Katherine Freund

Freund was born on Mitchel Field Air Force Base, Long Island, New York. She attended Levittown Memorial High School, and completed her degree in English Literature at University at Buffalo in 1972. She did some graduate studies in english literature at the University of Washington. After enjoying careers as a florist, gardening columnist and gardening TV show host, she pursued a Master of Arts in Public Policy from the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine.

In 1988 Freund's three-year-old son, Ryan, was run over by an 84-year-old driver who claimed to have mistaken him for a dog.[3] He survived a traumatic brain injury that resulted from the accident.[4]

Freund drew inspiration from the incident to seek alternative means of transportation for seniors and visually impaired people. She chaired the Task Force to Study the Safe Mobility of Maine’s Aging Population, created by the Maine Legislature in 1993. This work helped her conceive an organization that would provide rides in private automobiles, with the comfort, independence and dignity riders experienced when they drove their own cars. In 1995 she founded the Independent Transportation Network (ITN) in 1995, initially funded by AARP, the Federal Transit Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Transportation Research Board and numerous private philanthropies.

In 2005, with a business planning grant from the Federal Transit Administration and the Atlantic Philanthropies, Freund founded ITNAmerica; and in 2006, the Atlantic Philanthropies helped fund the creation of a nationwide ITNAmerica transportation network. Freund was also appointed by former President George W. Bush to the Advisory Committee for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging.

In addition to serving as president of ITNAmerica, Freund currently serves on the Transportation Research Board's Committee on the Safe Mobility of Seniors, and co-chairs TRB’s Joint Subcommittee on Transportation Options for Seniors.

ITNAmerica continues to conduct research, work on policy issues, and provide education on the safety and mobility of older people. As of August 2018, ITNAmerica operates through 13 affiliated communities in 12 states.

Freund lives in Portland, Maine. She has one daughter, one son, and three grandchildren.

• 2012: Ashoka Fellow[1]
• 2009: AARP Inspire Award Honoree[2]
• 2008: Wall Street Journal – 12 People Who Are Changing Your Retirement[5]
• 2006: American Gerontological Society Maxwell A. Pollack Award for Productive Aging[6]
• 2006: Social Enterprise Alliance Leadership in Innovative Enterprise Ideas Award
• 2004: American Public Health Association Archstone Award for Excellence in Program Innovation[7]
• 1998: Giraffe Hero Commendation[8]

Freund has conducted 14 National Transit Institute Workshops, and participated in more than 150 national and international panels, conference sessions, and speaking engagements on alternative transportation for seniors. Among other places, she has presented on her organization's work in Australia, Canada, Ireland, England, Germany, Switzerland, South Korea and Taiwan.

• "Aging, Mobility and the Model T: Approaches to Smart Community Transportation," Generations, Journal of the American Society on Aging, pp. 76–81, Freund and Vine, Fall 2010.
• "Dignified Transportation for Seniors," CCQ Capital Commons Quarterly, pp. 13–16, July 2008.
• "Public and Private Policy Initiatives to Move Seniors Forward," Public Policy and Aging Report, pp. 1–5, Staplin and Freund, Spring 2005.
• "Mobility and Older People," Generations, Journal of the American Society on Aging, pp. 68–69, Summer 2003.
• "Independent Transportation Network: The Next Best Thing to Driving," Generations, Journal of the American Society on Aging, pp. 70–71, Summer 2003.
• "Surviving Without Driving: Policy Options for Safe and Sustainable Transportation for Seniors," Transportation in an Aging Society: A Decade of Experience, Transportation Research Board, pp. 114–121, 2004.
• "Transportation on the Horizon," Mobility and Transportation in the Elderly, pp. 145–155. Schaie, Pietrucha, ed., Societal Impact on Aging, Springer Series, 2000.
• "Independent Transportation Network, Alternative Transportation for the Elderly," TR News, pp. 3 –12, Jan/Feb 2000.
• "Transportation Solutions on Horizon," Aging Today, p. 10, January/February 1998.
• "Build it and They Will Come," Transportation, pp. 12–15, September/October 1998.
• "How to Deal with Aging Drivers," Eye on Washington, Maine Sunday Telegram, p. 1, Section C, August 2, 1998.