By Barbara Moreno, Shelley Johnson, and Jamie Rosen, WTS-DC 
July 2023 

An important WTS-DC tradition is to send chapter members to experience the annual WTS-I Conference. This year, the WTS-DC Chapter was able to send three members to the 2023 WTS International Annual Conference: The Great Intersection in Atlanta, GA: Barbara Moreno of WSP, Shelley Johnson of Epstein Creative Group, and Jamie Rosen of WMATA. What follows are their key observations, takeaways, and highlights from the Annual Conference.

Barbara Moreno

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1. ​​Backfills are opportunities.  During the "Belonging in a Global Workforce: How Canadian Transportation Business Leaders Are Amplifying Ideas" session, one of the Canadian speakers touched on how in their country women can take up to 18 months maternity leave, and that their company uses backfills as opportunities to skill up someone (usually female) that normally wouldn't have been hired for the job. It really showed that a rising tide lifts all boats. What helps one woman succeed at work, can help many more succeed as well.
2. Look at who has the right skills. Siemens Head of People and Operations, Tami Wolownik, mentioned during the "C-Suite's Role in Creating a Diverse Organization" that it's important employers in the transportation field look past industry experience, and instead focus on who has the right skills and can be taught the technical piece.
3. Not everyone will drive an EV. Oftentimes in the flurry of excitement over electric cars and bikes, costs get lost. Monica Backmon, WTS-DC Woman of The Year and CEO of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, made sure to highlight this oversight during her WTS Talks presentation.  She asked the audience to make sure to not forget about low-income drivers who depend on their gas fueled cars to get around and go to work.
4. Everyone wants the same airport experience. A simple mantra for all transportation planners spoken by Deborah Flint, President and CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, during the morning Plenary session on May 12. I urge all of us to take this call to action, for more standardization in the transportation industry, to heart so that our riders can have true peace of mind and comfort on their trip. 
5. Operations is implementation. If I could cross-stitch one phrase from this entire conference, I would be this one said by "Women in Charge" panelist, Michelle Allison from King County Metro. So much of transportation is focused on the planning and takes little account of the frontline staff that will implement all of the changes. She continued to add that "If the service providers don't see themselves in the delivery, it won't work." Transit is operations. If an idea makes operations more difficult in the long-run, it's worth it to rethink and find a more feasible path forward. 

Shelley Johnson

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1. Ridership advocacy. Faith Walker with RVA Rapid Transit spoke of RVA’s rider advisory group and the tools they provide to empower everyday riders to advocate for themselves and their transit needs. This group  provides tools and resources that equip riders with the knowledge and skills to effectively communicate their concerns to elected officials. By teaching impactful commenting techniques, individuals gain the confidence to articulate their specific needs, contributing to a more inclusive and responsive transportation system. 
2. Barriers to DBE participation still exist. While DBE goals are on the rise for many transportation agencies, persistent barriers for DBE firms to participate still exist. A diverse panel on the “Contract Equity Amplification” session created a compelling list of recommendations to improve participation. My personal favorite was requiring in-person meetings before an RFP is released for primes and DBEs, giving DBE firms a greater chance of joining a project team before it’s already formed. And everyone agrees it’s time to lose the “Disadvantaged” in Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE). DBE’s are often underutilized but strong, capable, and mighty firms.
3. Transportation for tacos. Public engagement continues to be an important cornerstone of any transportation project. Projects investing in public engagement are more successful and impactful than those who don’t. And those outreach efforts, such as Richmond Connects  “transportation for tacos”, are even making the process fun, furthering participation. 
4. Family First. Keynote speaker Cassi Chandler, former Assistant Director/Special Agent of the FBI gave a motivational speech about the power women can have when united. But there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when she was speaking about the importance of always putting your family first before anything else. On your deathbed you certainly won’t regret missing what you seemingly thought was an important zoom call or sending that one last email, but you will always regret missing your daughter’s school play or a lunch with your mother. Thank you for that reminder Cassi. We all needed to hear it.
5. Diverse Teams Are the Best Teams. At the “Promoting Inclusion and Belonging through Workforce Development” session the panel discussed their personal experiences with inclusion and belonging in the professional service industry. Diane Mendez of HNTB said it best, “have the courage to be your full and authentic self.” Bringing your knowledge, insights, and experiences to the table will build the most effective and competitive team.

Jamie Rosen

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1. Protect your staff. During the "Belonging in a Global Workforce: How Canadian Transportation Business Leaders Are Amplifying Ideas", the speakers addressed microaggressions in the workplace. Although it may be hard to do the “right” thing in the moment, they spoke about the importance of recognizing and challenging microaggressions in the moment and also following up. It’s important that managersset an example for their employees and make sure the workplace is a safe and comfortable place for all employees.
2. Don’t be afraid to seize opportunities. During a plenary session, Jennifer Hemendy, Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), stressed that it is critical that women remain in the workforce and remain visible to demonstrate the value of diversity. She encouraged the audience not to focus on “what if I fail?”, but instead to ask “what if I succeed?”. Her advice was that you know in your heart what you want, so go for it. 
3. Be intentional in how you are practicing. This advice came from Monica Backmon, who spoke about being intentional and acting on what you say you stand for and plan to do. As part of this, it is important to provide equal opportunities for participation from different groups and to represent people who can’t be at public meetings.
4. Succession planning requires investment. Like other equity and inclusion efforts, you need to be intentional in creating an environment where everyone has the same experience and opportunities to advance. It is important to create opportunities for junior team members to attend meetings and see the “big picture;” job descriptions should be written with inclusivity in mind; and managers should get to know employees, mentor them, and help both the employee and their coworkers see them in higher level roles. It’s also important to recognize and foster the best performers, which aren’t always the loudest performers.
5. The importance of data. The role of data and information came up in several sessions. Equity needs to be built into data collection from the beginning, making sure to collect information from a diverse group, but also to collect information that will allow for analysis of different groups. This allows us  to understand the differences in how diverse groups use transportation and are impacted by decisions. During “Free at Last, Except From the Past: Dismantling the Legacy of Racial Injustice”, speakers also emphasized the need to understand the past as a way to avoid repeating it and to recognize past injustices and try to correct them.

WTS Foundation Gala

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Barbara, Shelley and Jamie were joined by many other WTS-DC chapter members at the conference. One of the highlights of the conference is always the WTS Foundation Gala. For the first time, this year the gala was held off-site at the Atlanta Aquarium. Attendees heard inspiring speeches from scholarship recipients who represent the bright future of women in the transportation industry. It was also announced that WTS-DC once again earned a gold level Chapter Circle of Excellence Award, and the WTS-DC nominee, Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner, was awarded the WTS-I Honorable Ray LaHood Recognition Award.

We hope to see many of you at the 2024 WTS-I Annual Conference in New Orleans!