Rev. Matthew L. Watley will be the keynote speaker at COMTO's fourth annual Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation (CWWMN) awards breakfast, held in salute to Women’s History Month on March 11th in Washington, D.C. Rev. Watley is the executive and managing minister of Reid Temple AME Church’s North Branch in Silver Spring, Maryland.
A gifted preacher, lecturer and author, Watley was named one of the “Top 20 Preachers under 40 to Watch” by African-American Pulpit magazine. He serves on the executive committee of the World Methodist Council of Churches, and has been honored as an Impact Person-of-the-Year by Impact, a Washington-based civic organization dedicated to political and civic engagement.
COMTO is a Washington, D.C.-based professional association founded in 1971 to help level the playing field for minorities and businesses in the transportation industry. Each year COMTO recognizes the outstanding contributions of women who are leading and advancing America’s transportation industry. The Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation awards breakfast will be on March 11th from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the J. W. Marriott, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, in Washington D.C.
The 2015 Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation honorees are:
- The Honorable Barbara Boxer, U.S. Senate, California (D) for Lifetime Achievement
- Ms. Chellie Cameron, Chief Operating Officer, Philadelphia International Airport for Aviation
- Ms. Ann Dawson-August, Executive Director, Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority for Public Transportation
- Ms. Marcia Ferranto, President and CEO, Women's Transportation Seminar International for Advocacy
- Ms. Carolyn Flowers, Senior Advisor, Federal Transit Administration, for Federal/Public Transportation
- Ms. Deborah Hersman, President and CEO, National Safety Council, for Multimodalism
- Ms. Cynthia Jones Parks, President and CEO, Jones Worley Communications, for Private Sector
- Ms. Ysela Llort, Director, Miami-Dade Transit, for Public Transportation
- The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton, Member of Congress, District of Columbia, for Legislator
- Dr. Joy Rohadfox, President and CEO, Rohadfox Construction Control Services Corporation, for Private Sector
- Ms. Polly Trottenberg, Commissioner, New York City Department of Transportation, for State Government
- Ms. Paralee Shivers, Professor, Speech Division, Houston Community College, will receive the Shirley A. DeLibero Woman Who Moves The Nation award and
- Ms. India Birdsong, Senior Manager, Bus Supervision & Instruction, Chicago Transit Authority, for the Chairman’s Eagle Award
The late Julie Cunningham, COMTO’s immediate past president and CEO, inaugurated the Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation awards in 2012, starting a new tradition of recognizing the accomplishments and influence of today's outstanding women in transportation. This year's list of recipients brings the total number of honorees to 48. As in years past, these leaders represent a broad cross section of the industry.
Don't miss this COMTO Signature Event celebrating women in transportation who are leading and advancing America's transportation industry in so many ways. Tickets for the event are $100 per person until Feb. 28, when the cost increases to $125. To purchase tickets or for more information about COMTO, visit www.comto.org
