Awards
2024 WTS-Boston Chapter Award Recipients
WTS-Boston is proud to announce the following 2024 award winners:
Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award
Josiane Martinez, Archipelago Strategies Group
Josiane Martinez, Founder and CEO of Archipelago Strategies Group, holds over 20 years of experience working in public policy, cross cultural communications, public affairs, and public administration. Since founding ASG ten years ago, she has been the driving force behind campaigns that have generated record results for clients in the public and private sectors. In that time, she has also grown her staff to over 120 employees and 60 clients. Prior to founding ASG, she served as Executive Director of the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants in Governor Deval Patrick’s Administration. She holds a BA in Public Communications from the University of Puerto Rico and an MBA with a concentration in Marketing from Simmons University. In 2023, she was personally vetted by Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll to Co-Chair the Latino Empowerment Council to strategically advise the Governor on strategies to improve the wellbeing of the Latino communities in Massachusetts.
Honorable Ray LaHood Award
Gary Bua, HNTB
Gary Bua, an experienced transportation and client service professional, is HNTB’s Northeast Division president. His leadership roles within the company have included Northeast Division Project Delivery Officer and, most recently, Massachusetts Office Leader for the past eight years. Under his leadership HNTB has grown and become more diverse in several ways. Gary is actively involved in community and industry engagement groups including the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) and WTS. He has served on the boards of organizations such as Boston’s “A Better City” nonprofit and the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation Board of Trustees. He is a professional engineer with extensive experience in bridge, highway, rail, and civil design projects for state agencies and railroads, such as the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). Many of these projects have used accelerated bridge construction (ABC) techniques and Design-Build delivery. Gary brings a technical understanding on a wide variety of engineering disciplines, as well as understanding of the technology necessary to work in today’s engineering environment.
Innovative Transportation Solutions Award
MassDOT Compass Rail Program/Inland Route: Right of Way Modeling Partnership
The MassDOT Compass Rail Program/Inland Route: Right of Way Modeling Partnership is the first step in implementing the Commonwealth’s vision for expanded intercity passenger rail. This partnership among MassDOT, Amtrak, and CSX will ultimately result in two new daily Amtrak roundtrips between Boston-Springfield-New Haven on the Inland Route. MassDOT was awarded a $108 million Federal Railroad Administration CRISI grant for the infrastructure improvements required to begin service.
This project will result in improved intercity passenger rail services across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to enhance livability, sustainability, economic development, and to address equity issues, especially in the western part of the state, all key priorities for the Healey-Driscoll Administration.
The complexity of this project requires careful coordination and planning to balance the passenger rail and freight network needs. MassDOT’s Rail and Transit Division Administrator Meredith Slesinger was able to build the partnership between the railroads that was necessary to secure both the stakeholder cooperation necessary and project funding. She led a team to secure financial support from Amtrak, a $108M FRA grant, and initiate a cooperative effort with CSX to evaluate the corridor to model the infrastructure improvements necessary to launch new service, which is slated to begin in 2029.
Employer of the Year Award
Arcadis
Arcadis’ mission is improving quality of life. A longtime champion of WTS, Arcadis has supported the organization and its programs through chapter, corporate, and event sponsorships. Additionally, many Arcadis employees have served as board and committee members for multiple chapters nationwide as well as the WTS International organization.
Arcadis’ commitment to the growth and development of people within WTS can also be found inside its own offices throughout the world. The company’s People First culture creates a safe and respectful working environment where people can grow, perform, and succeed. Programs and priorities around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging continue to enhance the employee experience.
The company has received a number of accolades for its workplace culture. For the second year in a row, Forbes named Arcadis one of the top companies for women. Also in 2024, Arcadis was recognized as a Top 20 Best Places to Work by Glassdoor. And for the first time, Arcadis was included in Bloomberg’s 2023 Gender-Equality Index. The company has five strategic programs focused on building gender equity, and a current 56% gender balance at the executive leadership level.
Arcadis is made up of 36,000 architects, data analysts, designers, engineers, project planners, water management, and sustainability experts active in 30 countries working on more than 40,000 client projects every year. The company’s work on the transportation industry include life-changing transportation projects that address challenges around equity by making employment, educational and cultural opportunities in cities around the world accessible for people without a car. For more, visit arcadis.com.
Claire Barrett Member of the Year Award
Katie Kalugin
Katie Kalugin (she/they) is the Deputy Director of Policy Development at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), responsible for the creation and coordination of rider-focused policies and initiatives. Prior to this role, Katie spent three years as the Transit Equity Programs Specialist at the MBTA and focused on increasing access to the Authority’s free/reduced fare programs for those with disabilities, seniors, students, and young people with low-income. Katie is a co-chair for the MBTA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Employee Advisory Council and on the Steering Committee for the MBTA/MassDOT LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group (ERG).
Katie has been an active WTS member since being selected as one of the Emerging Professionals in 2020 and again in 2021 and helped shape the DEI Committee’s goals toward inclusion during this time. Katie joined the WTS-Boston Board as a Director-at-Large in 2022 and was the Board Liaison for the Transportation YOU and Professional Development Committees in their first year and the Board Liaison for the Professional Development and DEI Committees in their second year. Katie continues to be an active member of the DEI Committee.
Woman of the Year Award
To be announced.