WTS International, the association for the professional advancement of women in transportation, has selected the winners of its annual recognition awards for 2015. Each of the five awards will be presented at an awards banquet May 21 during the 2015 WTS Annual Conference in Chicago IL. The recognition award winners are: •Woman of the Year—Rita Brogan, chief executive officer, PRR •Member of the Year—Dana Hook, vice-president, CDM Smith •Employer of the Year—CH2M •Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award—Anthony Foxx, US Secretary of Transportation •Innovative Transportation Solutions Award—Caltrans/SANDAG “Steer Clear”/DARmageddon Project Team, “Steer Clear”/DARmageddon Public Outreach Program Brogan has been influencing the transportation industry for more than 30 years. As Metro’s first appointed woman superintendent of public transportation development, she was an innovator and role model to a generation of women in the transit industry as she managed a staff of more than 220 with an annual operating budget exceeding $14 million.
Hook mentors women through CDM Smith’s formal mentorship program, serves as the firm’s WTS conference champion, and has been instrumental in the hiring of several women into leadership roles in 2015. She joined WTS in 2002 and has served as the 2012-2014 chair of the WTS International board of directors. She also serves an active role with the WTS San Diego Chapter. The WTS Employer of the Year recognition is awarded each year to an organization that has enhanced the transportation industry through its commitment to excellence and quality in its services or products, has an outstanding record of affirmative action in hiring and promoting at all employment levels, supports continuing education of its employees, and encourages women students to enter the transportation field by providing internship opportunities. CH2M believes in a keen focus on attracting, developing, and retaining women in the industry, where almost 30% of its U.S. workforce is female. The WTS Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award is awarded for exhibiting extraordinary efforts or initiatives in facilitating professional opportunities for women and minorities and contributing to the promotion of diversity, inclusion, and multi-cultural awareness. A strong advocate for the White House’s Ladders of Opportunity initiative, Foxx has long believed that transportation plays a critical role in connecting Americans and communities to economic opportunity. The WTS Innovative Transportation Solutions award is awarded to a project led by women that makes a difference in the lives of a community and its users. In 2013, Caltrans District 11 and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) developed a bi-national public outreach campaign encouraging motorists to “Steer Clear” of two of San Diego’s busiest freeways during required closures due to construction activities over two separate weekends. The Awards Banquet will be held during the 2015 WTS Annual Conference, which is set for May 20–22 in Chicago. For more information, go to www.WTSinternational.org.
