The Conference Of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) will honor ten women at the annual Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation awards breakfast on March 13 at the J.W. Marriott.
The ten women to be recognized represent the full-range of transportation disciplines. Honorees were announced by COMTO earlier this month. Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta will serve as the honorary chair of the event.
Freshman U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), an Iraq war veteran, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Duckworth distinguished herself as a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot. She suffered severe combat wounds, losing both her legs and damaging her right arm. Duckworth was the first female double amputee from the war and was awarded the Purple Heart for her combat injuries. She previously served as assistant secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and as the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.
Additional honorees and the transportation modes they represent include: Gina Adams, corporate vice president - government affairs at FedEx for the private sector; Rosemarie Andolino, commissioner at the Chicago Department of Aviation for the aviation sector; Anne Canby, director of the OneRail Coalition for the advocacy sector; Gloria Jeff, former director for the Michigan Department of Transportation and former associate director of the Transportation Operations Administration at the Washington, D.C. Department of Transportation for the highway sector; Joan McDonald, commissioner for the State of New York Department of Transportation for the state government sector; Cheryl McKissack Daniel, president and CEO at McKissack & McKissack, and Deryl McKissack, president, CEO, and board chairwoman at McKissack & McKissack of DC, co-honorees for the private sector; and Therese McMillan, deputy administrator at the Federal Transit Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation for the federal government sector. Helen Dale, special assistant and strategic coordinator to the director of human resources at the Maryland Transportation Authority will receive the annual Shirley DeLibero Award, named for the first female board chair for COMTO.
“This event spotlights women who have made sustained contributions in careers that are critical to our nation’s transportation infrastructure,” says COMTO President and CEO Julie Cunningham. “We are excited to celebrate their accomplishments during Women’s History Month.”
