Our Company

Justin Rees is CEO for Ford Smart Mobility’s transit technology solutions organization created in July 2019 through the integration of TransLoc and Journey Holding Corporation. In this role, Rees oversees all operations with a focus on serving customers and their riders.

Prior to this appointment, he served as the CEO of Journey Holding, a merger of DoubleMap Inc. and Ride Systems LLC. He co-founded Ride Systems in 2007 and subsequently served as its CEO. Under his leadership, the Journey Holding team averaged annual growth of 30 percent.

Rees started his career in transit as a bus driver at Utah State University. He used his affinity for technology to enhance the shuttle operation at the university. Later, he launched technology platforms in his position with a nationwide fuel distributor.

Rees holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Information Systems from Utah State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Washington. He resides in Morgan, Utah.

As TransLoc’s VP of Product, Scott Lacy leads the team of software engineers, product managers and data scientists while steering the long-term vision of the company’s product offerings. Scott puts his focus on how technology can improve the transit experience for riders while generating rider insights for transit agencies. He cut his product and engineering teeth at e-learning giant Blackboard, where he was among the company’s first 15 employees and helped launch their first enterprise learning product. He subsequently co-founded his own behavioral targeting company, Spring Engage.

Kevin Fowler is the VP of Finance where he leads a team of highly skilled finance, accounting and legal professionals. In his role, Kevin develops strategic and tactical plans to support growth initiatives, and he forecasts and secures funding to support business operations. With a diverse background, Kevin held various positions within the Finance team at Ford Motor Company supporting product development, accounting and global capital markets. He was also an inaugural team member of Ford Smart Mobility. 

Ron Cygnarowicz leads the TransLoc team responsible for company growth including business development, marketing, policy and customer experience. As an entrepreneurial executive leader, Ron is experienced in holding CEO and Head of Sales roles at early-stage and high growth technology companies. In his free time, he volunteers as an advisor for companies emerging from the incubators at Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill. He also served on several boards including the board of the Triangle Technology Executive Council (TTEC) and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. In 2019 Ron was recognized with the prestigious “40 Under 40 Award” from the Triangle Business Journal. 

With over 15 years of HR experience in the technology industry, Katie Strickland creates high performing, data driven and employee-focused organizations. At TransLoc she quickly scaled the company to successfully double in size and operations. Her leadership has been instrumental in creating an engaging and connected corporate culture. Katie also creates strategic initiatives around workforce planning, compensation, employee relations, performance management, and other related topics. During her time at IBM, she led diversity and inclusion initiatives which instilled a deep appreciation for the value of D&I in the workplace. Katie has worked with executive leaders across the globe to increase organizational capability through program design and execution, and she has served as a valued panelist at HR industry conventions. 

Josh Cohen is TransLoc’s National Director of Policy. Beyond the multi-syllable words in his title, this means he touches pretty much everything that goes on at TransLoc, a remnant from Josh’s experience as one of TransLoc’s earliest employees. For seven years, Josh helped TransLoc grow from 5 customers to 120 customers as TransLoc’s Director of Business Development. Josh is also the host of The Movement, a leadership podcast that features the brave pioneers who are creating change in an effort to build a coalition of leaders who will build a better tomorrow. Prior to TransLoc, Josh was CEO of DomoLife, a real-estate services business, and VP of Turnkey Sports, a sports business consultancy. When not chasing his three kids around the Bull City, Josh enjoys roasting his own coffee and smoking his own barbeque.

Ashley Berenson is the Director of Product Management at TransLoc. Her results-driven approach has motivated teams to make more data-driven decisions and launch more valuable features for TransLoc customers. Prior to TransLoc, Ashley managed the development and launch of technology-based products for Fortune 500 companies American Express, Anheuser-Busch and Walmart. This Cary resident has successfully driven growth in both domestic and international markets. Recognized with the American Express Chairman’s Award, Ashley was awarded the highest company honor for exemplary achievement and leadership. During her spare time, Ashley has been a passionate volunteer for Junior Achievement, and she’s in the early stages of starting a Women in Product organization in Raleigh.

Jamie Howard is TransLoc’s Director of Engineering. As an Army Infantry Squad Leader, he successfully developed and led high-performing teams during combat and peacetime operations. Jamie shipped his first code at Icarus Studios as part of the Alpha Dev Team, then moved on to Qualcomm to build EDA software for the Snapdragon teams. As a manager at WebAssign, his primary focus was improving the quality of hiring and developing junior leaders. At TransLoc, Jamie has applied his leadership experience and engineering mindset to build an organization that is succeeding through a culture of ownership, empathy, and innovation. When Jamie’s not trying to help save the world through better transit, he enjoys spending time with his wife and twin daughters, playing tabletop games of all kinds, and occasionally throwing plastic discs at metal targets in the woods.

Aviva Imbrey is TransLoc’s Director of Marketing. She oversees all of the marketing and communications for TransLoc’s three business units, as well as the full-service marketing offerings for customers. Her passion for an equitable and sustainable future in transportation led her to TransLoc in 2016. With a deep appreciation for customers, Aviva has built a team that ensures their voice is always central. A graduate from North Carolina State’s College of Design, Aviva’s experience ranges from leading operations teams for Fortune 500 companies, to launching her own event company, to now being part of the tech world where she lends her diverse expertise. Regardless of the industry, Aviva’s goal is to bring incredible people together, make ideas come to life, and challenge everyone around her to make a difference. Outside of work, Aviva is always on the hunt for live music, new cultures to experience, and fun for her little girl.

Cat Kealey is TransLoc’s Director of Business Development. In this role she leads her team to achieve revenue goals, analyzes market feedback to inform TranLoc’s business approach, and collaborates cross-departmentally to plan and coordinate the implementation of strategic business plans. Cat believes public transportation will one day be the first choice for all. She has spoken with over 225 transit agencies about the future of mobility and how flexible, on-demand microtransit service will support their plans. She brings to TransLoc ten years of experience relying on the bus in Oakland, train in Mumbai, and metro in D.C.

Jermaine Grant is TransLoc’s Director of Customer Experience. Jermaine provides leadership to the team that ensures our customers are fully supported in the use and leveraging of our products and services. Jermaine has strong experience in leading customer- and patient-facing teams in travel risk management and healthcare. During Jermaine’s career, he has led global response services in highly technical spaces and executed within a diverse geographical client base that includes Fortune 500 companies. When he isn’t perfecting our customer experience, Jermaine enjoys traveling with his family and experimenting in the kitchen—especially with vegan recipes as he’s a recent convert.

Matt Schick is TransLoc’s Director of Technology Operations, overseeing the Site Reliability and Information Systems & Technology teams. Matt brings with him a thoughtful, discerning, and strategic approach to SRE and IS&T ensuring stability and reliability across all systems. With over 20 years of experience, Matt has held positions at Red Hat, where he was responsible for building the systems department, and most recently at Web Assign, where he was a DevOps Engineer overseeing automation and development, as well as systems automation. When he isn’t spending time with his wife and two kids, Matt is determined to make his home a real life smart house that does all the things he doesn’t want to do — like opening and closing the blinds.

Roni is TransLoc’s Director of Internal Communications. Her main focus in this role is to improve company-wide communications. She brings a diverse background in broadcasting, financial services, manufacturing, and tech. Her roles have varied — from supporting and advising C-suite executives, to managing customer success teams. Before joining TransLoc, Roni was an Internal Communications Consultant at Red Hat. Roni’s “get stuff done” attitude and practical approach make her a trusted member of the leadership team. Roni is a lifelong learner. She has a Business Communications Certificate from Duke University, completed a two-year copyediting program through the University of California San Diego, and is certified in the Prosci change management process.

Elaine McVey is TransLoc’s Director of Decision Sciences, ensuring that the company is making well-informed decisions by providing essential data and analysis, and by influencing decision-making practices. Prior to her role as Director, Elaine oversaw the products and services TransLoc offers to municipalities and transit agencies and identified all business opportunities and needs in the municipal space, aligning business functions to effectively serve these needs. Elaine was recently named one of Triangle Business Journal’s 2019 Women in Business as the region’s Leader in STEM.  Outside of work, Elaine is adrenalized by the ways of the woods with a passion for trail running and mountain biking. When she isn’t tackling the trails, she’s chasing after her two sons and a wide variety of pets (snakes included).

Lenae Storey is a Director of Mobility Strategy at TransLoc. In this role she defines the vision, goals, and business strategies for the company. Prior to joining TransLoc, Lenae worked as a digital strategist and manager developing product and marketing strategies for big-name clients including IBM, GE, and Duke Clinical Research Institute. Lenae also has a comprehensive background in curating sustainable solutions for progressing communities and nonprofit organizations that extends from her time as a Community Development Volunteer in the United States Peace Corps. She is devoted to playing an integral role in finding solutions to the bigger issues within her local community. Lenae is passionate about open government initiatives and designing communities that enable opportunities for all.

Alex Gibson is Director of Mobility Strategy at TransLoc. With his interest in solving meaningful problems, Alex is applying both his passion for transportation infrastructure and data and his understanding how to leverage those assets to make public transportation and cities the best they can be. Through alignment and evangelism, Alex ensures that his team is able to combine data with the mission of TransLoc to become the most trusted provider of accessible and accurate transit data and information. Prior to joining TransLoc, Alex founded multiple companies, including third-party logistics firm Riley Life Logistics, and worked in Product Management at Rally Software to help build products to make engineering teams more successful. Alex is a prolific speaker at a variety of industry events and conferences, and enjoys cats and sarcasm.