Joshua Schank speaks from his book, "New Tricks for Old Bureaucracies," which tells the inside story of how a small team at LA Metro’s Office of Extraordinary Innovation turned big ideas into real change. It is part playbook, part survival guide, and part reality check for anyone trying to make progress inside public institutions.
Alissa Walker has been observing Los Angeles as a pedestrian and journalist since before Twitter existed. How people learn about their community has changed, and Alissa now works on a newsletter and podcast to inform Angelenos about transportation, housing, urban design, and governance. Her project Torched.LA covers the civic investments and policy decisions that Los Angeles is making in preparation for its megaevent-hosting era.
Alissa Walker has been observing Los Angeles as a pedestrian and journalist since before Twitter existed. How people learn about their community has changed, and Alissa now works on a newsletter and podcast to inform Angelenos about transportation, housing, urban design, and governance. Her project Torched.LA covers the civic investments and policy decisions that Los Angeles is making in preparation for its megaevent-hosting era.
Seleta Reynolds has over a decade of experience as a transportation executive in Los Angeles. From her time as the General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to her current role as Metro's Chief Innovation Officer, overseeing the Office of Strategic Innovation, Reynolds has developed a comprehensive perspective on transportation in Los Angeles. This perspective and approach to innovation are invaluable as Los Angeles prepares its transportation system to host global mega events.
Michael Schneider, a Los Angeles native, traded his car for a bicycle over a decade ago. Since then, Michael has become politically active; as the founder of Streets For All, his organization has had a dramatic impact on L.A. — from passing Measure HLA in 2024 to flipping the L.A. City Council to making and changing laws in Sacramento. In this talk Michael will go over a brief history of L.A. from a transportation point of view, talk about Measure HLA, the current state of street safety and multimodal transportation in the city, and discuss what needs to change to make L.A. functional, safe, and multimodal for all.
Professor Brian Taylor delivers a talk and presentation on proposals between 1920 and 1940 to fundamentally redesign the street system, transit system, and highway system in LA to cope with burgeoning traffic -- why they mostly failed, and why LA is the worse for it today.
To envision alternative transportation futures, Adonia Lugo has collaborated with stewards of traditional Indigenous knowledge. This talk highlights their knowledge of the past and perspectives on how indigenous knowledge can shape the future of LA’s transportation systems.
Nick Patsaouras will chronicle his role in modernizing Los Angeles's transportation infrastructure, particularly his efforts in spearheading the development of the region's subway and light rail lines and advocating for bus services.
Join us for a lecture based on original research documenting the experiences of Peter Gallegos, a blind Native American. Peter moved to Los Angeles from a Great Plains reservation with his seeing-eye dog. This talk will explore his mobility challenges and what happened after his dog was tragically killed by a hit-and-run driver.
