibitions) 
RX is in the business of building businesses for individuals, communities, and organizations. We elevate the power of face to face events by combining data and digital products to help customers learn about markets, source products, and complete transactions at approximately 400 events in 22 countries across 42 industry sectors. RX is passionate about making a positive impact on society and is fully committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our people. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.rxglobal.com.