June/July 2021 Newsletter
Member? Non-Member?
Did you know that if your organization is a member of IBTTA, then you are automatically a member as well? You can register for an account at IBTTA for access to events and data. Feel free to forward this newsletter to coworkers who may benefit from it!
Stop by the Young Professionals Council LinkedIn Page!
We have a linked in site! If you are looking for professional growth opportunities in the tolling industry, the YPC LinkedIn page is the place to go. Join here to expand your professional network, connect with tolling experts, and advance your career in the industry while having fun!
YPC Upcoming Events
June 24, 2021 IBTTA YPC Panel: Leveraging Relationships to Help Build a Career
SAVE THE DATE! Session Planning in Progress! Join a panel of professionals as they discuss networking & how it has impacted their careers. Participants will have the opportunity to submit questions questions during the event. Registration details to come.
Notes from the YPC Chair
Hi YPC Members and Friends of YPC,
I’ve really appreciated seeing some of your faces lately! Although everyone is ready to meet in person, our Zoom meetings and Discord Hangouts are doing a good job of keeping me connected. If you haven’t had a chance to join us at our biweekly Wednesday meetups, feel free to join us when you can between 12:30 and 1:30pm E.T., even if it’s only for a few minutes. We will have meetings June 9, June 23, July 7, and July 21.
I hope you’ve had the opportunity to check out some of the amazing opportunities IBTTA has had this year. If not, members have access to all the past presentations to re-watch. And if you’re not sure if you’re a member – good news, if your company is a member, so are you! Create a profile and you will have access to all the IBTTA info, including past presentations, the Mentorship program, and Toll Miner.
Speaking of presentations, we are always looking for good ideas! If you have suggestions, feel free to mention them on Discord. If you want to help bring those ideas to life, we are also happy to have you join one of our subcommittees. Reach out to me or any of the Steering Committee members on Discord or at ibttaypc@gmail.com and we will get you info on how to get involved.
See you soon in the Discord chat,
Chelsea Scheid
2021 YPC Chair
YPC Member Spotlight
Chloe Strasser
Q:Where do you work and how long have you been there?
A: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the Tunnels Bridges and Terminals Department, 4 years.
Q: What is your current role?
A: Supervisor, Customer Service Center (CSC) Oversight: I am the back office contract manager for the Customer Service Center that serves the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey electronic tolling customers.
Q: Tell us about your favorite project, either at your current or in a previous role?
A: My favorite project that I have worked on thus far is the Tolls NY mobile app. I enjoyed working on the project because it required various facets to accomplish the project from design strategy, customers experience strategy, to drafting and revising text, functionality testing, and engaging legal for their input. Lastly, once it went live I got to read real customer feedback and see the increase in customers choosing this method as their option to pay. It was a fun project that I think added huge value to our customers and allws them another option to self-service. You can download it here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.conduent.ezpass&hl=en_US&gl=US
Q: What is one thing, industry-related or other, that you have learned in the last month?
A: I’ve begun listening to Suze Orman’s Women & Money podcast. She recently had an episode where she spoke about housing climate in America. I thought this would be of specific interest to me as my boyfriend and I are looking to buy our first home. Suze said in her podcast that the median age of first-time home buyers has increased to 33. 33 years ago the birth rate was high. Meaning more people today are interested in buying their first home. Secondly, many of the baby boomers are now making the switch from leaving their big homes as they are empty nesters and moving into smaller homes. Lastly, many people that lived in the city are now moving to the suburbs to get more space as they can work from home now. All of these three groups are competing to buy similar type of home (smaller, considered entry level home types).
Demand is high for homes. Supply is low. Thus prices are high.
During the pandemic, even though construction in some states was the first to go back to work, after restrictions were put into place many of these projects were delayed due to materials not being available and/or more expensive than normal because production lines were impacted around the world due to the pandemic. Lumber for example is at an all time high.
Q: How long have you been with YPC? Do you have a favorite YPC-related story?
A: I joined the YPC Steering Committee in July 2020. I enjoy reading our monthly newsletters and learning about our different members through the YPC Spotlight.
Q: What do you like to do when you are not in the office?
A: I like to go payaking (it’s a paddleboard + kayak). I recently went out on the Hudson river as I live in NY and it was beautiful. I also bought a season pass to check out Harriman State Park which is known for seven different lakes. Looking forward to attempting to go to every single one this summer. It was 80 here in NY this week so I am very excited!
I also LOVE to plan and go on trips. Ive been to Petra, Jordan and Victoria Falls, Zambia, which are two of my most memorable trips.
Q: What is something you are looking forward to in 2021?
A: With restrictions lifting and my friends and I being vaccinated, I am very hopeful for the coming year. I am very much looking forward to being able to see my friends and to go travel. in addtion, when winter comes back to NY it will be nice to be able to go to restaurants indoors.
YPC Book Club
The YPC book club is completing it’s first book, The Management Myth: Debunking Modern Business Philosophy by Matthew Stewart. We are finishing the last section, section four, which is Striving for Excellence. Our last book club discussion took place on Friday, May 21, 2021 at 12pm. This book has been very insightful into the history of management and the structure of business. Our meetings have allowed for a lot of great discussion about how current businesses are run, personal stories were shared, and provided a lot of insight into the business world.
NEXT BOOK! The next book for the YPC Book Club is in the works. We are looking to do a more lighthearted, entertaining, and easy read. Something everyone would want to read outsider on their deck or sitting on the beach as the warmer weather approaches. Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon Book Clubs will be used as inspiration to find the next great book. There will be four books to choose from ranging from a variety of genres. A poll will be placed on the YPC Discord, on the Book Club Channel, for voting the week of May 23th. Descriptions of the books will be provided with the poll. The poll will remain open for one week, so make sure you vote for the book you would like to read! We hope you participate in our next Book Club Meeting!
Don’t forget about the YPC Discord Channel!
Most of our community activities and meetings take place on our Discord server, which you can join with this link. The link will take you to the browser version of Discord, btu once you sign up you can download the app on desktop or mobile for a better experience. If you have joined before but lost hte link, you can always find it again in this newsletter or on ypcouncil.org, and using the app will make it even easier. Be sure to check regularly to participate in our weekly discussion topic!YPC uses our Discord channel to communicate. From our weekly topics and events to our book club conversation and our gaming events – we talk about it everything here! Download the Discord app on your mobile device or computer and start chatting with us today!
Next YPC Member Spotlight Nominations
We have a goal to feature a person of interest in the Spotlight section of our monthly YPC Newsletter, so we are asking YOU to nominate someone.
Do you know someone fascinating? Intelligent? Talented? Someone you have learned from or someone that you feel others can learn from?
Do they work in the tolling and transportation industry?
If so, we would like to learn more about them!
Please submit nominations to the YPC Communications Sub-committee team via email: IBTTAYPC@gmail.com
Subject: Spotlight Nomination
IBTTA Technology Summit 2021
The Technology Summit was a virtual event which took place May 3-6, 2021.
There were over 800 registered for the event which took full advantage of a wider reach thanks to video-conferencing platforms.
The summit featured sessions such as: Future of Transportation & Technology, Modernizing the Customer Service Experience, Regional & International Round Tables, Mobility on Demand, Vendor Forums, Road User Charge/Vehicle Miles Traveled, Roadside & Field Systems, Toll World Meet Tech World: Featuring representatives from Google, Ford, AT&T, and Strategy Analytics.
Recordings of the sessions and the full agenda are available to IBTTA Members and are located in Events section of the IBTTA website. Links for the recordings and agenda can be accessed here:
Full Agenda & Recordings