As school districts across the country work tirelessly to provide safe and reliable transportation to their students, First Consulting is ready to help. First Consulting is a professional consulting firm that specializes in providing comprehensive transportation solutions for school districts ready to provide better service, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. Our team of experienced consultants can help with school routing, fleet maintenance, operations management, fleet electrification and safety and special needs training. With their years of experience in the field, the First Consulting team can provide customized solutions to help school districts optimize their student transportation operation – meet the team!
Leslie Norgren
Vice President of Consulting
Leslie Norgren is the Vice President of Consulting for First Consulting. She has an expansive background in operations management, serving as Region Vice President for First Student’s central region for over 5 years where she managed the performance of 24 locations and over 3,550 buses in northern Illinois.
Leslie has a keen eye for identifying transportation solutions, thorough reporting and what it takes to implement a successful transportation operation. She has over 30 years of experience in supply chain, logistics, procurement and operations management.
Prior to First Student, Leslie served as chief procurement officer at Chicago Public Schools creating category strategies in transportation, facility management and nutrition services. She has also held various positions at Ryerson Steel Inc. including operations general manager, vice president of materials and chief procurement officer.
Leslie earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from DePaul University.
Will McDermott
Senior Director of Consulting
Will McDermott is the Senior Director of Consulting for First Consulting. He has vast experience in the special education field, having served as the principal of Hopewell Academies for ten years. Will is a natural problem solver, during his tenure as principal, he noticed a gap in special education transportation and started a special needs centric transportation company called Hopewell Transportation. He has been an educator since 2003.
Will received his Bachelor of Art in Special Education at Loras College in 2002 and received his Master’s in Education from Purdue University with a Special Populations emphasis in 2005. Will received his second graduate degree and Type 75 certificate at Lewis University in 2011. Will is an expert in best practices when working with special needs students especially in the vocational and transition areas. He now uses his expertise to lead the First Consulting team and create lasting solutions for districts looking to improve their student transportation programs.
Steve Mentzer
Senior EV Principal Consultant
Steve Mentzer is a Senior Principal Consultant for First Consulting, focused on fleet electrification and electric vehicles. With over 35 years of experience in the commercial vehicle industry, Steve offers experience in electric school bus selection, infrastructure planning, safety, and training. Prior to joining First Consulting, he worked with leading industry organizations like Lion Electric, Safe Fleet, Inc., and Lytx Drivecam. Steve’s knowledge and experience have earned him many awards and accolades, including the Innovations in Safety & Training Award from the National Transit Institute and the Safety Excellence Award from the New York State Transportation Safety Board.
Laura Green-Halley
Senior Director of Safety & Performance Improvement
Laura Greene-Halley is a critical member of First Student’s safety leadership and FirstServes teams, and in her current role as Senior Director of Safety Performance and Improvement, Laura develops and implements ground-breaking innovation, safety strategies, and sustainable plans for over 440 locations across the United States and Canada. She has presented internationally to safety leadership coaches on becoming influential advocates for safety.
As a 2015 National School Transportation Association Golden Merit Award winner, Laura has been an industry-recognized driving force in student transportation for over 30 years. Laura has served two consecutive three-year terms on the Advisory Board for School Bus Driver Instructor/Master Instructor with the New York State Education Department (NYSED). Laura also holds numerous professional certifications including NYSED Master Instructor and Safety Leadership Instructor and Coach certified by Aubrey Daniels International and is Certified in Special Needs Transportation by NAPT.
Laura is an intentional role model, motivating others to become safety leaders and inspiring them to embrace safety as their core operating value. She is a passionate professional who gains personal fulfillment from ensuring the safety of our students, employees and the general public in our partner communities.
Kevin King
Senior EV Principal Consultant
Kevin King is a Senior EV Principal Consultant. Prior to entering the transportation industry, Kevin had a long career in wireless telecommunications leading high performing sales teams as a Regional VP with USA Mobility, now SPOK.
Entering the transportation industry in 2015 has a Director of Sales Marketing for a dealer in Upstate NY, he had the opportunity to join the Lion Electric Company as a Sales Manager for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions in 2019. Once he joined Lion, Kevin became a passionate advocate for the benefits of electric transportation, specifically school buses. Continuing his growth in electric transportation he joined Nuvve and further expanded his EV knowledge base by advocating infrastructure deployments. Just prior to joining First Consulting, Kevin was the EV Sales Manager for one of the largest Blue Bird dealers in the country. During his time with Bird Bus Sales, he helped expand the EV product offerings with the addition of light and medium duty trucks. This well-rounded EV background, combined with his strong belief in the myriad of benefits electric school buses bring, make him a valuable resource for schools, or school transportation companies interested in electrifying their fleets.
Edmund Dixon
Principal Consultant
Edmund Dixon is a Principal Consultant for First Consulting, focused on providing districts with efficient routing solutions, streamlined operations procedures and effective fleet maintenance.
He has been instrumental in leading multiple consulting engagements across North America, for districts with fleets spanning from 12 to 200+ busses. Edmund has served as an educator and administrator for Chicago Public Schools as well as providing a wide range of consulting and business development opportunities ranging from IT Consulting to EdTech Consulting.
Edmund holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of Virginia and a Master’s Degree in Education and Social Policy from Northwestern University.
David Staples
Senior Consultant
David Staples is a Senior Consultant for First Consulting, responsible for providing districts with solutions related to maintenance, driver shortage, and management efficiencies.
David has served as a school bus driver, a talent recruiter, safety manager, and oepratios manager. His portfolio has provided expertise to school districts across the country. He has developed instrumental internal programs to attract and retain employees while managing operations of 200 buses and over 200 employees.
David has over 30 years of experience in Sales and Marketing beginning his career with the IBM Corporation. David holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Concordia University Wisconsin, IBM Sales School.
Jonathan Railey
Senior Consultant
Jonathan Railey is a Senior Consultant for First Consulting, focused on electrification and electric vehicles. Jonathan has a depth of experience in operations management and energy solutions, including engineering, regional economic development, and entrepreneurship.
Jonathan spent many years working for Duke Energy, delivering of portfolio of energy service offering to large commercial and industrial customers, including Electrical Vehicle infrastructure. Operations and Management and Electrification projects.
Jonathan is based in Cincinnati, OH where he provides solutions to school districts interested in operations improvement and electrification. He holds Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee State University and an MBA in Finance from Xavier University, Williams School of Business.