Morning Keynote

Afternoon Keynote

Molly Poppe
Chief Innovation Officer
​Chicago Transit Authority

Molly Poppe joined the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in June 2019 as the Agency’s first Chief Innovation Officer.  At the CTA, she is laser focused on enhancing the transit rider experience through innovation from improving the Agency’s many digital tools like bus and train tracker and the Ventra app to launching new fare products and investing in new technologies that will improve service reliability and make the service safer. Molly and the Innovation Department managed many customer and employee initiatives in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and are now focused on developing and implementing the strategic policy solutions and new technology deployments for CTA’s post-pandemic future. The Innovation Department works to identify third-party partnerships to launch integrated products and services that will help reduce mobility friction amongst transportation services and within CTA. She also works closely with CTA departments to foster a culture of innovation across the Agency. Prior to joining the CTA, she spent over seven years working for Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the city of Chicago in various roles, including serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Economic Development where she led the city of Chicago’s Mobility Task Force and the creation of the Roadmap for the Future of Transportation and Mobility in Chicago. Prior to her work at the city of Chicago, she worked for the Obama 2012 presidential campaign. She is a proud graduate of George Washington University.

Monali Shah
Impact Maker

Monali Shah believes through intention, innovation, and investment we can transform. She has applied this mindset to address major societal challenges such as transportation safety, sustainability and equity. She also applies this to personal and team transformation. She believes we can joyfully co-create ideas and solutions by fostering openness, authenticity and creativity.
The spaces where she creates include the tech sector, public sector, and nonprofits. Her newest venture is co-founder of Impact Mākars, a social enterprise that uses creative expression to create connection within organizations. In her work with Google Public Sector, she helps transportation agencies bring the power of AI and analytics to improve safety, resilience and community engagement. As board chair of ITS America, she works across government, companies and academia to foster innovation and collaboration in transportation. Through Social Venture Partners, she invests in community organizations through executive coaching, advising and amplifying.

She serves on the advisory boards for US Department of Energy’s Smart Mobility Consortium and University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute.  She previously served as the Director of Intelligent Transportation at HERE Technologies and led the company's work in the areas of smart cities, automated driving, and traffic management. At Nokia and NAVTEQ, she spearheaded product innovation in several location-based products. She started off her career as an Environmental Engineer and Six Sigma Blackbelt at Avery Dennison. Ms. Shah has a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago.

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