Paul Skoutelas: 2020 Honorable Ray LaHood Award
By Haley Peckett, WTS-DC
Here in the Washington, D.C. region, our transportation professionals are extremely talented and high achieving. Every year, WTS-DC selects well-deserving individuals and companies to receive our annual recognition awards. WTS-DC then submits our chapter awardees to be considered for WTS International's annual recognition awards. This year, one of the WTS-DC recognition award recipients rose above the competition at the international level. Paul Skoutelas, CEO of the American Public Transit Association (APTA), received WTS International's Honorable Ray LaHood Award for 2020, making him the first international award recipient from WTS-DC in several years.
On May 21, WTS International recognized Skoutelas at their virtual annual business meeting (award recipients are typically honored at the WTS Annual Conference, which was cancelled this year due to COVID-19). The Honorable Ray LaHood Award honors a leader and role model in the transportation industry who, through career achievements and support of women, has advanced the reputation and credibility of women in transportation. Skoutelas has championed partnerships between APTA and WTS at both the chapter and international level.
Through his leadership positions, Skoutelas has worked to create opportunities for women transportation professionals. In his current role, he is instrumental in continuing the strong industry partnership between APTA and WTS. Both organizations “share [a] long history of working together and ... are aligned in supporting [the] professional development and career advancement of women,” said Diane Woodend Jones, former WTS Chair.
Skoutelas also has contributed to the advancement of women and minorities through his long involvement in WTS. He has been a member of WTS for more than 20 years, and was instrumental in the creation of the WTS chapter in Pittsburgh, and participated in Central Florida, New York, and now in D.C. Skoutelas has spoken highly of the impact WTS membership has had on his career: "WTS has helped to enlighten me about the diversity of our industry and importance of inclusion in ensuring that many talents and perspectives are at the table when making decisions.” Skoutelas has been an active supporter of WTS-DC, and in 2019, headlined a breakfast event titled, “The New Mobility Paradigm: A Conversation with APTA’s Paul Skoutelas,” where he engaged a sold-out audience on the need for transit in increasingly multimodal world. Through WTS, Skoutelas has been able to identify and network with emerging women transportation leaders and help them to grow and develop their careers.
Since being recognized by WTS-DC in 2019, Skoutelas has stayed busy with advocacy and policy leadership related to public transit amidst one of the worst financial and transportation crises of our time. He successfully advocated for $25 billion for transit in the CARES Act, which was signed into law to cover lost revenue. He also advocated for the House to include $15.75 billion in the HEROES Act, which is still pending. His impactful leadership embodies all of the principles of the Honorable Ray LaHood Award: he leads through difficult times, he has made a demonstrable impact on the state of transit today, and he continues to advance women and minorities in transportation.