|
|
| NEWS HEADLINES |
 |
| Castillo Advocates for Women at White House Forum |
Women leaders—those with a leadership title and those with a leadership temperament—stay in organizations that value their talents and support their careers, APTA Chair Flora Castillo said at “Articulating the Business Case for Women in Transportation,” a recent White House forum that focused on developing strategies to increase the number of female executives in the industry.
“Many public transit agencies and businesses are implementing succession planning strategies to promote and retain CEOs and other C-suite positions, and they should be commended,” Castillo said. She noted that women are chief executive officers or chief operating officers in public transit agencies of all sizes, including the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA Long Island Rail Road, Charlotte Area Transit System, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, Miami-Dade Transit, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Sound Transit, Southwest Regional Ohio Regional Transit Authority, and San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, among others.
DOT Secretary Ray LaHood, a longtime champion of women in transportation, hosted the invitation-only event. Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Obama and chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls, and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius presented opening remarks.
“We face a wave of retirements, including at senior levels,” Castillo said. “At all levels, we must recruit and retain the next generation of public transit workers, create career paths that retain new workers, and take bold actions to engage diverse individuals in our industry.”
Castillo discussed APTA’s initiatives to support up-and-coming public transit leaders, including Leadership APTA; the new Early Career Program, which will launch in conjunction with the Rail Conference, June 2-5 in Philadelphia; and scholarships awarded through the American Public Transportation Foundation.
As a longtime board member of New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit), Castillo described the value of having a chief diversity officer at the agency, a position she helped create. “Since hiring our chief diversity officer, we have focused more on enhancing the culture of diversity as a business strategy,” she explained. Castillo also pointed to other NJ Transit efforts to promote and support women executives, such as ensuring that women serve on the executive management team and awarding contracts to women-owned businesses.
Senior-level women in transportation agencies and businesses, government, and non-profit organizations attended the forum, including many from APTA public transit agency and business members. Among those in attendance were Executive Committee member Rosa Navejar, president, the Rios Group; board member Evalynn Williams, president and CEO, Dikita Engineering; LIRR President Helena Williams; Cathy Connor, senior vice president, federal government affairs, Parsons Brinckerhoff; and Nancy Butler, vice president, government and federal affairs, AECOM.
In conjunction with the forum, DOT launched its “Women In Transportation” video series on YouTube featuring Beverley K. Swaim-Staley, APTA member and president and CEO of the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, and a collage and timeline.
|
|
|
Participants at the White House forum on women in transportation, from left: LIRR President Helena Williams; Joan McDonald, commissioner, New York State DOT; Karen Hedlund, FRA deputy administrator; Susan Kurland, DOT assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs, and APTA Chair Flora Castillo. | |
|
|
 |
|
| CLASSIFIEDS |
| » Long Beach Transit, Long Beach, CA, is seeking a president and CEO. [More] |
| » UMass Amherst is looking for a director, transportation services. [More] |
| View more Classified Ads » |
|
| TO PLACE AN AD: E-mail or fax the requested date(s) of publication to: ptads@apta.com or FAX to (202) 496-4898. Mailing address is: Passenger Transport, 1666 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006.
Ad copy is not accepted by phone. DEADLINE: Noon, Monday, one week prior to publication date. INFORMATION: Phone (202) 496-4877. |
|
