Dear WTS Community,

Conversations on resiliency are frequent in transportation, and with good reason. Assets must withstand long-term, frequent usage, natural hazards, and more. In terms of professional development and business management, resiliency enables individuals and organizations to push past challenges and achieve success.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has created extreme conditions for everyone; the combination of financial uncertainty, technological limitations, and social distancing have made adapting especially difficult. In the months following the pandemic’s onset, national calls for racial justice underscore the shortcomings of what we knew as “normal.”

At the International level, our organization has stayed flexible to continue to provide resources and benefits to our members and partners. While International in-person events have been canceled, new ways of connecting have formed. The updated member site My WTS Communities, formerly TransPortal, is relaunching next month. Here, members can pose questions, access resources and best practices, find a mentor or mentee, and more! I encourage you to update your WTS profile as we prepare for this launch.

This Fall, we will be launching an online webinar series that draws on themes relevant to today: from climate change, equitable transportation, and women leadership and empowerment. Look out for more information from International on this exciting, new series to stay engaged and informed in today’s environment.

WTS chapters have worked to create a new normal that is innovative, connective, and inclusive. From planning online technical trainings and happy hour events to formalizing diversity and inclusion work, chapters have shown remarkable resilience and fortitude in achieving the WTS mission of creating a more accessible and equitable industry.  Our resiliency goes hand-in-hand with our adaptability.

Despite the challenges, the moment is bursting with opportunities for a better normal created by those who remain flexible and resilient. I am inspired daily by our membership who demonstrate the desire and ability to be nimble and to challenge the status quo. I am encouraged by the role WTS will play within our sphere of influence to help create and define our new normal. We have an opportunity to listen, reflect, respond, and inspire a future normal that we as individuals and as an industry are proud of.

I wish you and your loved ones good health.

Sincerely,

Image

Sara Stickler
Executive Director
WTS International