Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Hi, I’m Tammy. I collect big ideas like some people collect shoes (and maybe I do both ☺️). I’ve always been curious about how people build amazing things, solve big problems, and make communities better. I love asking questions, connecting dots, and discovering ideas that make me wonder, “Why aren’t more people talking about this?” So I created The PLUM Hub. This isn’t your typical podcast. It’s a place for real stories, practical ideas, bold conversations, and the occasional “Huh, I never thought about it that way” moment. My goal? Every episode leaves you with one idea you can put into action — and maybe makes you laugh along the way. If you believe innovation should actually matter, ordinary people can do extraordinary things, and sometimes the best way through the tough stuff is to laugh… you’re in the right place. We take the work seriously. We just don’t take ourselves too seriously. Welcome to The PLUM Hub. Let’s connect the dots!
Does it really exist like the podcasts I have in mind that we want to bring to you?
Because really what we want to show you is what we try to do every single day, which is
connect the dots between communities and people that need these technologies and the
amazing technologies that are out there and all of those awesome innovators and leaders
that exist in all parts of our ecosystem.
Hey friends, I'm Tammy Meehan and welcome to Tammy's Tracks on the new Plum Hub.
I wanted to introduce you first to myself.
So for those of you I don't know, we're just celebrating seven years and I founded the
company because I dropped into the transportation industry, actually from the food
industry.
And when I fell into transportation, I not only fell into a really cool industry, but I
fell in love with the impact that transportation has.
On people's lives.
I am celebrating seven years with that company, growing from not only just me into a team
of 10 of us who serve our mission to advance the research and deployment of emerging
transportation technologies that save lives, improve mobility and accessibility, promote
sustainability, and grow our future workforce.
My team is super committed to this mission, as am I, and we do all sorts of amazing
projects that I hope you'll be able to hear about over the
Course of this channel and these podcasts.
But really, what I'm doing here today is I wanted to talk about why I'm starting this
podcast and this channel.
Another podcast doesn't really exist like the podcasts I have in mind that we want to
bring to you.
And because really, what we want to show you is what we try to do every single day, which
is connect the dots between communities and people that need these technologies and the
amazing technologies that are out there, and all of those awesome.
innovators and leaders that exist in all parts of our ecosystem and showing how we can
truly make an impact in this industry.
And so a little bit more about me.
So I as I said started the company in 2019.
Prior to that I was with 3M where I started and led a couple of different groups under the
3M umbrella.
While I was at 3M I was able to go and experience what was the beginning of the autonomous
vehicle policy work.
California, where the California Department of Motor Vehicle was hosting a series of
public workshops, and I was able to attend one of those workshops.
I sat in the workshop and really I was at the early stages of understanding what
autonomous vehicles were.
So this was a large number of years ago, more years than I care to admit.
But I was sitting there in the room.
All of the autonomous vehicle tech companies were that were in the room, they all got up
and shared why their technology was great and
To be able to use and or for people to be around on our roadways.
And it was really interesting to hear from those tech companies at the time and hear about
their technology.
After they were all done talking, they also opened up the microphone for public comment
and two women stepped forward who had arrived late to the workshop, and one woman was
blind and one was in a wheelchair, and they came to the microphone to share their stories.
And it really was probably one of the most impactful days of my professional career.
These two women came forward and they spoke
About what it was like for them to experience public transit.
One woman explained how they had booked their ride three days in advance.
They waited for their three hour window.
Unfortunately, the first ride that showed up was not wheelchair accessible, even though
they had booked a wheelchair accessible ride.
They had to navigate public transit stations, and like I said, they apologized for being
late, but they pleaded with the DMV and with these tech companies to please get this
technology out on the road as quickly as possible.
Possible, it truly has an opportunity to impact their quality of life.
By the time they were done talking and sharing their stories, I was in tears, and I had
never really realized or thought about the impact that transportation has on my own life
and the freedom and independence and just how much quality of life transportation brings.
And as I mentioned, I lived in the food industry before then and I dropped into
transportation, but it was in that moment.
committed my career to transportation and bringing the technology into people's lives who
need it the most.
I think that there's all sorts of great technologies out there besides talking about
autonomous vehicles that have the opportunity to really impact people's lives and so I
committed to helping with that and I not only committed to doing that in my corporate life
where I stayed in 3M for almost
10 years but I also committed to then building my company in that space.
So that's what we do day in and day out and that the mission that we work toward.
We use transportation upon intended as our vehicle to work in the technology space and
also in the communities in which we serve.
I thought that the Plum Hub could really just be an extension of what we try to provide,
which is a place for people to connect the dots, a place for people to feel like they can
be heard and share their stories.
And you know, co-design what the future looks like together.
And with that, I need to just mention this topic of innovation.
Academically, I have innovation credentials and experience through my master's program.
My master's program Capsnar and course was all around opportunity thinking and new
business development.
So I personally have a passion for innovation.
A number of people on my team have a passion for how you can innovate and how you can do
that in a variety of ways, besides just a new product development and patents and
IP, you can innovate in all sorts of wonderful ways.
So innovation isn't just about what's next, it's really about what we do next, how do we
do it, and so we're bringing some of that into our podcasts.
I hope our videos that you're gonna see here.
With that, I just want you to know the Plum Hub hopefully will exist because I believe
every community will deserve access to ideas and change and connections and opportunities
and innovations that can help create meaningful change.
So I hope you guys stick.
around and check out some of the awesome content that we have planned and coming up for
you.
And thanks for spending a few minutes with me today.
If this sparked an idea, please share this with someone who should be a part of our
conversation.
If you'd like to keep exploring what's possible with us, I'd love for you to join us here
at the Plum Hub and our new website theplumhub.com.
So until next time, keep moving, do some good.
You got