Submitted by Kelly Kaysonepheth and Jessica Fly

Mentorship is one of the pillars of WTS and our chapter’s program is named after the late Jane Morris, who was a driving force of positive change in Phoenix and a leader in our industry. Jane spent most of her career with the City of Phoenix, which included seven years at Sky Harbor International Airport in various leadership roles. Her last position at the City of Phoenix was Acting Executive Assistant to the City Manager where her responsibilities included Public Transit, Light Rail, and the Office of Environmental Programs. Jane retired from the City of Phoenix in 2012 and moved to Phoenix-Mesa-Gateway Airport where she served as Executive Director/CEO until her retirement in early 2016.

Image

Beyond her resume, Jane was a steady presence at WTS. She was a WTS Mentor for two years (with Jessica Fly of WSP and Kelly Kaysonepheth of AZTEC) and also presented at several monthly WTS luncheons on the topics of leadership and continuing education. In 2009, she accepted the WTS Employer of the Year award on behalf of the City of Phoenix Aviation Department. In 2010, she received the WTS Woman of the Year award. Both awards recognized Jane's value and strength as a leader in this industry.

Jane’s mentorship went well beyond the formal structure of the WTS Mentorship Program. Amongst her very busy schedule, Jane devoted critical time with mentees and always provided an opportunity for mentees to learn something new. For example, she would take them along to big project meetings (and made them sit next to her at the table), she met with them after hours to discuss the mentee's career concerns and provided advice, and she invited them to industry events for which she was the keynote speaker and introduced them to attendees. She was always willing to listen to new ideas from younger professionals and was always looking out for their best interests, even if they didn't align with hers. She even offered to attend a mentee's significant project meeting or presentation to offer feedback as a general member of the audience.

A strong network was extremely important to Jane. She always stressed the importance of having a broad network, but still being able to remember someone's name and some details about them. She urged others to build their network in various ways - whether it was attending and being involved in industry events, or volunteering within the community with clients and consultants. She attended countless community events, most of which as a member of the public, humbly under the radar. Jane was never one to love the spotlight, but could always deliver a presentation or speech, or represent the project team or the agency at a big event with poise and humility.

Transportation in Arizona has benefitted from Jane through her project leadership and willingness to mentor younger professionals. She recognized the importance of paying it forward and giving back, knowing that the future is only as good as we allow it to be from our efforts in the present. Her fingerprints are everywhere within the City of Phoenix on projects that continue to improve the lives of so many people who live in and visit the Phoenix metropolitan area.

In the fall of 2016, Jane passed away from complications following cancer surgery. In recognition of her contribution to WTS and her commitment to supporting future women leaders, WTS Metro Phoenix renamed the annual mentorship initiative “The Jane Morris Mentorship Program” in her honor.