This is my final column as ITE Executive Director and CEO. I want to start by congratulating Steve Kuciemba (F) on his selection as the next ITE Executive Director and CEO. I have known Steve for many years. He brings great energy, skills, and relationships to the position. In closing out my time, I wanted to try to sum up some of the key accomplishments of the 8 eight years and share a few parting thoughts. When I came to ITE in 2015, I was the first new Executive Director and CEO in more than 30 years. ITE has a long and proud history of making key contributions to the quality of the transportation system. Our leaders and members have helped grow our profession and our communities are better for having ITE. But we had also lost our way a bit. Through the commitment of a strong group of International Presidents and Board members, the hard work of a dedicated ITE staff, and contributions from hundreds of volunteers at all levels of the organization, today:
• Our membership is at the highest level in our 93-year history, and we are poised to exceed 18,000 by the end of 2023.
• Our financial reserves have grown from 20 percent of our annual operating budget to more than 110 percent.
• Through the ONE ITE initiative, we created or reconfigured five Districts and established 20 new Sections. Each of our 11 Districts, 71 Sections, 10 Chapters, and 150 Student Chapters has been rechartered, has common bylaws and operating processes, and is delivering a more consistent member experience.
• We have strong working relationships, communication, and trust across all levels of ITE, recognizing that we all work together for the greater ITE good.
• Our Council Leadership Team is producing new knowledge—20+ new resources so far in 2023—and has returned ITE to the forefront of our profession.
• We have modernized our signature Transportation Impact Analysis tools and are delivering multimodal, person-based data through a web-based app that provides
a rich set of analysis capabilities.
• We have a robust professional development program offering 50+ free webinars annually and have brought forward new blended-learning certificate courses.
• Our Annual Meeting and Exhibition and our Virtual Spring Conference are strongly attended, showcasing the best of our profession, and bringing new knowledge
to our members.
• Our Legacy Program, through the generosity of ITE members, is supporting a wide range of student and younger member activities and our Diversity Scholars
program is lifting up eight diverse, first-generation college students.
• We have built a brand new ITE Headquarters space that provides a great work and meeting environment and celebrates our history—
while reducing our rent.
I am excited for the future of ITE. With Steve at the helm, the support of a talented staff, the wonderful volunteer energy present in ITE, and a ONE ITE mindset, the best
is yet to come. While I am retiring as ITE Executive Director and CEO, I will remain an ITE member as I have been for nearly 40 years, and look forward to finding ways to
contribute to ITE’s continued success. I hope to see many of you along the way.