Our Chapter
WTS is an international organization of high-achieving men and women transportation professionals. In 1977, the group was started as the Women's Transportation Seminar by 40 women who were involved with transportation in Washington, DC. After over 40 years, the organization has grown to more than 9,500 transportation professionals with over 45 chapter across the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.
The WTS Central PA Chapter started humbly with about 17 members and was officially incorporated by the National WTS Board in February of 1998. Now, with over 140 registered members, the WTS Central PA chapter has been supporting professionals in the transportation industry for over 25 years.
The chapter regularly hosts speaker events, field trips, and professional networking opportunities throughout the year for its members and regularly partners with other professional organizations in the area. Additionally, chapter members also work hard to raise money for the annual WTS Central PA scholarships, which are awarded to deserving young women who are pursuing a career in Transportation. All in all, the WTS Central PA Chapter is on the move!
WTS Mission Statement
WTS attracts, sustains, connects, and advances women's careers to strengthen the transportation industry.
Vision
Equity and access for women in transportation.
Our Guiding Principles
- WTS is an international organization dedicated to shaping the future of transportation for the public good through the global advancement of women.
- To achieve our shared vision of One WTS, we are a dedicated and aligned organization focused on supporting students, members, and chapters.
- Advancing women in transportation is key to advancing transportation and ensuring a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workforce.
- WTS is committed to ethical leadership, integrity and respect for all as we shape future generations or transportation leaders.
- WTS actively collaborates with its transportation community that includes corporations, public agencies, associations, and learning institutions.
Core Values
Our success hinges on conducting ourselves in accordance with a set of core values - our operating principles - in everything we do. Together.
We are collaborative. Our ability to be influential and impactful hinges on cultivating a culture of teamwork. We welcome and seek ways to collaborative within and beyond WTS with both traditional and non-traditional organizations to support our vision, mission, goals, and objectives. We believe we are better together.
We are future focused. We embrace change as proof that we are making progress. Our long-range goals drive today's decisions and actions, however, we are agile and innovative as we anticipate and respond to new opportunities and challenges for current members, students, and the future workforce.
We are professional. Everything we do is linked to delivering better benefits and services to our members and our community. We approach everything we do with honesty, transparency, and integrity. We are committed to doing what's best for our members through responsible actions.
We are inclusive. WTS is a safe space to find one's voice, develop, learn, and thrive. We embrace the belief that all people have value and the right to belong. We are committed to fostering a culture of mutual respect and creating an open environment that is equitable and accessible to all, where differences of thought, life experiences, and backgrounds are appreciated and welcomed, and contributions are valued.
Our Chapter's Bylaws
Please review the Central PA Chapter Bylaws for more information about our chapter's operations.
Starting in 2023, our Chapter will be transitioning to a new organizational structure and implementing several changes in responsibilities, voting rights, and roles by election versus appointment over the next few years. A summary of these changes are outlined in the WTS Central PA Transition & New Structure document.