Awards & Recognition
Call for Nominations: 2025 Awards
WTS-LA is accepting nominations for 2025 Awards! Submit your nominations by July 9, 2025.
Please take the time to honor and recognize those in our community who are outstanding leaders and organizations in the transportation industry. We look forward to recognizing these exceptional achievements in the transportation industry during our Annual Scholarship and Awards Dinner on November 6, 2025.
Detailed awards criteria can be found here. If you have any questions, contact Monica Villalobos, Awards & Recognition Committee Chair, at [email protected].
Nominations are due by Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Click on the buttons below to download the nomination form.
Woman of the Year
The Woman of the Year category honors an outstanding woman who is a role model in transportation.
Download Woman of the Year Nomination Form
Honorable Ray LaHood Award
The Ray LaHood Award was created to recognize men who are not only leaders in transportation, but who have also actively led by example in seeking opportunities to advance the WTS mission and have made outstanding contributions toward the advancement of women and minorities.
Download Honorable Ray LaHood Nomination Form
Employer of the Year
The Employer of the Year award is designed to honor an organization (company, non-profit, association, or government agency) for their support of the goals and purpose of WTS, such as recruiting, retaining, and advancing women.
Download Employer of the Year Nomination Form
Member of the Year
This award is our opportunity to acknowledge a WTS member who has made extraordinary contributions to the success of the organization.
Download Member of the Year Nomination Form
Innovative Transportation Solutions Award
The Innovative Transportation Solutions award honors an innovative transportation project led by a woman or women.
Download Innovative Transportation Solutions Nomination Form
Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award
The Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award recognizes either an organization(s) or individual(s) that have facilitated professional opportunities for women and minorities and contributed significantly to promoting diversity, inclusion, and multi-cultural awareness.
Download Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Nomination Form
Congratulations to all the 2024 Award Winners!
Call for 2024 Award Nominations closed in August 2024
Please take the time to honor and recognize those in our community who are outstanding leaders and organizations in the transportation industry. We look forward to recognizing these exceptional achievements in the transportation industry during our annual Scholarships and Awards Gala on November 12, 2024. Detailed awards criteria can be found here.
2024 Awards Winners:
-
Employer of the Year: Port of Los Angeles
-
Honorable Ray LaHood: Doran Barnes, Foothill Transit
-
Member of the Year: Sharlane Bailey, Foothill Transit
-
Woman of the Year: Gloria Roberts, Caltrans
-
Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership: Genoveva Arellano, Arellano Associates
-
Lois Cooper “Going the Distance” Award: Timothy Lindholm, LA Metro
-
Educator of the Year: Akeba Jackson, Dorsey High School
2025 Awards
WTS-LA will start accepting nominations for the 2025 awards in late Spring! Check back for more information.
Questions? Contact Awards & Recognitions Chair Monica Villalobos at [email protected]
Doran Barnes, Foothill Transit-Honorable Secretary Ray LaHood Award
WTS-LA Honorable Ray LaHood Award recognizes someone who has greatly contributed to the advancement of women and minorities in the transportation industry as well as the transportation industry itself. Foothill Transit CEO Doran Barnes has done exactly that. Read more here.
Gloria Roberts, Caltrans-Woman of the Year
A WTS-LA Woman of the Year contributes momentously to both the transportation industry and the advancement of women in it. Caltrans District 7 Director Gloria Roberts leads over 2,500 Caltrans employees in one of the most complex and sophisticated districts. Read more here.
Sharlane Bailey, Foothill Transit-Member of the Year
The WTS-LA recognizes a member that demonstrates a fierce commitment to the goals and growth of the chapter. Sharlane Bailey, Foothill Transit’s Director of Capital Projects and Facilities, is the 2024 Member of the Year. Read more here.
Port of Los Angeles - Employer of the Year
Dubbed America’s Port®, the Port is the nation’s premier gateway for international commerce. A department of the City of Los Angeles, the Port is not only a national treasure, but also a key component in the nation’s infrastructure, as well as an international player in global trade. Read more here.
WTS-LA Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award-Genoveva Arellano, Arellano Associates
Honoring Rosa Parks’ incredible fortitude and self-sacrifice, each year WTS-LA recognizes someone in the transportation community who displays that same sort of courage and altruism. Arellano Associates founder, principal, and owner Genoveva L. Arellano fills that role perfectly. Read more here.
Akeba Jackson named WTS-LA Educator of the Year
Akeba Jackson began her teaching career in 1998 with the Hawthorne School District, serving as a middle school Language Arts teacher for four years. In 2003, she transitioned to Santa Monica High School for one year before joining the Los Angeles Unified School District in September 1994. Read more here.
Timothy Lindholm, LA Metro receives WTS-LA Lois Cooper "Going the Distance" Award
WTS-LA recognized Metro Chief Program Management Officer Timothy Lindholm as one who goes the distance and exceeds the extremely high standards of Lois B. Cooper. Read more here.
Innovative Transportation Solutions: Port of Los Angeles, Pier 400 On-Dock Rail Expansion
The Port of Los Angeles is the busiest in the Western Hemisphere and doing any project there is complex. But the $73 million Pier 400 project is extraordinary. Read more here.
