EP 42: Big Ten School = Big Parking: How Gabe Mendez is Rewriting the Playbook

Sep 17, 2025

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In this episode of Harder Than It Looks, host Brian Wolff sits down with Gabe Mendez, PTMP - Director of Transportation Operations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Gabe brings over two decades of experience in the parking and transportation industries. Gabe shares insights from his time in commercial parking operations to leading transportation services at one of America's largest universities. He offers a candid look at the challenges and opportunities facing parking professionals today, from event management to embracing new technologies.

Key Takeaways:

1. Leadership in parking requires taking responsibility for team failures while celebrating collective successes

2. Customer experience should drive operations, not the other way around

3. Effective event parking management requires equal focus on ingress and egress

4. The role of parking directors is evolving to include multimodal mobility, real estate management, and broader business operations

5. Hiring practices in the industry need modernization to attract and retain talent

Episode Highlights:

[00:00:00] Introduction and Gabe's background

[00:03:33] Gabe's career journey starting in 2001

[00:08:00] Transition from Arizona State to UW Madison

[00:15:30] Early leadership challenges and lessons learned

[00:20:00] Overview of UW Madison parking operations

[00:28:00] Event parking strategies and innovations

[00:34:00] Balancing operational efficiency with customer experience

[00:36:00] Universities' role in smart mobility technology adoption

[00:39:00] Industry challenges: succession planning and hiring

[00:43:00] The future of parking director roles

[00:47:00] Lightning round questions

About Gabe Mendez:

Gabe Mendez, PTMP, has served as the Director of Transportation Operations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since August 2020. With a career spanning over two decades in the parking, transportation, and mobility industry, Gabe brings experience from commercial, municipal, and academic sectors. He is an active member of several professional organizations including the International Parking and Mobility Institute (IPMI) where he serves on the board of directors.