Benjamin de la Peña has been named the next CEO of the Shared-Use Mobility Center (SUMC) effective Jan. 1, 2021.
Sharon Feigon, who announced her plan to retire at the end of 2020, will stay on as founder in residence.
De la Peña has a national and international profile in transportation, particularly innovation and technology.
“Benjie is the right leader for our organization,” said Clayton Lane, chairman of SUMC Board. “He brings extensive experience in smart cities, public life, urban development, technology and mobility that, combined with his dynamic approach to organizational leadership, should strengthen SUMC’s impact on climate change and social justice through sustainable mobility.”
“I am very excited to join the amazing SUMC team,” said de la Peña. “They are widely respected for their expertise, particularly in providing technical assistance to cities and local governments who are trying to make sense of the new modes of transportation. They are trusted by federal, state and local governments, by advocates and by private sector players. SUMC and SUMC’s team is, to paraphrase Archimedes, a ‘place to stand to move the earth.’”
De la Peña previously served as the first ever chief of strategy and innovation for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) where he led the development of nationally recognized technology and mobility strategies such as Seattle’s New Mobility Playbook and the draft Transportation Information Infrastructure Plan. The two documents were noted for using equity and community values to drive technology strategy. He also introduced lean and agile methodologies to the agency.
He was on the advisory committee for the groundbreaking Los Angeles Transportation Technology Strategy, he initiated projects such as Digital Matatus and TransitScore and was a key player in the inception of TransportationCamp. He spent nearly a decade in the philanthropic sector directing international and domestic urban and transportation programs for the Rockefeller Foundation, and leading community and national strategy for the Knight Foundation. He conceptualized and led the Informal City Dialogues. He also advised Cooper-Hewitt’s The Road Ahead: Reimagining Mobility, and Design with the Other 90 percent exhibits.
Currently, he chairs the recently inaugurated Global Partnership for Informal Transportation and serves on the US Advisory Group of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. He also founded the boutique consulting firm Agile City Partners, which is focused on bringing the agile mindset to cities around the world.
“I have big shoes to fill and am grateful for the success that Sharon created with the team. I am particularly looking forward to the leadership role SUMC will play in addressing the issues of climate change and social justice through equitable transportation,” de la Peña continued. “Making sure families and individuals can live and thrive without needing to own a car plays a massive role in addressing the existential and conjoined planetary and societal crises we face.”
He completed his master's in urban planning from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design with a focus on the use of technology for planning. He has a bachelor’s degree in communication, majoring in journalism, from the University of the Philippines.
