Corporate Member Spotlight: WSP
By Shelley Johnson and Morgan Bassford, WTS-DC
October 2022
WTS-DC's Corporate Relations & Program Sponsorship Committee strives to strengthen relationships with our chapter's corporate members and long-time supporters. In appreciation of their continued support, WTS-DC "spotlights" corporate members in our newsletters. This edition features WSP. We hope everyone enjoys learning more about WSP!
When was your business established? WSP USA traces its origins back to 1885, when William Barclay Parsons founded the company that would become Parsons Brinckerhoff in New York City. Early projects included the design of the original New York City subway system and the Cape Cod Canal, as well as consulting for hydropower projects in New York State. The firm has worked on many of the major transit systems in the U.S., including San Francisco, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Seattle, and has designed countless highways, bridges and tunnels, in addition to consulting on energy, water/wastewater, and community development projects.
What is your business’s motto/charge? We are the sum of our collective passion, vision, and expertise. We believe that for societies to thrive, we must all hold ourselves accountable for tomorrow. That means creating innovative solutions to the challenges the future will bring. It inspires us to stay curious, act locally, and think internationally.
What services do you offer? WSP is one of the world's leading professional services firms. WSP provides technical expertise and strategic advice to clients in a wide range of industries, as well as offering project and program delivery and advisory services. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors, and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water, and environment markets.
Who are your primary customers/clients? WSP’s engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors, and construction management professionals provide professional services in the Transportation & Infrastructure, Property & Buildings, Environment, Industry, Resources (including Mining and Oil & Gas), and Energy sectors.
What is the size of your company? How many offices and employees do you have? With global headquarters based in Montreal, Canada, WSP is a globally recognized professional services firm employing approximately 63,000 people. In the United States, WSP has more than 15,000 employees in 200+ offices across the country.
What makes your business unique from others in the industry? WSP thrives on challenge and unconventional thinking. Exploring the future inspires us to think of progressive ways to deliver more thoughtful, impactful and durable projects today. Once we’ve considered all the possibilities, we challenge ourselves to create new ones. We apply this future-responsible spirit to how we advise our clients as well as to how we run our business. More than anything, our commitment to performing purposeful, sustainable work that helps shape our communities and the future sets us apart in the field. We have initiated a global innovation program called Future Ready that challenges and inspires all our people to advise and design programs ready for the future as well as today. Future Ready puts WSP at the heart of delivering a sustainable, prosperous, resilient society. This sets us apart and brings lower total ownership costs and peace of mind to our clients.
Briefly describe a recent project you’d like to highlight. DC Circulator Program Management Contract: The DC Circulator is vital part of the overall city transportation infrastructure. As Program Managers on the contract, the WSP team supports the DC Circulator On-Call Support Program to help produce an environment in which the DC Circulator system can perform as it’s intended: as an easy to use, direct, frequent, reliable, limited-stop service to provide mobility for residents, employees, and visitors throughout DC.
Why are you a corporate member or how is your company involved with WTS? WSP fosters a forward-thinking culture that incorporates some conventional yet non-negotiable qualities—like respect, integrity and trust. We welcome to the table all perspectives, strengths, skills, creeds and genders because we know that diverse ideas breed extraordinary results. Women are in positions of great responsibility in WSP, at all levels, in all areas.
WSP is integrally involved with WTS at all levels, from local chapters, including WTS-DC, to WTS International with volunteers in key leadership. As a longtime patron and strategic partner to WTS, WSP and our 150+ WTS members across the country are proud to support WTS. Our people are excited and energized to generate change by helping WTS in its goal to create a more diverse, inclusive and equitable transportation industry through the global advancement of women in transportation.