The White House, Xerox, Ford, Verizon, Other Technology Leaders to Hold Key Discussions on Moving Innovation in Transportation Forward at ITS America’s Annual Meeting

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) today announced that on Monday, May 21 it will hold a key discussion event concerning intelligent transportation and its role in helping to solve America’s infrastructure crisis with national leaders including Ursula Burns, chairman and chief executive officer of Xerox; Chris Vein, deputy White House chief technology officer; Robert Brown, Ford Motor Company’s vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering; and Martin Thall, Verizon’s vice president - Telematics. This is just one of numerous sessions examining ways to bring innovation to the nation’s transportation system that will take place during ITS America’s Annual Meeting & Exposition being held from May 21-23, 2012 at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., just outside Washington, D.C.

More than 2,000 of the nation’s transportation and technology leaders will gather at the three-day event entitled, "Smart Transportation: A Future We Can Afford." It will focus on affordable strategies to create smart cities and communities that are safer, cleaner, more affordable and less congested. As cities and states are being asked to do more with less, transportation leaders are turning to innovative technology solutions to optimize taxpayer dollars while lowering driving costs, reducing traffic congestion, and improving the environment as well as road and vehicle safety. Click here to view the final program .

Other key speakers will include:

·John Porcari, deputy secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation

·Arun Majumdar, acting under secretary, U.S. Department of Energy

·Deborah Hersman, chairman, National Transportation Safety Board

·David Strickland, administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

·Greg Winfree, acting administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration

·Beverley K. Swaim-Staley, secretary, Maryland Department of Transportation

·Sean Connaughton, secretary, Virginia Department of Transportation

·James Oberstar, former Chairman, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

"This is going to be one of the most dynamic events we’ve ever been involved in," said Scott Belcher, president and chief executive officer of ITS America. "We’ll be in the nation’s capital with thousands of transportation innovators and policymakers, all debating the legacy that we’re leaving for our kids. Intelligent transportation provides low-cost solutions that create good jobs, help solve critical transportation challenges, and will improve our nation’s economic competitiveness."

In addition to the featured speakers, the Annual Meeting will offer more than 60 sessions and provide attendees with an array of tailored session tracks focused on topics including safety, sustainability, transportation management and commercial vehicles, among others. The event will also showcase the significant use of ITS deployments in the Washington Metropolitan area with specific tours of the District of Columbia Department of Transportation’s Operations Center, Virginia Transportation Operations and the new I-495 Express Lanes Operations Center, Maryland Transportation Operations as well as the national Saxton Transportation Operations Laboratory at the Federal Highway Administration’s Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center.