JUNE 7, 2021 -- With a virtual event, GoTriangle’s Transportation Demand Management Department and its partners will celebrate Triangle workers who took to safe and smart commutes during a global pandemic when driving alone held exceptional appeal.
Raleigh City Councilmember Corey Branch will give the keynote address at the GoPerks Golden Modes, which will be June 22 from 1 to 2 p.m. Register online here.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, will offer the welcome.
The free event will recognize commuters and other GoPerks incentive program participants who made a dramatic difference to our air quality in 2020. Participants will hear from front-line workers who relied on transit or carpools to meet the extraordinary challenge of keeping the essential aspects of life in the Triangle going strong and from individuals who walked or biked to work to follow safety precautions during their commutes.
In 2020 alone, GoPerks participants tracked more than 60,000 smart commutes, saved nearly $260,000, burned nearly 3 million calories and reduced greenhouse gases in our atmosphere by more than 1 million pounds. Sign up for the event to learn more about how you can smart commute, too.
GoTriangle’s Transportation Demand Management Department helps businesses, residential communities and commercial properties improve their transportation amenities and commuter benefits. These services and programs have significant impacts on commuting patterns, traffic congestion, personal health and air quality in the Triangle.
Appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper in 2017 to be the Department of Health and Human Services secretary, Cohen tirelessly leads her team to improve the health, safety and well-being of all North Carolinians. An internal medicine physician with experience leading complex health organizations, she was the chief operating officer and chief of staff at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service before assuming her current position.
As secretary of NCDHHS, Cohen has provided frequent status updates on the COVID-19 pandemic across the state and offered safety recommendations for businesses, organizations and individuals. Since the pandemic began, transit agencies across the Triangle have put in place safety precautions to maintain public transportation services to deliver health care and frontline workers to their jobs in a safe environment.
Branch chairs the Raleigh City Council's Transportation and Transit Committee and serves on the Council's Economic Development and Innovation Committee. He also is a City of Raleigh representative on the GoTriangle Board of Trustees.
A native of Raleigh, Branch has served the city in numerous ways since graduating and returning home from North Carolina A&T State University with a degree in electrical engineering. While working at AT&T as a senior technical director, Branch speaks out on behalf of the residents of Raleigh’s District C. He is particularly passionate about reliable bus service and works toward that goal as a member of the Raleigh Transit Authority.