Katherine Freund (born May 5, 1950) is an American activist who has spent decades of her life on alternative senior transportation solutions. She founded the Independent Transportation Network (ITN) in 1995, and has acted through her organization to offer dignified transportation alternatives to more than 11,000 seniors and visually impaired individuals to date.
Her work has been recognized through various national and international honors, including her election to a 2012 Ashoka Fellowship and as an AARP Inspire Award Nominee in 2009.
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Early life
Freund was born on Mitchel Field Air Force Base, Long Island, New York.
She attended Levittown Memorial High School, and completed her degree in English Literature at University at Buffalo in 1972. After enjoying a career as a florist, gardening columnist and gardening TV show host, she later pursued a Master of Arts in Public Policy from the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service at University of Southern Maine.
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In 1988 Freund's three-year-old son, Ryan, was run over by an 84-year-old driver who claimed to have mistaken her son for a dog. He survived a traumatic brain injury that resulted from the accident.
Freund drew inspiration from the incident to seek solutions to the dangers inherent when seniors and visually impaired people drive. She pursued solutions through both policy and local action, and eventually conceptualized an organization that would provide rides in private automobiles that would recreate the comfort, independence and dignity that individuals experience when they drive their own vehicles. She founded the Independent Transportation Network (ITN) in 1995, and developed the model over time as she refined the service through research and experience. ITN was initially funded by AARP, the Federal Transit Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Transportation Research Board and numerous private philanthropies as it grew into a sustainable organization with a replicable model.
In 2005, with a business planning grant from the Federal Transit Administration and the Atlantic Philanthropies, Freund founded ITNAmerica. In 2006, the Atlantic Philanthropies funded the national rollout of the ITN model and helped to create the ITNAmerica transportation network. She was also appointed by former President George W. Bush to the Advisory Committee for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging.
In addition to serving as President of ITNAmerica, Freund currently serves on the Transportation Research Board's Committee on the Safe Mobility of Seniors and co-chairs TRB's Joint Subcommittee on Transportation Options for Seniors.
ITNAmerica continues to conduct research, work on policy issues, and provide education to promote safety and mobility for older people. As of May 2015, ITNAmerica operates through 27 affiliated communities in 22 states.
Family and personal life
Freund lives in Portland, Maine. She has one daughter and one son.
Awards and honors
- 2012: Ashoka Fellow
- 2009: AARP Inspire Award Honoree
- 2008: Wall Street Journal - 12 People Who Are Changing Your Retirement
- 2006: American Gerontological Society Maxwell A. Pollack Award for Productive Aging
- 2006: Social Enterprise Alliance Leadership in Innovative Enterprise Ideas Award
- 2004: American Public Health Association Archstone Award for Excellence in Program Innovation
- 1998: Giraffe Hero Commendation
Freund has conducted 14 National Transit Institute Workshops, and participated in more than 150 national and international panels, conference sessions, and speaking engagements on alternative transportation for seniors. Among other places, she has presented on her organization's work in Australia, Canada, Ireland, England, Germany, Switzerland, South Korea and Taiwan.
Publications
- "Aging, Mobility and the Model T: Approaches to Smart Community Transportation," Generations, Journal of the American Society on Aging, pp. 76-81, Freund and Vine, Fall 2010.
- "Dignified Transportation for Seniors," CCQ Capital Commons Quarterly, pp.13-16, July 2008.
- "Public and Private Policy Initiatives to Move Seniors Forward," Public Policy and Aging Report, pp.1-5, Staplin and Freund, Spring 2005.
- "Mobility and Older People," Generations, Journal of the American Society on Aging, pp. 68-69, Summer 2003.
- "Independent Transportation Network®: The Next Best Thing to Driving," Generations, Journal of the American Society on Aging, pp. 70-71, Summer 2003.
- "Surviving Without Driving: Policy Options for Safe and Sustainable Transportation for Seniors," Transportation in an Aging Society: A Decade of Experience, Transportation Research Board, pp.114-121, 2004.
- "Transportation on the Horizon," Mobility and Transportation in the Elderly, pp.145-155. Schaie, Pietrucha, ed., Societal Impact on Aging, Springer Series, 2000.
- "Independent Transportation Network®, Alternative Transportation for the Elderly," TR News, pp. 3 -12, Jan/Feb 2000.
- "Transportation Solutions on Horizon," Aging Today, p.10, January/February 1998.
- "Build it and They Will Come," Transportation, pp.12-15, September/October 1998.
- "How to Deal with Aging Drivers," Eye on Washington, Maine Sunday Telegram, p.1, Section C, August 2, 1998.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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