Driving America Forward with Kim Raney
“I think that’s what innovation really is–that you’re always willing to grow, that you want to figure out a way to get to ‘Yes.’ We do that at OUSD.”
Kim Raney
Oakland Unified School District’s
(OUSD) Director of Transportation
Kim Raney is Oakland Unified School District’s (OUSD) Director of Transportation, part of the team responsible for electrifying and revolutionizing Oakland’s student transportation. Prior to joining OUSD, she worked for Enterprise Rent-A-Car and FedEx before launching her own transportation contracting business. Today, she lives on a farm in the East Bay with her wife and daughter, where she enjoys rescuing minipigs, building and welding, and working with her hands.
How is OUSD driving innovation forward?
Well, first, Oakland is known for being innovative. The people who live here—a lot of them have had it hard, but they all have heart. Oakland itself is innovative—it takes chances and risks, it’s outside the norm. So it’s kind of already in the groundwater.
So with OUSD, the main thing we’re doing to drive innovation forward is to always have a fix-it mindset, a growth mindset—the idea that things can always be better. Now, when Zum first came to us at OUSD—this was years and years ago—they were using a car-sharing model, similar to Lyft and Uber. We realized that wasn’t going to work for our district—but right away, I saw that the technology they were using was top notch. Like, absolutely A+, and I know, because I had just come from FedEx. So instead of saying “No,” we decided to figure out how to use buses instead of cars. Together, we had the mindset of not accepting the status quo, and that was the start of our partnership.
Then, a few years ago, Zum came to us with the idea of electrifying our bus fleet. At that point, I was all in. EV buses would offset the cost of the fleet, the buses would be safer and quieter and healthier for the kids—it was a win all around. We already had built trust together by working together for years—and again, that trust was based on a shared growth mindset.I think that’s what innovation really is—that you’re always willing to grow, that you want to figure out a way to get to “Yes.” We do that at OUSD.
From your perspective, how is Zum driving America innovation forward?
I think it’s exactly the same thing—the growth mindset.
What Zum has done is taken this private sector idea—that technology can make things safer, more efficient, and simply better—and applied it to our children. It sounds insane when you say it like this, but other people just aren’t doing that. Zum cares so deeply about the quality of life of our students, and it’s using technology to improve it.
Like I said, I came from FedEx. That company is a powerhouse of technology and logistics. Working there, I saw all kinds of things—including people complaining when their package was, like, thirty seconds late. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—if we can invest that much in tracking our packages, we should be investing at least that much in keeping track of our kids as they go to and from school. That’s just a no brainer—and Zum gets that.
So Zum is driving innovation forward by applying efficiency, safety, technology, and a high level of customer service to a portion of the population that typically doesn’t experience that—our kids.
When you think of the future, what role do children/the next generation play, and how can we set them up for success?
Wow, I’m going to sound like a broken record—but it’s the growth mindset!
We need to make sure our kids know it’s okay to make mistakes. That’s how you grow and learn. Perfection isn’t real—that’s not how the world is. Look at Edison—that guy failed A LOT on the way to commercializing electricity.
Let’s make it okay for kids to fail, and fail often—it’s the only way they’ll grow.