As I finish my term as Chapter President, I am very proud of what our team of Board Directors, Committee Chairs, volunteers, partners and sponsors, and members have accomplished to support the mission of WTS as well as benefit the transportation industry in our community. Over the last two years, just some of my favorite accomplishments of our team have been:
1.
To grow our public-sector partnerships
– we added CTR, Williamson County, Travis County and City of Austin as new partners to our long list of agency affiliates and partners
2.
Increase our scholarship awards substantially to nearly $30,000 annually
– we could never have accomplished this without the support of our sponsors!
3.
Kick-off our inaugural mentoring program
– Kammy and I were thrilled with the participation we had in its first year and can’t wait to see it grow as a way to give back to our members
I can’t think of a better organization to get involved in to form an amazing network of support, build leadership and communications skills and serve our transportation community. And we always need more help – so please find a committee to join and volunteer!
I want to wish all of our members, volunteers, guests, partners and supporters happy holidays and best wishes for a wonderful New Year and thank you for supporting WTS.
I especially want to extend my personal gratitude to each of the members of our board (listed below) for your dedication and support. It’s been a pleasure working together and I can’t wait to see what the team will accomplish next year as our incoming President Jackie Sartor and new Executive Board carry the torch. It’s been an incredible experience to have learned from each of these amazing ladies and build a network of support that I can always turn to.
Thank you 2017-2018 WTS Heart of Texas Chapter Board!
Jackie Sartor (Freese & Nichols)
– Vice President… sounding board, right hand, and always willing to help me divide and conquer
Odette Tan, PE (Travis County)
– Immediate Past President… my go-to trusted source for advice and support
Erin Gonzales, PE (BGE Inc.)
– Secretary… served with dedication and commitment for 4 (FOUR!) years
Vicki Ortega, PE (K Friese & Assoc.)
– Treasurer…extraordinaire (seriously, the best treasurer we could have possibly had!!)
Melanie Norrell (AECOM)
- Advisory Chair… always willing to volunteer and lend great ideas to almost everything we do
Abby Tomlinson (AECOM)
– Communications Chair… and architect/ author of our re-vamped awesome newsletter
Cheryl Goodgame (LAN)
– Communications support… lifesaver who took initiative to keep us organized and on top of sending out event invitations and reminders
Caitlin D'Alton, AICP
(Capital Metro)
– Corporate/ Agency Partnership Chair... source of dependability, organization and professionalism that always impresses me
Haley Norman Siddons, PE (Mobilitie)
– previous 2017 Corp/Agency Partnership Chair…served many years on our board and was responsible for growing our partnership program substantially over her term
Erika Esparza (TxDOT)
– Gala Chair… fearless leader of the biggest event we host that raised more than ever ($37k!) last year for our scholarship and student programs (it is a HUGE job and she does it with a smile)
Yvonne Garcia Thomas, PE (Raba Kistner)
– Membership Chair… provides patience, attention to detail and follow-through that I can always count on
Renee Hurtado, PE (DKS Assoc.)
– previous membership chair…a trusted team member for 4 years that juggled many details and somehow stayed on top of them all
Kammy Horne, AICP (HNTB)
– Mentoring Chair and WTS Foundation Board Member…we wouldn’t have a mentoring program without your leadership and drive to kick of our inaugural program (great job!!)
Tonia Norman (TxDOT)
– Professional Development Chair… meticulous in planning and organizing professional development events that continue to raise the bar
Ashley McLain, AICP (Cox McLain Environmental Consulting)
– Regional Council Liaison… long-time supporter of WTS and source of advice in so many of our efforts, including orchestrating our first ever regional webinar series this year
April Sandoval, PE (American Structurepoint)
– outgoing Programs Chair… long-time board member that turned our programs into a well-oiled machine where our new problem is exceeding our capacity almost every month
Carine Choubassi, PE (Jacobs)
– former Student liaison and incoming Programs Chair… always dependable behind the scenes to take care of critical, but sometimes thankless tasks and always with a great attitude and willingness to help
Jessica Kessinger, PE (WSP)
– Recognitions Chair… helps us wrangle in nominations and lead our awards program to recognize deserving professionals that don’t always get credit for the great work they do
Laura Friello, PE (Garver)
– Scholarship Chair… served for 4 years with unfaltering dependability and commitment to make a difference in supporting the educational dreams for nearly 30 young ladies who have received scholarships under hear leadership of the program
Shadi Hakimi, PE (Atkins)
– Scholarship vice chair…provided scholarship support to help carry the burden of activity and volunteered to step up as chair next year
Natalia Zuniga-Garcia (UT student)
– Student liaison and former student chapter president…re-invigorated the student chapter to plan and host great new professional development and networking programs for UT student members
Mary Jo Galindo, RPA (Galindo Environmental)
– Transportation You Chair… mentor and champion to bring valuable programs to the students at Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders
Lisa Loftus Otway (Center for Transportation Research, UT Austin)
– WTS International Board Member… I don’t have enough space to list the many things Lisa has contributed to WTS over the past decade, but I want to highlight how much I appreciate her endless encouragement in my own path toward leadership and her tireless efforts to be an advocate for so many others
It’s been a privilege,
