Former Transportation Director Joins Seat Belt Supplier IMMI

WESTFIELD, Ind. — Monica Coburn will bring her experience with lap-shoulder belts on school buses to seating supplier IMMI.

Coburn has been named student transportation account manager for the Westfield-based company, which produces SafeGuard seating products.

Previously in her career, Coburn helmed the transportation departments at Indianapolis Public Schools and Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. in Columbus, Indiana. During her tenure at Bartholomew, she oversaw the addition of seat belts to the school bus fleet, which reportedly led to improved behavior and enhanced safety for student passengers.

Those benefits that Bartholomew experienced were highlighted at a July 2015 meeting that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration held to discuss seat belts on school buses.

More recently, at Indianapolis Public Schools, Coburn played a key part in adding 100 new school buses with lap-shoulder belts to the district’s fleet.

In her new role at IMMI, Coburn will work with school districts to convert their travel and activity school buses to include SafeGuard lap-shoulder belts.

“We’re thrilled to bring Monica and her expertise onboard,” said Larry Gray, CEO of IMMI. “She’s seen what a difference lap-shoulder belts make on safety, behavior, and driver satisfaction, and she is a passionate believer that every district can benefit from them. The work Monica did in Bartholomew County is a model for other districts around the country for adding lap-shoulder belts and making sure kids will wear them.”