WTS Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Chapter

December 's Member of the Month is April Smith, CPSM from GeoEngineers! April was first involved with the WTS Southwest Idaho Chapter until the Spokane/CDA Chapter was created in 2016. April was born in Germany, grew up in Colorado Springs, and attended college at Whitworth University. April played tennis for all four years of college and graduated with a degree in communications and a minor in marketing. April's first job after college was as a marketing and public relations assistant at the Spokane Symphony. She then moved on to GeoEngineers in 2006 and has been with that company ever since. April's favorite parts of her job include creatively connecting with clients and colleagues and supporting staff across the company in winning projects that bring them joy! April and her family (husband Travis and children Emma (10), Nolan (7), and Colton (5)) love to host family and friends for meals and fun. They also often travel back to Colorado Springs to visit family and complete the Incline in Manitou Springs. April's favorite part about being involved with WTS is that it creates opportunities to connect with others in the industry who are passionate about improving transportation across our region. Thank you, April for being a valued member of our WTS Chapter!

2024 was filled with amazing growth, new connections, and inspiring accomplishments. In 2025, we’re ready to take it to the next level with even more opportunities for networking, education, and mentorship! 🌟 ✨ Whether you're looking to expand your career, connect with like-minded professionals, or take on new challenges in transportation, WTS Spokane is the place to be. Let's make 2025 our most impactful year yet!

WTS's November Member of the Month is Kylee Jones, MST, ENV-SP from Ardurra! Kylee had a pretty unique upbringing, growing up in Hawaii, Canada, and eventually settling in Spokane, WA for high school. Her college journey took her to Eastern Washington University, where she earned a BA in Urban and Regional Planning, and then to the University of Washington for a Master’s in Sustainable Transportation. Kylee's husband works at Fairchild Air Force Base, and they have two kids, ages 14 and 2, who keep life exciting! Kylee spends much of her free time playing with her two-year-old daughter and being a full-time chauffeur for her son, shuttling him between school, sports, and extracurriculars. Spring and summer weekends are dedicated to travel baseball, and their golden retriever, Cruz, is always part of the adventure! Kylee has been with Ardurra for about a year and a half as their Sustainable Transportation Planning Project Manager. Her team focuses on transportation planning, engineering, and community engagement, developing plans and projects that advance sustainable infrastructure and promote equitable public involvement. Before joining Ardurra, her work at WSDOT and SRTC provided a strong foundation in public sector planning and valuable insights into the complexities of transportation planning across various scales. Kylee states, "One of the best parts about working at Ardurra is the opportunity to work on a variety of projects while collaborating with talented professionals. I really get excited about building strong relationships with industry partners, clients, peers, and the people within the communities we serve. The multidisciplinary nature of my work allows us to deliver comprehensive plans, studies, and projects. Seeing these projects come to life and make a tangible impact on communities is both rewarding and motivating." Kylee was first introduced to WTS events in 2016 and has been a member since. Her favorite part of being a member is "connecting with a network of passionate professionals and celebrating those advancing women in transportation. I value the educational opportunities, networking events, and collaboration WTS provides, and I’m excited to contribute while continuing to learn and grow alongside talented individuals. I also love meeting new people, so please don't hesitate to say hello if we cross paths!" It is awesome to have you as part of our chapter Kylee! We can't wait to connect with you at our events this year!

Let’s celebrate the season, Spokane & Coeur d'Alene! From all of us at WTS, we wish you a joyful holiday season filled with laughter, light, and safe travels. Here’s to community, connection, and new opportunities in the year ahead!

Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is currently seeking an experienced leader to serve as the Region Planning and Strategic Community Partnerships Director in Spokane, WA! In this role, you will work closely with the Eastern Region leadership team to direct, develop, and deliver all programs and services related to the Eastern Region Planning office including functional areas for Planning Studies (Corridor and Multimodal Transportation Analysis), Developer Service, Complete Streets Tribal Liaison, Region and International Planning (Region/ Metropolitan Planning coordination), Local Planning (Land Use/ Transportation Integration), Community Engagement, Grant Development and Administration, and Restorative Lease Lands Program Pilot. The strategic leadership of this position involves developing and implementing policy and direction for land use integration with transportation; multimodal transportation planning (long and short range) region strategic partnerships; comprehensive transportation modeling and analysis; community engagement; and inclusion for the Eastern Region serving seven counties, the largest metropolitan area east of the Cascades with various surrounding rural communities requiring bi-state (WA/Idaho) and international (WA/ British Columbia, Canada) coordination. Job announcement closes on December 27th at midnight! Use the QR code or visit the link here for more information and details on how to apply. https://lnkd.in/gQrEtr9J?

Final call for awards nominations for the 2025 Annual Awards Gala! We celebrate outstanding professionals, organizations, and projects that support this group’s mission of advancing women in the transportation industry and in our community. Winners will be invited to be honored at our 2025 Annual Awards Gala. See below for our nomination categories, and submit nominations for those that you know deserve it! Member of the Year: Recognizes a WTS member who has made extraordinary contributions to the success of the organization. Woman of the Year: Honors a woman who is an outstanding role model and has contributed to the advancement of women and minorities in transportation. Honorable Ray LaHood Award (Man of the Year): Named for former U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, this award honors a man who has been key to WTS' efforts to attract, retain, and advance women in transportation. Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award: An individual exhibiting extraordinary efforts or initiatives in facilitating professional opportunities for women and minorities. Employer of the Year: Recognizes a Spokane-Coeur d'Alene region business, agency, or organization for its support of the goals and purpose of WTS. Innovative Transportation Solutions: Honors a recent transportation project or service led by a woman that improves the quality of life for its users and the community. Scan the QR code to get to our online nomination forms! Can't scan the code? We have the link here as well: https://lnkd.in/gz9Dbzf7

Hey members and friends of WTS, you still have time to receive our early bird special when purchasing your tickets for the gala! But this deal only lasts until November 22nd, so scan that QR code now to make sure you don't miss out on this incredible night. We are accepting RSVPs to our Annual Awards Gala! Join us for "A Night With The Stars", where we will come together as a community to honor our awards and scholarship recipients, listen to our amazing keynote speaker, and enjoy some great food and company. This year, our Keynote Speaker is Charlene Kay, P.E., who recently was promoted to Region Administrator for the Eastern Region of WSDOT! We are so excited to celebrate her success and listen to her inspiring message. And we hope you are too! Don't forget to RSVP today so you don't miss out! Can't scan the QR code? Here's the link! https://lnkd.in/grDxtRkn We can't wait to see you there!

REMINDER for nominations for the 2025-2026 Board Term! To nominate a current member in good standing (or yourself) please email the name of the person you are nominating and position to the WTS Secretary, Riannon Zender, at rzender@jub.com. We are also seeking up to ten committee Chair or Co-Chair members. These are volunteer positions and not elected, however the Chair of each committee is also a Board member. Please respond to this email if you are interested in any of these positions or contact me if you have questions about the committee positions. The Board presently meets via Microsoft Teams at Noon on the second Wednesday of each month, for an hour. Service on the WTS Board awards you the opportunity to give back to the industry where you have found your success and to help others advance as well. You will be joined by a group of individuals who are embracing the challenges and who are seeking to have a direct impact on influencing this changing industry. We strive for diversity; racial/ethnic representation; public and private sector representation, modes of transportation representation and geographic representation. We look forward to receiving your nomination and hope you will consider this opportunity for yourself or encourage those you know to apply. Should you have any questions regarding the nomination/election process please contact Riannon Zender.

Our deadline for nominations has been extended until November 29th! Please share this information with anyone you think that might be interested in nominating those individuals that we want to recognize! We celebrate outstanding professionals, organizations, and projects that support this group’s mission of advancing women in the transportation industry and in our community. Winners will be invited to be honored at our 2025 Annual Awards Gala. See below for our nomination categories, and submit nominations for those that you know deserve it! Member of the Year: Recognizes a WTS member who has made extraordinary contributions to the success of the organization. Woman of the Year: Honors a woman who is an outstanding role model and has contributed to the advancement of women and minorities in transportation. Honorable Ray LaHood Award (Man of the Year): Named for former U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, this award honors a man who has been key to WTS' efforts to attract, retain, and advance women in transportation. Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award: An individual exhibiting extraordinary efforts or initiatives in facilitating professional opportunities for women and minorities. Employer of the Year: Recognizes a Spokane-Coeur d'Alene region business, agency, or organization for its support of the goals and purpose of WTS. Innovative Transportation Solutions: Honors a recent transportation project or service led by a woman that improves the quality of life for its users and the community. Scan the QR code to get to our online nomination forms and fill a few out today! Can't scan the code? Good news! We have the link here as well: https://lnkd.in/gz9Dbzf7

REMINDER! The 2025 Annual Awards Gala will be here sooner than you think! We are accepting RSVP's to the 2025 Annual Awards Gala! Join us for "A Night With The Stars", where we will come together as a community to honor our awards and scholarship recipients, listen to our amazing keynote speaker, and enjoy some great food and company. Reserve your spot now and receive our early bird special pricing! This deal only lasts until November 22nd, so scan that QR code now to make sure you don't miss out on this incredible night. Can't scan the QR code? We have the link to the same page right here! https://lnkd.in/grDxtRkn