2025 Award Winners
Past President Award - Lisa Elliott, MnDOT
Lisa Elliott is the Environmental Assessment Supervisor in the Office of Environmental Stewardship. She oversees the environmental review team, aquatic resource team, and protected species team to ensure regulatory compliance during the environmental review process. The Environmental Assessment Unit is located at MnDOT Central Office in St. Paul and provides technical assistance statewide. Lisa holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder, and Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Minnesota. She joined MnDOT in 2017, and previously worked in consulting. Outside of work, she enjoys hanging out with her husband and two kids (7 and 4). Family bike rides are the current favorite activity.
Member of the Year Award - Carrie Desmond, Metro Transit
Carrie Desmond serves as Metro Transit's Manager of Electric Bus Infrastructure. She was first introduced to WTS as an undergraduate scholarship recipient. When she joined the workforce she joined WTS as a member and started volunteering with the Chicago Chapter. Since then she has served in a variety of roles including supporting Scholarships, Recognitions, Special Events, Transportation You, Development, Conference Planning, Mentor Program, and Membership.
Woman of the Year Award - Marie Cote, SRF
As Chief People Officer of SRF, Marie oversees Human Resources, ensuring the SRF workplace is inviting, collaborative, and inclusive. She focuses on recruiting, engaging, developing, and retaining SRF’s greatest asset, its people. Marie also oversees all administrative and technology operations, and all employee-led committees, including Women’s Plus, Staff Engagement, Social, DEI, Community Outreach, Health and Wellness, and Rising Professionals. She has led numerous initiatives to enhance diversity and equity in the engineering industry, particularly for People of Color and women. For the past three years, she has facilitated and sponsored a series of events at SRF called Courageous Conversations, which celebrates and acknowledges DEI in the workplace. Over the course of her 32-year career, Marie has managed many complex transportation planning and traffic engineering studies that included rigorous project management and intense stakeholder facilitation. Her strong management and leadership skills have enabled her to successfully balance project management and delivery with staff development and engagement. Marie represented SRF in the 2023 Inclusive Workplaces Cohort (IWC), led by the Center for Economic Inclusion and the Workforce Innovation Board of Ramsey County. This Executive Leadership Cohort was developed to accelerate employers’ abilities to advance racial equity, diversity, and inclusion within their organizations. In May 2024, she was also featured as one of five members of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber Executive Women’s Council panel on Women Leading in Male-Dominated Fields, where she shared her perspectives on driving change within the engineering industry. In her free time, Marie enjoys cooking, which allows her to tap into her creative side and bring together friends and family through delicious food. Recently, Marie became a grandmother and is thoroughly enjoying her new role!
Woman to Watch Award - Erin Clarkowski, Washington County
Erin Clarkowski is an engineering project manager at Washington County. She went to the University of Minnesota Duluth and, inevitably due to her family lineage, earned a degree in civil engineering. She started her career on Kimley-Horn’s transit team, and spent most of her time on the Gold Line BRT design team. Erin was interested in advancing the coordination skills she developed from working on large transit projects, so she made the jump to Washington County to become a project manager in 2022. Erin has enjoyed the diversity of initiatives she touches in her role at the County and is known by her peers for strong communication skills and someone who always follows through. She is a third generation civil engineer and owes her success to her family, mentors, and colleagues.
Employer of the Year Award - Alta Planning + Design
Alta Planning and Design is a national planning, engineering and design firm driven by a mission to create healthier communities. Since its inception in 1996, Alta has been focused on doing meaningful work in communities around the country, advocating for health, equity, and sustainable, resilient transportation solutions. We are happy to be celebrating the ten-year anniversary of our Minneapolis/Saint Paul office this May.
Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award - Advancing Women in Transit Chairpersons, Metro Transit
Advancing Women In Transit is an Employee Resource Group (ERG) in support of female-identifying employees at Metro Transit. AWT was formed with the desire to help women within Metro Transit thrive. Our goal is to promote connectedness among female -identifying employees and to facilitate “driving forward thinking”, a process that develops skills, instills confidence, and encourages women to seek advancement. We want Metro Transit to be inclusive, diverse, and reflective of our community. New members are welcomed year-round from all divisions of the Metropolitan Council.
Innovative Transportation Solutions Award - METRO Gold Line BRT, Metro Transit
Metro Transit is a leading transportation agency in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, operating a range of transit options and resources to the region. In 2023, Metro Transit provided nearly 45 million rides. The Gold Line Bus Rapid Transit began service on March 22, 2025, and provides fast and frequent service along the 10-mile route between St. Paul and Woodbury. This is Minnesota's first BRT line that operates primarily within bus-only lanes. Funding was made possible by the Federal Transit Administration, Ramsey and Washington Counties, and the State of Minnesota. Not only did Gold Line open on schedule, but is under budget!
Honorable Ray LaHood Award - Steve Barrett, Metro Transit
I started my career in 1992 as a MnDOT Graduate Engineer and spent 2 years in District 6 (Rochester) and then 4 years in the MnDOT Bridge Hydraulics Section. In 1998 I moved over to MnDOT Metro District Construction in Eden Prairie and then 5 years later I became a Metro District Construction Resident Engineer in Golden Valley. In 2021 I joined Metro Transit and the Gold Line BRT team as Construction Manager. I have been very fortunate to work on many large and interesting projects including Hwy 100 Reconstruction, I-35W Crosstown Commons, I-694/Snelling/TH10 Interchange, I-35E MnPASS, I-35W Downtown to Crosstown, and the Gold Line BRT. Throughout my career I have been led, influenced, and supported by many intelligent and creative female leaders. I've also been blessed to work alongside talented female engineers, inspectors, and other professionals on my projects. As the years and projects go by, it has become apparent to me that building strong teams is the most important part of my job. It is very satisfying to be recognized for helping others and I am proud and humbled by this honor.