About
Launch Transportation Solutions That Actually Get Funded, Supported, and Built.
If you’ve tried to launch a mobility program only to hit roadblocks with funding, community buy-in, or endless red tape—you aren’t failing. Real progress doesn’t start with a multi-million-dollar grant; it starts with taking the right first steps.
I’m Ready to Enroll
Most rural mobility projects fail before they even start.
It’s a frustrating truth. You see the deep need in your community—residents missing healthcare appointments, workers struggling to get to jobs, isolated neighbors left behind, and interesting technology that says it can save the day. So you jump straight to trying to launch a new service or technology, only to run face-first into red tape, lack of local buy-in, and zero funding.
You’ve probably been told to “just find a grant” or “hire a big-city consulting firm.” But throwing random money or metro-focused playbooks at rural or small urban challenges doesn’t create lasting transportation—it just creates burnout.
It’s not a lack of vision. It’s a lack of the right support.
Maybe you’ve looked at the gaps in your region and felt that frustrating sense of overwhelm. You see opportunities to connect residents to healthcare and employment, attract high-tech jobs, and more effectively move important goods—but every path forward feels blocked by red tape, tight budgets, or a lack of local buy-in.
Or maybe you’ve launched an initiative before, only to watch it stall out the moment initial grant funding faded. You’re left right back at square one, trying to rebuild momentum with a weary community.
You didn’t take on community leadership to manage endless gridlock. You took it on to build a connected, thriving region where people and businesses can actually grow.
That’s where Get Thinking comes in—giving you a proven system that turns big community and economic ideas into lasting momentum.
Meet Your Instructor
Hi! I’m Tammy Meehan
I’ve spent the last two decades building mobility pilot solutions that make actual community impacts while bringing in innovative technologies and partnerships.
These are the projects that get funded—and stay funded long after the initial excitement fades.
For years, I watched traditional projects fail because they relied on a single champion or dropped a “shiny new object” into a town for a short-term demo, only for it to disappear the moment the spotlight faded. I knew there had to be a better way.
I set up our projects differently. Instead of relying on one person or a quick demo, I focus on applying new technologies to actual problems in the community. I build a coalition of supporters along the way, forging partnerships and introducing tools that wouldn’t otherwise be there.
That focus on real community impact, trusted coalitions, and sustainable systems is what created flagship successes like goMARTI. By bringing people together around real problems, we’ve delivered over 75,000 rides, expanded across 5 communities, maintained 4 years of continuous operations, and created over 85 jobs for the region.
What I know now is simple: a shiny tool without a community coalition is just a temporary demo.
Get Thinking is the exact framework I’ve used to build these lasting programs. It’s designed to help you stop dropping in short-term fixes and start building the coalitions, strategy, and momentum your region actually needs.
Turn Better Questions Into a Clearer Path Forward
Get Thinking is the foundational course in Smart Rural Academy, created to help rural, Tribal, and small urban leaders approach mobility challenges more intentionally.
Rather than offering one-size-fits-all answers, Get Thinking helps you understand your community, define what you’re trying to accomplish, bring the right people into the conversation, and see the bigger picture behind transportation and mobility.
What You Get
Bite-Sized Lessons
Move through three self-paced modules, with lessons designed to be 15 minutes or less.
Guidance from Pocket Tammy
Start each module with practical guidance, perspective, and encouragement from Pocket Tammy.
Real-World PLUM Examples
See how these ideas show up in real communities through examples drawn from PLUM’s work.
Guided Course Workbook
Apply what you’re learning to your own community through hands-on activities that build on one another throughout the course.
What You’ll Learn: 3 Strategic Modules
Each module builds on the one before it, helping you understand your community, bring the right people into the conversation, and make a stronger case for what comes next.
Module 1
Know Your Mobility DNA
Before choosing transportation solutions, start by understanding what makes your community unique.
Module 2
From Vision to Community Support
Successful transportation projects are built with people, not just good ideas.
Module 3
Seeing the Bigger Picture
Transportation is about more than getting from point A to point B. It connects people to jobs, healthcare, education, food, and opportunity.
Put What You’re Learning to Work
Get Thinking isn’t just a course you watch. The guided workbook helps you apply what you’re learning directly to your own community as you move through each module.
You’ll think through your community’s unique characteristics, define what you’re trying to accomplish, identify the people who should be part of the conversation, map potential partners, and explore the larger impact transportation can have in your community.
By the end of the course, you’ll have completed:
My Community’s Mobility DNA
Strategic Goals
Building Your Advisory Group
First Advisory Meeting Planner
My Ecosystem Map
Community Impact Assessment
Finding Your Community’s Story
Built for the People Moving Communities Forward
Whether transportation is your full-time job or just one piece of what you do, Get Thinking was created for leaders and changemakers in rural, Tribal, and small urban communities. No transportation planning experience required.
Local, Regional & Tribal Leaders
Better understand your community’s mobility needs and build a stronger foundation for what comes next.
Transit Agencies & Operators
Strengthen community engagement and bring more local perspectives into transportation conversations.
Economic & Workforce Development Leaders
Explore how transportation connects to jobs, healthcare, education, and other essential opportunities.
Community Champions & Nonprofits
Learn how to bring people together, identify partners, and tell a stronger story about why mobility matters.
Why PLUM?
Built From Experience. Designed for Real Communities.
Choose Your Path to Get Started
Choose the option that best fits where you are and what you need next.
Catalyst Call
$199
Already have an idea, challenge, or goal you want to talk through? Meet one-on-one with a PLUM Catalyst for a focused strategy session.
45-minute one-on-one Catalyst Call
Focused conversation around your specific challenge or goal
Personalized next-step recommendations
Follow-up summary
Get Thinking
$599
Build the foundation for stronger mobility and transportation decisions in your community.
Lifetime Access to Get Thinking
3 modules + 9 bite-sized lessons
Guided Course Workbook
7 hands-on workbook activities
Guidance from Pocket Tammy
Real-world examples from PLUM’s work
Self-paced online learning
Get Thinking + Catalyst Call
$748
$798 value — save $50
Take what you’ve learned one step further with personalized guidance from a PLUM Catalyst.
Lifetime Access to Get Thinking
Everything included in the course
45-minute one-on-one Catalyst Call
Personalized review of your course workbook
Talk through questions, ideas, and potential next steps
Follow-up summary
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Get Thinking?
Start building a stronger foundation for mobility in your community.
Enroll in Get Thinking