NYU Rudin Center Hosts Women Leaders in Transportation Panel

The NYU Rudin Center hosted the “Women Leaders in Transportation” event on May 14th.  Sarah Kaufman led a panel with four exceptional executive women to celebrate and discuss their leadership in the NYC transportation industry.  The speakers explained how they became speakers, approaches to balancing responsibilities, lessons learned from their careers, and proudest accomplishments. The panelists then discussed policies that organizations can enact to promote gender equity and strategies for individuals to support women in the workplace.

Major themes covered were:

• Workplaces should be redesigned to value the work being done, rather than hours clocked.

• When in positions of leadership, it is essential to lead by example, especially in terms of family leave and flexible time.

• Lead by inquiry: always ask why something is being done and what value it presents.

• Work and life balance can be merged; families can be involved in workplace interests and vice versa.

• Women leaders tend to work collaboratively and without prioritizing their egos, and their networks are key to encouraging collaborative behavior to improve transportation holistically.

The NYU Rudin Center hopes these conversations are continued within transportation organizations and will lead to positive, long-term change.  

The panelists were:

• Jamey Barbas, Executive Director for the Tappan Zee Bridge Project, New York State Thruway Authority

• Meera Joshi, Visiting Scholar, NYU Rudin Center for Transportation; Former NYC Taxi & Limousine Commissioner

• Midori Valdivia, Chief of Staff to the MTA President, Metropolitan Transportation Authority

• Veronica Vanterpool, Deputy Director, Vision Zero Network, and Board Member, MTA

• Moderator: Sarah M. Kaufman, Associate Director of the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation