2026 IMPO Speaker Series
Planning in Action: Policy, People & Place
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization’s 2026 Speaker Series brings together regional voices to explore how planning decisions shape housing, mobility, safety, and access across Central Indiana. This four-part series connects policy with lived experience by offering practical insight into the real-world challenges and opportunities facing our communities. Whether you’re a planner, engineer, elected official, advocate, or resident, these conversations are designed to inform and spark action. The IMPO has partnered with APA IN to host this series and offer AICP credits for each event.
- March 31: Increasing Housing Diversity: Breaking Down Barriers
Exploring how local ordinances can better support diverse housing types such as ADUs, family compounds, and small-scale multifamily housing.
- June 10: Safety Technology: Tools for Safer Streets
Discussing automated enforcement, near-miss data, and smart signal systems that support safer transportation networks.- Tucker Born is a Traffic Signal Engineer for Indianapolis DPW and manages the programming across the city’s 1200 traffic signals. Tucker has championed a shift toward intelligent signal systems to increase the safety, efficiency, and capacities of the city’s traffic signals.
- John McGregor, Director of Traffic Operations at INDOT, is responsible for the Work Zone Safety Section, the Hoosier Helper Program, the Work Zone Speed Camera Program, and the Operations of Traffic Management Center.
- Blake Johnson is a State House Representative for district 100 and has been working to introduce policy to allow for automated speed enforcement in school zones.
- August 25: Micromobility on Trails: Designing for Safety & Access
As e-bikes, scooters, and other new micromobility devices grow in popularity communities are rethinking how to regulate and maintain safety on shared-use paths and trails. RSVP Here -
- David Littlejohn, Planner I/ADA Coordinator, City of Carmel, is a Certified Planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners with over 20 years of experience in public planning. David’s primary role as an Urban Planner for the City of Carmel, Indiana involves bicycle, pedestrian, and ADA projects, policy, and infrastructure. Carmel was the first in Central Indiana to adopt a policy regulating and defining e-motos as different from e-bikes.
- Tony Cherolis, Executive Director of Central Indiana Cycling, started his career in aerospace engineering (and is named on 67 patents) but shifted to nonprofit work in 2015, co-founding the BiCi Co. community bike shop and do-it-yourself / teaching mechanic programs at the Center for Latino Progress in Hartford, Connecticut. Tony will share examples of best and worst practices in ordinances for new mobility devices and Central Indiana Cycling’s work in assisting locally with developing policies.
- Steve Magas, The Ohio Bike Lawyer, has written about Bike Laws, bike crashes, bicycle advocacy and court cases for some 30 years. He will share insights through a prerecorded video.
- November 4: Public Transportation: Stories from the Street
Highlighting the voices of drivers, riders, and advocates to explore the human side of transit and its connection to community mobility. RSVP Here
Who Should Attend?
Planners (AICP credits available), transportation professionals, housing advocates, local officials, community leaders, and anyone interested in how planning decisions shape our region. AICP credits will be available for each event.
Location
Each event will take place at the Indiana Historical Society Theater, 450 W Ohio St, from 4:30pm-6:30pm.
Looking for more resources? Check out our 2023 Speaker Series on YouTube.