Key Speakers

Laura Chace was named President and CEO of ITS America in August 2021. Previously, she served as the association's Chief Operating Officer. In her role as COO and now as President and CEO, her focus is to promote policies that advance the development and safe deployment of intelligent transportation technologies throughout the United States.

Chace has extensive experience in strategic planning, operations, communications and advocacy, and a proven track record of implementing complex initiatives with strong engagement and collaboration among stakeholders. As COO, she led operations across ITS America with a focus on technology's ability to save lives and reduce crashes on U.S. roadways, reduce congestion, minimize transportation's carbon footprint, and provide seamless mobility and transportation choices for all Americans.

She is passionate and speaks often about the need to include more female and diverse voices in the transportation workforce to create better outcomes for all who use the transportation system. Chace is a founding member of the MobilityXX initiative, which is focused on increasing the number of women in transportation by 10 percent in 10 years.

Chace brings 15 years in trade association management to her new role, having previously worked at USTelecom and the American Trucking Association. Early in her career, she served in the Clinton Administration at the U.S. Department of Justice Office and in the White House. She holds a Bachelor of Art's degree from Colgate University.

Scott Marler became the Director of the Iowa Department of Transportation in February 2020.

Marler has worked for the Iowa DOT for 24 years, with experience in traffic operations, ITS, highway project development, regulatory compliance, and the natural environment. Marler has been active in leadership development and workforce planning and has also been instrumental in preparing for automated transportation and advanced technologies.

Marler is an active leader with the American Association of State Transportation Officials (AASHTO), where he currently serves on the Board of Directors, the chair of the Committee on Transportation System Operations, and a co-chair of the Cooperative Automated Transportation Coalition.

Marler holds a Master of Science degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

Monali Shah is a strategic business executive for the public sector at Google. She leads the creation of mobility, sustainability, and equity solutions leveraging Google Cloud’s AI and analytics capabilities to address the needs of public sector agencies.  She is the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for ITS America and serves on DOE’s Smart Mobility Executive Advisory Board.

Ms. Shah previously served as the Director of Intelligent Transportation at HERE Technologies and led product innovation at Nokia across many areas including connected and automated driving, traffic management, and outdoor adventure. Ms. Shah has a degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Michigan and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago.