The National Parking Association (NPA) has announced its 2021 "40 Under 40" class of young professionals and up-and-coming leaders in the parking industry. Four LAZ Parking employees were among the honorees this year, making LAZ one of the best-represented companies on the list. The employees are Curtis Boardman, a Director of Operations; and Dane Nielsen, Joshua Calkins, and Max Fuller, all General Managers at LAZ locations throughout the country. They, along with the rest of the “40 Under 40” class, will be inducted into the awards program at the
NPA 2021 Convention & Exposition scheduled Sept. 27-29 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"These talented young professionals have distinguished themselves as rising stars in the parking and transportation industry," said
Alan Lazowski, President and CEO of LAZ Parking. "They are the best and brightest in the field, and we are thrilled to have them as part of the LAZ Parking team."
Curtis Boardman joined LAZ in October 2018 as a Portfolio Manager and has been a Director of Operations for Northern California since March 2019. Curtis credits his five years in the U.S. Army, during which he was deployed in Iraq, with teaching him what it takes to be a leader. The pillars of leadership he learned in the field – extreme accountability, empowerment, and integrity – prepared him for success in the parking industry and leadership roles at LAZ, he says.
Dane Nielsen is a General Manager for LAZ Hospitality Services in Los Angeles. He has spent the last 14 years helping grow the LA region from a handful of locations with a couple of hundred employees to one that pre-COVID had more than 2500. Dane's primary focus is on leadership development and inspiring his team to build skills that translate to exceptional guest and client service.
Joshua Calkins is a General Manager overseeing 29 LAZ locations and six project managers and business development for the Colorado region. He joined LAZ in May 2016 as a Project Manager responsible for six locations in downtown Denver. He worked as a Sales & Marketing Representative and Director of Operations before assuming his current role in July 2019.
Max Fuller is also a General Manager in Colorado. He joined LAZ in July of 2011 as a hotel valet manager in Chicago and has steadily been promoted to more responsible positions up to his current role as one of two General Managers in Colorado. Max has been instrumental in developing the LAZ management team to accommodate incredible growth in the Denver market. He oversees 70 parking operations, including commercial office building locations, surface parking lots, and municipal parking operations in two cities, one airport, and valets at five hotels. He has also been instrumental in helping modernize parking equipment in the Denver Market and has completed numerous equipment replacement RFP's and overseen the installation of 15 new parking revenue control systems in the past two years.
"NPA is extremely proud to recognize the impact these young professionals are having on the parking industry and who represent the next generation of the leaders in the industry," said NPA President
Christine Banning. "40 Under 40" honorees are selected by their peers based on their innovation, integrity, and excellence. NPA and its Young Professionals Network are growing thanks to the dynamic influx of talent helping the parking industry continue to grow and evolve.”