Dear WTS-DC Chapter Members and Friends,

It has been a busy and inspiring spring for WTS-DC members. A large delegation from our chapter attended the 2024 WTS International Annual Conference, in May in New Orleans. You can read their impressions from a fully packed program of panels, keynotes, technical tours and networking. I want to congratulate the two WTS-DC award recipients who went on to win at the international level: the I-95 Variable Speed Limit, with project manager Britton Johnson, who received the Innovative Transportation Solution Award, and Renée Hamilton, CEO of Toll Road Investor Partnerships/Dulles Greenway, who was named Woman of the Year. Congratulations also to Patricia Macchi, who joins chapter advisor Avital Barnea on the WTS Foundation Board of Directors. New Orleans was the perfect place to celebrate all these milestones!

We started our programming year showcasing female transportation leaders in Northern Virginia, with Renée Hamilton and then Monica Backmon and Kate Mattice sharing their insights on both their careers and the many active projects in the region. The prospect of rain did not deter participants to our annual spring bike tour, who explored new infrastructure in DC. And our Transportation YOU committee has organized several technical tours for high school students in the program. 

We have many more events planned for the summer, starting with an exploration of the 1921 Tulsa massacre and its relationship with transportation. We are also planning coffee chats and panel events with leaders across the modes and agencies, so please check our program calendar regularly.

I am always happy to talk about WTS and how we can improve what we do as a chapter, so please feel free to email me at [email protected] if you have any feedback or thoughts to share.

Wishing you all a good rest of the summer,

Sophie Guiny

WTS-DC Chapter President