Whether you are a new member, an ITE veteran, or someone in between, you may have heard about the ITE Councils. You may have seen them mentioned on our website, attended a session they developed at a conference, or seen one of their products in the ITE Bookstore or ITE Library. You have probably asked yourself the following: What are they? What do they do? How do I get involved? Well, let us share that with you.
What are they?
The ITE Councils represent 9 groups of members in ITE with a common focus and a special interest. There are three employer-type councils and 6 technical councils that develop a broad range of informational content for all ITE members. The employer-type councils are the Public Agency Council, the Transportation Consultants Council, and the Transportation Education Council. The technical councils focus on the six areas of complete streets; transportation systems management and operations; traffic engineering, transportation expert witness, transportation planning, and transportation safety. The ITE Coordinating Council is made up of the individual council chairs and coordinates and collaborates across the spectrum of all of the councils and their activities.
What do they do?
The primary effort of all of the councils is the development of content for all of ITE and the transportation profession as a whole. That content takes on many forms to address the rapidly changing needs of the profession. Examples of content include informal discussions and real-time dialogue, informal presentations and reports, newsletters, blogs, recommended practices, and so much more. All of these are developed by volunteers in the councils.
How do I get involved?
To begin with, you can join a council. Membership is free and is open to all ITE members. Simply log into the ITE Community and subscribe to the councils in which you are interested. It is that easy! You will have immediate access to all of the information, discussions, and resources that the councils develop.
If you want to be more than a casual observer of the councils, we need active volunteers, too. Volunteers are the lifeblood of the councils, and we always need help. Each council has a broad range of activities that are all led by volunteers and which offer opportunities for you to get your feet wet with us.
Are you social media savvy? Then let a particular council know you are willing to help manage their Twitter or LinkedIn pages. Do you have a great idea for a webinar? Let us know and we can help you put it together. Have thoughts you want to share? Offer to write an article for a newsletter or the ITE Journal. Love making professional connections and active at the local level? Raise your hand to be a District liaison and help connect them with a council. If you have a bit more time to offer, then all of the councils could use help developing products for their members. You can tailor your involvement to what time you have to offer. In short: WE NEED YOU!
Visit the ITE website to find out more. The "Councils" tab on the website will link you to the Coordinating Council and the individual Councils to find out more about each of them and find contact information for the chairs. Each Council Community has information on volunteer opportunities and contacts for various activities through their individual Libraries. Browse the All Member Forum on the ITE Community for announcements looking for volunteers. We are always looking for volunteers so your emails or phone calls will be answered.
The welcome mat is out so come on in!