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WTS International released a
statement expressing sorrow for the deaths of
George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, Ahmaud Arbery, and others, and affirming its commitment to equality and inclusiveness in the transportation industry. The
WTS NC Triangle Chapter Executive Board wholeheartedly agrees with this statement. We stand with those grieving and protesting against these injustices against People of Color, and with those fighting for justice, representation, and equality around the world.
We are looking for ways to enhance our programs and policies that will continue to promote understanding, inclusion, and diversity in the transportation industry.
Our chapter would like to hear your stories, suggestions, concerns, and comments to help us continue our mission of improving our transportation industry and the communities we serve. Please reach out to [email protected] or to any of our executive board members.
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Go Gala
The Go Gala has gone virtual! It will now be held 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 20 in an online format. More details will follow in the coming weeks. This event will recognize the annual Transportation Innovation award winners and scholarship recipients.
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Virtual Luncheon
The WTS NC Triangle Chapter and the WTS South Carolina Chapter are teaming up to host a virtual luncheon featuring Dr. Ellie Fini. She is the co-founder of
Bio-Adhesive Alliance Inc., which produces eco-friendly, durable, low cost bio-adhesive from swine manure to help facilitate swine manure management while creating added value products for the construction industry. The WTS NC Triangle Chapter has awarded Dr. Fini the 2020 Innovative Transportation Solution Award (see more below). This award salutes an innovative transportation project led by a woman. Join us for a free webinar from noon to 1:30 p.m. July 23 to hear Dr. Fini discuss her project. Register for the event
here.
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2020 Transportation Innovation Award Winners
Congratulations to this year's WTS-NC Triangle Chapter Transportation Innovation award winners.
Awards will be presented to the recipients at the Aug. 20 GO Gala event. The award winners will be featured in this month's and next month's newsletter.
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Member of the Year
Mike Holder, PE, is the Fundraising Chair of WTS NC Triangle Chapter and Gannett Fleming's Vice President for Transportation Services providing program assessment, project management and business development for national transportation clients. He develops, leads, and drives initiatives, including highway planning and design, transportation program management, construction management, traffic engineering, intelligent transportation system deployment and pursuit of design-build and public-private partnership (P3) opportunities. Mike has 36 years of North Carolina transportation experience including a 34-year career with NCDOT finishing his final 4 years as NCDOT's Chief Engineer. In this role he supervised the design, construction, maintenance and operations of 80,000 miles of roadway in NC's 14 highway Divisions and central office business units. Mike's family includes his wife Sue and two daughters, Shannyn and Samantha.
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Employer of the Year
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Suzanne Unger Young started Three Oaks Engineering in 2014 after 18 years in the consulting engineering industry. After earning a master's in Environmental Management and Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she worked as a consultant for federal and state clients on National Environmental Policy Act assessments, watershed plans, and public engagement projects. Three Oaks was born of a desire to create the kind of workplace she dreamed of, with a focus on helping clients accomplish infrastructure projects with careful consideration of community and environmental needs, while striving to be a sustainable partner in the community and providing employees with the flexibility to balance business and family responsibilities. Over the last six years, Three Oaks has grown to 40 staff across three offices - American Tobacco Campus in Durham (headquarters), Centennial Campus in Raleigh, and Columbia, S.C. The company has been recognized for its sustainability practices with bronze status in the Bull City Workplace Challenge and is a silver League of American Bicyclists Bicycle Friendly Business. Outside of work, Suzanne enjoys exploring Durham's food scene with her husband and two kids, and spoiling her rescue dog, Miranda.
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Innovative Transportation Solution Award
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Dr. Elham Fini is the Director of the International Innovation Network for Construction Materials, Methods and Management (ICM3), Senior Sustainability Scientist and, Associate professor of School of Sustainable Engineering and Built Environment at Arizona State University. She is also J. W. Fulbright Scholar of Aalborg University of Denmark. She is currently serving as an AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassador working to promote culture of invention and innovation in academia. She is also the co-founder of Bio-Adhesive Alliance Inc., a spin-off company from her research group. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has been a research affiliate at MIT's Center for Materials Science and Engineering and an Associate Editor of the ASCE Journal of Materials. She has served as the president of ASCE's North Carolina Northern Branch and a program director of the National Science Foundation. She has been an invited speaker at Kavli Frontiers of Science at the National Academy of Science. Her achievements were recognized via multiple awards including an NSF CAREER award, ASEE Gerald Seeley award, BEYA Emerald STEM Innovation award, and NC BioTech Research Excellence award.
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WTS International Partners
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