Waffiyyah Murray as Indego Program Director & Nate Bowman-Johnston as General Manager
PHILADELPHIA – The City today announced that Aaron Ritz will be stepping down as the City’s Indego Program Manager to be replaced by Waffiyyah Murray, formerly Better Bike Share Partnership Program Manager for the City. Additionally, Bicycle Transit Systems announced the appointment of Nate Bowman-Johnston as Indego General Manager.
“I want to thank Aaron Ritz, who as Indego Program Manager has decided to move on after serving for 12 years. His leadership and contributions in making Philadelphia a more walkable, bikeable and sustainable place have laid out the foundation and growth for bike share in our city,” said Deputy Managing Director for Transportation Mike Carroll. “I have full confidence in Waffiyyah Murray’s extensive experience as a nationally recognized expert in transportation equity. Along with her deep knowledge of City government, community engagement and commitment to racial and economic equity in shared microbolity, I know Indego will continue to build on the growth from the past years.”
In her role as Indego Program Manager, Murray is responsible for oversight, planning, and management of the City’s bike share program and the relationship between the City and Bicycle Transit Systems, Indego’s contracted operator.
Murray has a background in nonprofit leadership and youth development. She has presented at several national conferences and provided technical assistance to numerous bike share and micro mobility systems working to incorporate equity within their work. As the Education Program Manager for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, she coordinated its Safe Routes to School program, a national initiative promoting safety and physical activity in school-age children through walking and biking.
“Aaron Ritz has served as a tireless champion for bike share in Philadelphia well before the launch of the program – it is hard to find an aspect of Indego that does not have a marker of his care, dedication and commitment to ensure the program was implemented and managed with equity at the forefront,” said Bicycle Transit Systems CEO Kristin Gavin-Wisniewski. “As the Indego program management transition is underway at the City, we at Bike Transit are excited about what’s possible under Waffiyyah’s leadership given her influential experience with the national bike share and mobility equity movement, deep roots with Indego, and as a Philadelphian.”
In her former role as the Better Bike Share Partnership Program Manager for the City, Murray worked to address barriers to the use of bike share for individuals with low-income and BIPOC communities, while increasing equitable access in micro mobility systems worldwide.
Murray also serves as a board member for the North American Bikeshare and Scootershare Association.
Nate Bowman-Johnston will serve as Indego’s new General Manager, Bicycle Transit Systems announced today. In his role, Bowman-Johnston will work side-by-side with Murray and the team at the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability (OTIS) to oversee aspects of the Indego bike share program from the day-to-day operations and implementation of the large-scale expansion of the program, to the customer and community facing aspects of program implementation.
Bowman-Johnston joins Bicycle Transit Systems after nearly 20 years in the nonprofit sector where his work spanned from doing direct outreach with the unhoused population on the streets of Washington, DC to implementing trauma programs around the globe. According to Gavin, “these experiences have shaped Nate into a calm, empathetic and strategic leader with a focus on equity and access.” Gavin is confident that under Bowman-Johnston’s leadership Indego will continue to serve Philadelphians as a fun, reliable and accessible form of transportation.
A headshot of Waffiyyah Murray is available to download online.
A headshot for Nate Bowman-Johnston is available to download online.