Expanding the Populus Mobility Partnerships Team to Support Cities Around the World
Over the past few months the Populus team has expanded to meet increasing demand for mobility management solutions, as cities have begun to unlock access to data from fleets of shared scooters, bikes, and cars. To support the rapidly growing network of city and mobility partners who are using our advanced mobility management solutions, we’ve brought on board a team of experts who have dedicated their careers to advancing transportation’s safety, equity, and sustainability goals.
The mobility ecosystem is rapidly changing: from the arrival of Uber and Lyft less than 10 years ago to the more recent arrival of shared electric scooters, which have already more than doubled the number of micromobility trips on city streets in just one year. Cities need access to data to plan and coordinate with shared mobility services. At Populus, we have always believed that it is only by working in partnership that cities and shared mobility operators will succeed in delivering more livable streets.
The latest members to join our Mobility Partnerships team each have a unique blend of transportation science, urban planning, and policy expertise. As the mobility data-sharing landscape continues to quickly evolve, this team of professionals is here to serve as a resource for cities and mobility operators to navigate increasingly complex transportation and regulatory ecosystems.
Diego Canales, Global Partnerships Manager
Diego Canales joins the Populus team as our Global Partnerships Manager, working with cities and operators outside of the U.S. and Canada. He has been a leader in the global urban mobility data arena for the past decade having served at World Resources Institute (WRI) as a digital tools and data innovation expert, and at the World Bank as an urban transport specialist, focusing on urban mobility initiatives and transportation technologies in Latin America. Diego holds a Master of City Planning from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master in European Integration from the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona.
Stephanie Seki, Ph.D., Mobility Partnerships Manager
Stephanie Seki has over 10 years of experience in policy analysis and project management in transportation and engineering. As a former Senior Policy Analyst at Atlas Public Policy, a lead consulting firm on electric mobility, Stephanie has advised cities from coast to coast on electric vehicle and shared mobility policy. She has served as a Program Officer at the Transportation Research Board (TRB), one of seven major divisions of the National Academy of Sciences that promotes innovation and progress in transportation through objective, interdisciplinary research. Stephanie has a Ph.D. and M.S. in Engineering and Public Policy and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
Malia Schilling, Mobility Partnerships Manager
Malia Schilling joins the Populus team from Los Angeles, where she was a part of the Vision Zero Division at the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. A longtime advocate for safe streets for pedestrians and bicyclists, Malia has worked in planning and community engagement for a variety of non-profit organizations, including CicLAvia — the largest open streets event in the country. She has a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA, and B.A. in Public Relations from the University of Southern California.
We invite you to reach out to us at the many upcoming transportation and urban planning conferences this fall, including APBP, APWA, NACTO, Rail~volution, NABSA, and more! Are you a city or mobility operator that would like to learn more about our resources and partnerships? Reach out to us at hello@populus.ai to connect. Interested in joining our rapidly growing team? We’re hiring!
About Populus
At Populus, we’re helping cities and private mobility providers deliver safe, efficient, and equitable streets through better data. Our core platform, Populus Mobility Manager, integrates real-time data from multiple operators (shared bikes, scooters, and cars) for cities from coast to coast. Founded by transportation PhDs from MIT and UC Berkeley, the Populus team combines over 30 years of experience building software for (and with) public agencies to plan for the future.
Are you a city or mobility operator looking for advanced data software solutions? Join us for an upcoming webinar on the opportunities to harness new mobility data for transportation policy and planning, or download our resources online.
