Rachel Yoka Joins International Parking Institute as VP of Program Development

May 15, 2014

Alexandria, Va. (May 15, 2014) – Rachel Yoka, LEED, AP BD+C, CNU+A, CPSM, a tireless parking industry supporter and 2012 recipient of its Parking Professional of the Year, will join the staff of the International Parking Institute (IPI) this week to assume the new position of Vice President of Program Development.

In this role, Yoka will serve as a technical liaison with several IPI committees, including Parking Research, Safety and Security, Consultants, and Technology. She will also be the IPI liaison with allied state and regional parking associations and spearhead a number of new initiatives with related trade association and government agencies to fulfill IPI’s mission to advance the parking profession.

As former Vice President of Strategic Business Planning & Sustainability for Timothy Haahs & Associates, Inc., Yoka directed numerous projects, including a major study for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, aimed at designing and incentivizing sustainable development in emerging nations.

“Rachel will be able to achieve even more for the parking industry in her new position with IPI,” says Tim Haahs, PE, AIA, who served on the IPI Board of Directors for more than 10 years and is considered one of the profession’s most notable leaders. “We are sorry to see her go, but the TimHaahs family and IPI have been so close over the years–we will always be very proud of Rachel’s accomplishments.”

Yoka joined Haahs in working with IPI to steer a variety of efforts to support and advance the entire parking industry. An early promoter of sustainability, she is editor of the groundbreaking new Sustainable Parking Design and Management: A Practitioner’s Handbook. She led the development of the Green Parking Council’s new Green Garage certification program, and her efforts were honored with its 2013 Sustainability Leadership Pioneer Award.

Yoka has worked on several charitable and community programs and served on numerous boards, including the Pennsylvania Parking Association (PPA), Philadelphia District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), ULI’s Global Marketplace, and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). In 2014, she was named one of 40 Under 40 by the Philadelphia Business Journal.

“Rachel has distinguished herself as an industry visionary,” says Shawn Conrad, CAE, IPI’s executive director. “We are thrilled to have her aboard and I have no doubt that all IPI members will benefit.”