New Flyer | Leading the Charge

In this edition, New Flyer highlights the advancement of clean technology and zero-emission workforce development and celebrates outstanding team achievements in mobility innovation.

Twice the Impact: New Flyer Leaders Named to Mass Transit's Top 40

For the second year in a row, New Flyer celebrated two of its own being named to Mass Transit's Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40. Stephanie Laubenstein, Director of Sales and Business Development, and Ian Macpherson, Director of Production Engineering, were named to the 2019 list following New Flyer's Brydon Owen and Paul Cantin in 2018. The Mass Transit Top 40 Under 40 list recognizes outstanding young individuals making a name in North America’s public transit industry, who illustrate a capacity for innovation, demonstrated leadership, and a commitment to making an impact in transit.

Laubenstein has been instrumental in developing innovative technical and commercial mobility solutions, and has worked to increase the adoption of zero-emission to help lower the environmental footprint of public transportation in North America. She is a Leadership APTA graduate and remains extensively involved in industry workforce development and diversity initiatives, serving as a member of the APTA Diversity and Inclusion Council, as well as the Transit Working Group for the Department of Labor Apprenticeship Powered by Industry (API) initiative, among others.

Macpherson is a product design expert. He currently oversees the planning, designing, and testing of New Flyer's production projects, and leads an international team of 200 designers, engineers, technicians, and project coordinators – supporting 30-40 transit agencies at any given time. He is also attributed as one of the inventors of SmartRider™, New Flyer's intelligent bus leveling technology that ultimately improves the accessibility of a bus – making it a game-changer for North American passengers.

New Flyer's Kate Parnala in the Clean Energy Workforce Spotlight

Kate Parnala, a member of the manufacturing team at New Flyer's Winnipeg facility, was recently featured in the Clean Energy Canada "Faces of Clean Energy" report.

After completing a degree in engineering in the Philippines, Kate moved to Canada eight years ago to begin her clean energy career, and for the last six years has worked as a manufacturing engineering technologist. During her time with New Flyer, Kate has advanced with the evolution of zero-emission technology, and today works on electrical component production for New Flyer’s buses, including the battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE™.

Because electric buses help reduce carbon pollution, Kate is one of many in the clean energy workforce who are learning, growing, and supporting greater zero-emission adoption across North America.

Jennifer McNeill, New Flyer's Vice President and Sales and Marketing, was named an Honouree of Canada's prestigious Clean50 list for 2020, recognizing Canada’s leaders advancing sustainability across sixteen categories for outstanding contribution to the clean energy economy. McNeill was also named to the Clean16 as the category leader for Manufacturing and Transportation.

McNeill has advocated for zero-emission bus adoption in North America and spearheaded New Flyer’s support of smart city development through smart, sustainable, mobility solutions; overseeing the development of New Flyer’s Vehicle Innovation Center and its educational programming, as well as the launch of New Flyer Infrastructure Solutions™. She currently serves on the boards of the Canadian Urban Transit Association and the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium, as well as the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Transit Research Analysis Committee in Washington, DC.