Leadership

Mental health is a topic we don’t talk about nearly enough, and when we do, it’s often behind closed doors—if at all. There’s still a stigma around acknowledging stress, burnout, or emotional fatigue at work. Many professionals worry that being open about their mental health will make them seem less capable or limit their career growth. I’ve felt that hesitation too. But if we keep avoiding the conversation, we risk doing real harm to ourselves, our teams, and our organizations. That’s why I wrote the article featured in this month’s Parking & Mobility Magazine. It explores the mental health challenges faced by everyone in our industry—from frontline employees and enforcement officers to business professionals navigating high expectations and constant change. In the article, I share strategies that can help—things like peer support, mental health training, wellness programs, and leadership practices that make space for real conversations. I also highlight voices from the field who are already doing this work and pushing for change. Mental Health Awareness Month is a perfect time to talk about this. But it can’t be a once-a-year topic. If we want healthier, more resilient teams and better service for our communities, we need to make mental well-being part of our everyday culture. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read the full article—and maybe start a conversation of your own. Victor Hill, PTMP, is a mobility and parking consultant at Walker Consultants and a member of IPMI’s certification board. He can be reached at vhill@walkerconsultants.com.

The International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) recognized industry organizations that have achieved Accredited Parking Organization (APO) accreditation, earned the more stringent APO with Distinction, or re-accredited their APO.

The International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) will recognize two leaders who have tremendously impacted the parking, transportation, and mobility industry with the 2025 IPMI Lifetime Achievement and Chair Awards. These leaders will be recognized for their achievements next month at the 2025 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo, June 8-11, in Louisville, KY. The IPMI Board of Directors' executive officers select both the Lifetime Achievement and Chair Award recipients, honoring the achievements of volunteer leaders in the IPMI community. The IPMI Lifetime Achievement Award is bestowed upon active or retired IPMI senior members in the parking, transportation, and mobility industry with a minimum of 20 years of service. They must show: evidence of exemplary leadership as a parking, transportation, or mobility leader through administrative roles held, accomplishments in those roles, and recognition by colleagues and others for significant contributions to the industry; a record of service, leadership, and outstanding achievements as a member of IPMI and affiliated organizations; participation on boards, committees, task forces, publications, and presentations, or general support of the association’s activities. The 2025 IPMI Lifetime Achievement Award is Peter W. Lange, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President, Texas A&M University, College Station. The IPMI Chair Award recognizes individuals who positively impact parking, transportation, and mobility and are our industry's current and future leaders. These individuals and their accomplishments will leave long-lasting effects that will better communities and move the industry forward. The 2025 IPMI Chair Award honoree is Jonathan Wicks, PTMP, Consultant, Walker Consultants.  More detailed information will be available in the July issue of Parking & Mobility magazine’s spotlight feature, to be published on July 10, 2025. Congratulations, and thank you to our 2025 IPMI Lifetime Achievement and Chair Award recipients! About IPMI The International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) is the world’s largest association of professionals in parking, mobility, and transportation. IPMI works to advance the parking and mobility profession through professional development, certification, research and data collection, advocacy, and community building. With experts worldwide in dozens of specialties, IPMI helps parking, mobility, and transportation function efficiently so people, businesses, and communities can keep moving.

A great man once said that the best currency, the most valuable of all, is gratitude. I believe that the groundwork that’s been laid in the world of parking, the innovations that continue to develop, the people and mentors that have been beacons for others, make this industry a great place to work. Parking means more than just a place to park a car due to the passion and dedication of a good many folks. When our leaders have the vigor to see the industry succeed and continue to succeed for the vast network of folks who are affected by this industry, we are thankful we can also provide the same energy for the folks that we individually affect day to day. During times of challenges and new opportunities, gratitude can provide a sense of grounding, to help us relate to what may be unknown to us, to think outside ourselves. Often times we need this strength to be strong for others, even if we are not feeling that confident ourselves, that gratitude can establish as a tool in the box. Technology changes in the parking world can affect our strategy year to year and we need to continue to adapt with it. To remember this gratitude, this thankfulness of all those who helped us grow up to this point, we are better adept to provide the same leadership for the people who need a little help in the now. Adam Feller, PTMP, is an Operations Manager for LAZ Parking. Adam can be reached at Afeller@lazparking.com.

Winners of the 2025 IPMI Professional Recognition Program showcase dedication to their colleagues, organizations, and communities. Parking, mobility, and transportation professionals at all stages of industry careers will be recognized with the 2025 IPMI Professional Recognition Program International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) this month at the 2025 IPMI Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo, June 8-11, 2025, in Louisville, KY. IPMI’s Professional Recognition Awards acknowledge professionals and organizations operating, maintaining, and managing parking and mobility operations at extraordinary levels. The awards celebrate the individuals elevating the industry's perception as a career and profession. Award winners are nominated by their peers and selected by a committee of industry judges. “Each year, we’re inspired by the dedication and forward-thinking spirit of professionals across the parking and mobility industry,” said IPMI CEO Shawn D. Conrad, CAE. “The 2025 Professional Recognition Program winners have again raised the bar, championing innovation, sustainability, and service. We’re proud to celebrate their achievements and their positive impact on communities everywhere.” This year’s winners are: Organization of the Year: Virginia Commonwealth University Parking and Transportation Organization of the Year: University of California, Riverside Transportation Services Industry Professional of the Year: Brett Wood, PTMP, President, Wood Solutions Group Emerging Leader of the Year: Josh Stone, PTMP, Executive Director, Virginia Commonwealth University Parking and Transportation Professional Excellence Award for Technology: David G. Onorato, PTMP, Executive Director, Pittsburgh Parking Authority Professional Excellence Award for Customer Service: Mario Gonzalez, Assistant Manager, Client Services, EasyPark Professional Excellence Award for Leadership: Shylah M. Hales, PTMP, Regional Manager, Diamond Parking Services Professional Excellence Award for Leadership: Chris Sherman, Chief Commercial Officer, Metropolis Professional Excellence Award for Leadership: Aaron Nuque, PECP, Assistant Manager, Parking Enforcement Program, EasyPark This year’s award winners will be featured in the July issue of Parking & Mobility magazine. The 2026IPMI Awards competition will open this fall. Please watch IPMI’s website for details. About IPMI The International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) is the world’s largest association of professionals in parking, mobility, and transportation. IPMI works to advance the parking and mobility profession through professional development, certification, research and data collection, advocacy, and community building. With experts worldwide in dozens of specialties, IPMI helps parking, mobility, and transportation function efficiently so people, businesses, and communities can keep moving.

Which Will Continue to Shape the Industry?

Which Will Continue to Shape the Industry?

Los Angeles, CA — Ocra, the leading provider of parking revenue management software, announces the appointment of Chris Elliston as Chief Revenue Officer. Elliston joins the company at a pivotal moment of rapid growth, bringing a wealth of experience in scaling businesses and leading high-performing teams within the parking and technology sectors. Elliston most recently served as Chief Revenue Officer at ParkHub (now JustPark), where he helped lead the company to national prominence over his eight-year tenure. In his new role, Elliston will oversee Ocra's revenue-generating functions – including sales, partnerships, and client success – with a focus on sustainable growth. As the company continues its upward trajectory, Elliston will play a key role in expanding Ocra's market presence and advancing its mission to serve as a trusted, vendor-neutral partner – what the company calls the "Switzerland" of the parking industry. “This is unequivocally the best time in Ocra’s history,” says Ethan Glass, CEO & Co-Founder, “and Chris Elliston is the perfect person to take us to the next level. We’re very excited to welcome him to our team. For years, I've personally known him to be an innovator and a tremendous leader. He has ‘seen the movie before’ and is uniquely qualified to execute on Ocra’s potential." “It's clear to me that Ocra is a company with enormous potential to transform not just the parking industry, but adjacent industries as well,” says Elliston. "Parking is a high-margin revenue stream that, when optimized, has a significant impact on the bottom line for asset owners. I look forward to helping the Ocra team uplevel their offerings and grow their footprint." Prior to his parking career, Elliston has held senior leadership positions in the corporate training and e-learning space, including at Skillsoft Corporation and NYSE. Outside of work, he serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Episcopal School of Dallas and is an active supporter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of North Texas. About Ocra Founded in 2019, Ocra partners with parking operators and technology companies to help asset owners optimize the yield of their parking assets and drive higher net operating income (NOI). Its omni-channel management software empowers operators to centrally control rates and inventory across multiple parking consumer demand channels – also called "aggregators" or "parking OTAs" – and view sophisticated real-time reporting for their entire online business in one place. In 2023, Ocra launched their revenue optimization division, Ocra CoPilot, for a sophisticated, data-driven approach to rates and inventory management for parking assets, providing an “eyes in the sky” approach for the “boots on the ground” team to achieve optimal yield. Today, Ocra works with 50+ parking operators and 20+ hotel management groups at 500+ locations across North America. In the hotel sector alone, Ocra has generated $12.3m in incremental revenue at 45+ locations in the past 6 months (October 2024–April 2025) by selling underutilized parking inventory to non-guest customers. The company has raised $5m to date, most recently in an oversubscribed $3.5m round of strategic industry backers co-led by MCR and Parker Technology. For more information about Ocra, email info@getocra.com or visit www.getocra.com. Media Contact Sarah Becherer VP, Marketing Ocra sarah@getocra.com

In the world that is parking and mobility, among our primary responsibilities are compliance with laws, regulations, and policies and completing reports to document adherence to applicable requirements. Ensuring the delivery of services in a safe and efficient manner and having sufficient funds for annual expenses can consume much of our time and keep us from stepping back to consider new and different ways of innovating to meet quickly changing needs. In this workplace environment, innovation may not have a place to be explored and generated so it takes purposeful action to ensure we break out of our daily routines. This can occur through employee interactions, meetings and brainstorming where you encourage a wide range of employees to think differently and consider alternative approaches to issues, challenges and problems. It can also include adding to your staff employees who have shown past experience in using innovative approaches so make sure to ask probing questions to get at this during interviews. Although not easy and it may not occur organically, innovation can be incorporated into our workplace providing benefits such as making for a more interesting, exciting and productive place for employees while positioning the organization as a leader in addressing the rapidly changing world of transportation. Mark Hairr, PTMP, is an Executive Director for Wave Transit. Mark can be reached at mhairr@wavetransit.com.

FREDERICKSBURG, VA: The International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) is pleased to announce its 2025-2026 Board of Directors. The association held elections in April 2025. The 2025-2026 board will begin their term at the conclusion of IPMI’s 2025 Parking & Mobility Conference & Expo in Louisville, Kentucky, June 8-11. The Executive Committee will begin the second year of their two-year appointments: Alejandra “Alex” Argudin, PTMP, Chief Executive Officer, Miami Parking Authority, as Board Chair; Maria Irshad, PTMP, Deputy Director, ParkHouston, as Chair-elect; Marlene Cramer, PTMP, Director of Transportation and Parking Services, California Polytechnic State University, as Treasurer; and Gary Means, PTMP, Executive Vice President of Pivot Parking, as Past Chair. One newly elected board member will serve for the next two years: Julie Dixon, President, Dixon Resources Unlimited. Re-elected board members who will serve an additional term through 2026 include: Josh Cantor, PTMP, George Mason University, Director of Parking & Transportation; Carmen Donnell, PTMP, Managing Director, North America, PayByPhone; Irma Henderson, PTMP, Director of Transportation Service, University of California, Riverside; Shawn McCormick, Director, Parking Enforcement and Traffic, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA); and Gabe Mendez, PTMP, Director of Transportation Operations, University of Wisconsin-Madison. The entire 2025-2026 IPMI Board of Directors, effective June 11, 2025, is: Chair: Alejandra “Alex” Argudin, PTMP, Chief Executive Officer, Miami Parking Authority, Miami, FL. Chair-elect: Maria Irshad, PTMP, Deputy Director, ParkHouston, Houston, TX. Treasurer: Marlene Cramer, PTMP, Director of Transportation and Parking Services, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA. Past Chair: Gary Means, PTMP, Executive Vice President, Pivot Parking, Frankfort, KY. Josh Cantor, PTMP, Director of Parking & Transportation, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. Julie Dixon, President, Dixon Resources, Fullerton, CA. Carmen Donnell, PTMP, Managing Director, North America, PayByPhone, Vancouver, British Columbia, CN. Robert Ferrin, PTMP, Senior Project Manager, Kimley-Horn, Columbus, OH. Irma Henderson, PTMP, Director of Transportation Services, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA. Casey Jones, PTMP, Senior Director of Customer Success, FLASH, Boise, ID. Alex MacIsaac, PTMP, Director, University of Toronto Transportation Services, Toronto, ON. Shawn McCormick, Director, Parking Enforcement and Traffic, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), San Francisco, CA. Gabe Mendez, PTMP, Director of Transportation Operations, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. JC Porter, PTMP, Director of Commuter Services/TDM, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. Josh Stone, PTMP, Executive Director, Parking and Transportation, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA Shawn Conrad, CAE, CEO, International Parking & Mobility Institute, Fredericksburg, VA. About IPMI The International Parking & Mobility Institute (IPMI) is the world’s largest association of professionals in parking, mobility, and transportation. IPMI works to advance the parking and mobility profession through professional development, certification, research and data collection, advocacy, and community building. With experts worldwide in dozens of specialties, IPMI helps parking, mobility, and transportation function efficiently so people, businesses, and communities can keep moving.

Orlando, FL – HONK, North America's leading provider of contactless payments for parking and mobility, is pleased to announce the appointment of David Hoyt as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO). A seasoned executive with over 20 years in parking, mobility, and transportation tech, Hoyt will lead strategic efforts across emerging markets, product innovation, partnerships, and M&A. Hoyt brings a strong track record of results-oriented leadership, having driven significant revenue and market growth as Chief Revenue Officer, and later as Managing Director, North America, at ParkMobile. He previously held leadership roles at T2 Systems and SP Plus Corporation (Standard Parking), giving him a broad perspective across both software and field operations. “We’re thrilled to welcome David to the HONK executive team,” said Michael Back, HONK Founder and CEO. “He brings deep industry knowledge, a sharp strategic mind, and a strong track record of driving growth. David’s leadership will play a pivotal role as HONK enters its next phase of innovation and expansion, focusing even more on what sets the company apart: making parking and mobility easier for everyone, from drivers to asset owners.” HONK continues to scale rapidly, recently earning a spot on Canada’s Top Growing Companies list for 2024. As demand rises for frictionless, software-based mobility solutions, HONK remains at the forefront with a vertically integrated platform that unifies advanced payments, permitting, third-party integrations, and data insights. “I’m excited to join HONK at such a transformative moment,” said Hoyt. “The team has built a reputation for agility, innovation, and strong client relationships. I look forward to contributing to its continued growth by identifying new opportunities, building meaningful partnerships, and advancing the way people access and experience mobility.” As CSO, Hoyt will focus on identifying and capitalizing on new market trends, expanding HONK’s strategic footprint, and working closely with the leadership team to support sustainable, scalable growth.

Parking Enforcement Customer Service. Does the word “enforcement” go hand in hand with customer service? Yes, it certainly does, and it can be demonstrated daily in both big and small ways. I want to speak more about this and how a servant leader can positively impact an enforcement team to serve their community and show this toward each other in internal customer service, leading to employee retention and a positive and happy workplace. What is customer service? The Oxford dictionary defines it as “the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services.” But it means so much more than this because it can create a feeling and attitude of support and motivate an individual to help others, bringing satisfaction and gratitude to both the giver and the receiver. Customer Service involves using various tools, including listening, empathy, understanding, and problem-solving, while feeling empowered to help. In my seven years as a parking enforcement supervisor with the City of Boulder, we always work hard to demonstrate the city values of Respect, Collaboration, Innovation, Integrity, and Customer Service. This shows up daily with anyone we cross paths with. However, the value of customer service involves more than just doing a job. It often goes beyond what’s expected. Whether changing someone’s tire, jumping someone’s dead battery, providing directions, or being there for someone in a time of need, we can always find ways to show excellent customer service. This cannot be just a simple expectation but must come from somewhere more than a policy. It’s seeing a community or customer as family. It comes from a heartfelt desire to help as if this person is a family member in a time of need. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this. Leo Pelle, PTMP, is a Parking Enforcement Supervisor for the City of Boulder, Colorado. Leo can be reached at pellel@bouldercolorado.gov.