Comto honours women 'who move the nation'

Conference of Minority Transportation Officials celebrates 'outstanding contributions'
By Adam Hill March 16, 2023 Read time: 2 mins
The honourees at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC (image: Aasiyah Blow | Comto)

The Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (Comto) has honoured 10 women for their work in the transport sector.

Held during Women's History Month, the 12th annual Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation Awards Breakfast took place at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

The citation is for women "making outstanding contributions to the transportation industry across modes, who carve a path forward for the next generation and shatter glass ceilings".

"It is our privilege to honour, elevate and celebrate these outstanding women working to advance the transportation industry," said April Rai, president & CEO, Comto.

"The work of these honourees positively impact the lives of millions, and move the mission of Comto forward."

Founded in 1971, Comto is a non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing under-represented groups in the transportation industry.

Central Ohio Transit Authority (Cota) president/CEO Joanna M. Pinkerton was among the honourees, and said: “I am incredibly grateful to be honoured by Comto for the transformation we have made at Cota through equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives."

“Mobility best serves the community when all voices are represented and sit at the table. Cota will always prioritise an inclusive workplace and celebrate the diversity of ideas across the organisation, helping to inform and shape our region’s equitable mobility solutions.”

The full list of honourees is:

Henrika Buchanan, National Practice Consultant & Vice President, HNTB
Veronica Castro de Barrera, Chair, Board of Directors, Austin Transit Partnership
Inez Evans, President & CEO, IndyGo
Cynthia Guidry, Director, Long Beach Airport
Captain Zeita Merchant, Commander, US Coast Guard
Raquel Olivier, CPA, MBA President/CEO, Olivier, Inc, Link Transportation Corporation
Joanna Pinkerton, President & CEO, Central Ohio Transit Authority
Lynda Tran, Director of Public Engagement & Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of Transportation
Denise Turner Roth, Advisory National Business Line Executive, WSP, USA
Veronica Vanterpool, Deputy Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, US Department of Transportation

Classification & Data Collection Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • Support for US transportation bill
    November 6, 2015
    The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) and the Teamsters have given their support to the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015 (the STRR Act), which was overwhelmingly approved by the US House of Representatives after three days of debate. The bipartisan, multi-year surface transportation bill to reauthorise and reform federal highway, transit, and highway safety programs helps improve US surface transportation infrastructure, refocuses programs on address
    Read More
  • American Center for Mobility gets top ITSA award
    June 6, 2018
    The non-profit public-private partnership American Center for Mobility and the US-23 Flex Route project carried off the two top honours in the ITS America awards. “It’s an honour to get a top award from ITS America,” said Paul Algebra, university region engineer with the Michigan Department of Transportation (left) which is working with HNTB on the US-23 Flex Route. The project is Michigan’s first Active Traffic Management system that provides additional capacity during peak use hours. US-23 won in the tra
    Read More
  • MaaS must be seamless and invisible - or forget it
    June 5, 2018
    MaaS experts from around the world converged on ITS International’s MaaS Market Atlanta conference to talk about how MaaS can be implemented in the US. Andrew Bardin Williams had a front row seat. Transportation experts from around the world gathered in the US earlier this month to discuss the future of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and how it could be deployed in the US market. While most attendees at ITS International’s MaaS Market Atlanta conference were familiar with the MaaS concept, the US’s highly
    Read More
  • Intertraffic Mexico 2017 will emphasize tomorrow’s mobility challenges
    November 14, 2017
    Over 5,000 industry professionals are expected to attend the second edition of Intertraffic Mexico, held in Citibanamex from 15-17 November 2017. Exhibitors from 47 countries will showcase their latest products and solutions within infrastructure, traffic management, parking, safety and smart mobility. It is set to highlight the best practises from the mobility industry with 180 companies on the show floor. Organised by RAI Amsterdam and E.J. Krause Tarsus de Mexico (KTdM), the event stimulates the
    Read More

Highlighted Content