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SEARCHThe company's CEO was honored as a Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business, and the organization was named to the 2024 Fortune Change the World List.
Ritu Narayan is the founder and CEO of Zum. She also was recognized on CNBC's 2024 Changemakers: Women Transforming Business list.
Photo: Zum
It's a win-win for transportation company Zum, as it has just been honored for two separate awards.
On Sept. 18, its CEO and Founder Ritu Narayan was named to the San Francisco Business Times' 2024 Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business list. The newspaper's annual awards recognize "powerful, inspiring, and influential women" in the region.
"It is an honor to be part of the 2024 class of Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business alongside so many inspiring and innovative leaders," said Ritu Narayan, founder and CEO at Zum. "I founded Zum to solve the decades-long problem of student transportation. We got our start in the Bay Area with tremendous support from schools and families – and, today, Zum is leading the industry forward by delivering safe, reliable, sustainable, and equitable rides in school districts nationwide."
Zum manages and operates student transportation in 14 states and is expanding across the country.
Photo: Zum
On Sept. 25, the company also announced that it had been named to the 2024 Fortune Change the World list. The list is comprised of 52 global companies that have "made a significant social or environmental impact this year."
"It is an honor to be named to the 2024 Fortune Change the World list alongside so many innovative companies that are helping to build a better future," Narayan said. "At Zum, we have had an incredible year, from expanding our footprint to more than 4,000 schools across 14 states, to launching the nation's first school district with a 100% electric school bus fleet. We are proud of this recognition and to be leading the industry in safe, reliable, and sustainable student transportation."
In August, Zum launched the nation's first fully electrified school bus fleet in Oakland, Calif., that features its vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. Additionally, this year the EPA's Clean School Bus Program awarded $58 million to Zum to accelerate the electrification of its school district partners nationwide.
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Roberts, 35, serves as the lead IT application engineer for vehicle electrification at First Student, where he helps shape scalable, real-world EV infrastructure to support student transportation.
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Swazer, 29, serves as director of transportation at Puyallup School District, where he champions student wellbeing and inspires the next generation of industry leaders.
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Dubas, 38, serves as sales manager and safety advocate at IMMI, where she advances school bus occupant protection through industry education, OEM collaboration, and proactive safety policy efforts.
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Kramlick, 30, runs operations for TransPar in Hawaii, where he also showed dedication while helping Maui recover from the recent wildfires.
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Moore, 32, grew up around the school bus, leading him to the classroom and eventually inspiring high-performing teams while bringing operations in house (twice).
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Baran, 38, serves as transportation supervisor at Odyssey Charter School in Delaware, where he leads daily operations with a focus on safety and professional growth.
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Maybee, 36, leads transportation operations for Denver Public Schools, where he is advancing equity, efficiency, and cross-department collaboration to improve student access.
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Higgins, 38, serves as director of industry engagement at TAT (Truckers Against Trafficking), where she equips school transportation professionals with the tools to recognize and report human trafficking.
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