Kristin Persu Director of Operations | SCR Medical Transportation/Beacon Mobility in Chicago
When Kristin Persu was growing up, her father helped run a transportation business consisting of taxis, lim- ousines and paratransit vehicles in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Despite the company not providing school transportation, Persu said that when her dad’s business closed in 2015, joining transportation company SCR Medical Transportation, based in Chicago, seemed like a good fit for her from the beginning. She noted that three months into starting the position, she oversaw the contract for Chicago Public Schools. “And by that fall, I was helping route and do everything for startups,” she told School Transportation News during an interview at STN EXPO Reno in July. “I didn’t know anything about school operations before starting at SCR, and I feel like through trial and error, I’ve kind of figured out how to run that operation.” She said she’s not afraid of change and working out
issues differently until they’re resolved. Persu noted that in addition to having a relationship
Nick Voisard
Senior Director of Electric Vehicles for North America | National Express After college, Nick Voisard started working for a real estate
developer, providing business development for client Trac- tor Supply Co. In 2009, he said, the market challenge started to have an impact on the business, and he wanted to make a change. “I had a very good friend who was a recruiter at First Student,” he said, adding that his friend helped him get a foot in the door and he worked with the company until 2015. Following his time at First Student, Voisard worked for a small engineering firm until joining National Express in January 2017. In his day-to-day operations as
National Express’ senior director of electric vehicles for North America, a role he assumed in April, Voisard is responsible for transitioning to a ze- ro-emission fleet. “Vehicle electrification at scale has many challenges,” he said. “I am responsible for identifying and resolv-
40 School Transportation News • OCTOBER 2022
ing those challenges. I work with our safety, real estate, government relations, finance, and maintenance/engi- neering teams to determine the most economical and sustainable solution for our customers.” He noted that if he performs his
job well, his current role will become obsolete. “My goal is to make EV im- plementation second nature for our organization. “I want to have everyone trained, from
driver to CEO, on the tools necessary to deliver a clean school bus future for our communities,” he explained. “In five years, I plan to have National Express as the household name in electric school bus implementation and operation. I hope to continue leading our transition
to electrification through new business growth as well as play a key part in our industry through participation in key organizations and educational opportunities.”
with the driving staff, relationships with the community and parents is equally important. “I want to just make sure we take care of our employees, so that they take care of the students,” she said. SCR, which has been in business since 1986, joined the Beacon Mobility family in September of last year. Judith Craw- ford, the CEO of Beacon Mobility, said in her nomination of Persu that she runs about 200 special education routes for CPS and helped manage the driver pool during the historic “Great Resignation.” Persu noted that while she doesn’t
know what the future holds, she wants to continue helping kids get to school, and helping people in general.
“What’s also important to me is the number of students
we can help get to school every day,” she added. “…We’re a big, important part of their day. We’re part of their edu- cation because if they can’t get there, then they might not have access to their education. We need to make sure they get there safely and on time.”
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