Introduction 

Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate the contributions of women throughout history and to recognize the ongoing challenges and strides needed to achieve equality. Mentorship plays a vital role in empowering women. This is showcased in the 2025 National Women’s History Alliance (NWHA) theme of “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations”. Mentorship is particularly important for women in STEM fields, where they are often underrepresented. Mentors can provide guidance, support, and encouragement to help women navigate the challenges they may face in their careers. 

This month, we are spotlighting our WTS Philadelphia Vice President, Jaclyn Whelan, and Student Chapter Co-Chair, Blaire Miran, and their mentors: Laurie Cullen and Erica Antoine. 

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Mentor: Laurie Cullen, AAE, Airport Program Lead at Build America Bureau USDOT, WTS International Foundation Past Board Member

Mentee: Jaclyn Whelan, PE, Project Manager at Conrail, WTS Philadelphia Vice President 

Learn a little about Laurie and Jaclyn: 

Laurie Cullen has held numerous positions throughout her career both in public and private organizations. She has been heavily involved in WTS throughout her career, most recently on the WTS International Foundation board from 2013-2018. Laurie is an accomplished airport executive skilled at leading organizations and managing high profile, complex programs, projects and issues requiring team-building, communication and collaboration with technical staff, air carriers, regulators, federal, state and local elected officials, and governing boards. She has more than 36 years of experience in the planning, feasibility, environmental assessment, design, construction and management of major airport capital projects at all size airports, and also has significant experience in the development of Capital Improvement Programs for small, medium and large hub and general aviation airports.

Jaclyn Whelan is Project Manager of Design for Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) in the Engineering Assets Department, overseeing engineering design review and approval of Conrail’s capital, customer, environmental, and 3rd party public improvement projects.  Prior to joining Conrail, she worked as a structural engineer in the private sector designing and rehabilitating bridges for freight and passenger railroads in the United States and Mexico. Jaclyn currently serves as the Vice President for Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) – Philadelphia Chapter and is the Philadelphia Chapter’s 2021 Member of the Year.

How mentorship impacted Jaclyn:

Laurie and I first met at the WTS’s Transportation YOU DC Summit in 2014.  I was attending as a mentor for one of three WTS Philadelphia Transportation YOU mentor/mentee pairs but managed to find my own mentor while there. Laurie has been an invaluable resource to me, and many others, as we navigate through careers in the transportation industry. Her breadth of knowledge extends from technical execution of large engineering projects to navigating a career as a woman in a male dominated field. Her approach to mentoring is one of collaboration. In each conversation, we discuss in detail what the challenges are and come out with clear purpose and direction on next steps. Through our various chats over the course of the last decade, Laurie has provided critical advice on effective project management and navigating career transitions. Outside of the professional side of our relationship, Laurie has also been a true friend. Whenever we found ourselves in the same city, we would get together for a meal, coffee, or cocktail to catch up on life. We celebrate milestones such as weddings, the birth of a child, and trade holiday cards each year. I also have her catalogue of cocktail books as part of my kitchen. We are both world travelers and like to share recipes or restaurants we’ve enjoyed.  

Key lessons Jaclyn learned from mentorship:

• There is never one right answer. However, there is a best answer for what is in front of you at that time.
• Believing in yourself carries a lot of weight.
• Time is important and valuable.  
• It’s important to give back to others and pay it forward.
• The quality of time is greater than the quantity.
• Show up for your friends.

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Mentor: Erica Antoine, Project Manager at Burns Engineering, WTS Philadelphia Past President 

Mentee: Blaire Miran, Structural Engineer at AECOM, WTS Philadelphia Student Chapter Co-Chair 

Learn a little about Blaire and Erica:

Erica was a previous WTS Philadelphia chapter president and I (Blaire) am the student chapter co-chair with Cory Wyffels. Cory and I organize events and a mentor program for college students in the Philadelphia area. 

How mentorship impacted Blaire:

When I first signed up for the WTS Mentor program I was transitioning between two different offices, and was hoping to add some field work to my role. Erica helped me practice advocating for myself and was a sounding board for me to see which requests were reasonable. She has many years of experience in the industry and many years of practice mentoring younger engineers, which is invaluable. She shared insights into decisions she had made throughout her career, which helped me see potential obstacles I could face in the future. 

Key lesson Blaire learned from mentorship:

Through all of this, the most important lesson she taught me was to be as straightforward as possible because managers don’t know what you want unless you ask for it.