We are over half way through with LeadershipITE 2014. After a kick-off in Washington D.C. last fall, we went our separate ways and began work on our group projects. We met back up in Miami as part of the 2014 ITE Technical Conference. Over 5 days in Miami, we had further Leadership courses with Glen Techer, enjoyed networking and attending sessions as part of the technical conference, and had a little fun as well.
My group consists of 6 engineers – four of us in consulting, one academia, and one public sector. We span from New Jersey to Texas and even up to Canada. For our LeadershipITE project, we are tackling Advocacy in Transportation and more specifically, what should ITE’s role be. Our backgrounds lead us to different opinions and force us to work together to see each other’s perspectives. The current ITE President, Hibbett Neal, has a special interest in Transportation Advocacy and has formed an Advocacy Committee. The committee, led by Monica Suter and Sam Schwartz, has already taken an active role in promoting advocacy through our organization. Even within ITE there are wildly different opinions on positions ITE should be taking as an organization or whether we should take a position at all. In Miami, our group met with the Advocacy Committee to hear their goals and objectives for the new committee and discuss how our group could help. We are currently working on a white paper and presentation to the ITE this August. I hope to stay involved in the Advocacy Committee even after the completion of LeadershipITE.
Other highlights of our trip to Miami included some great presentations on emerging technology including an update from Google on their autonomous vehicle, getting to know the ITE International Vice-President candidates, seeing Mark Cuban’s enormous yacht complete with a basketball court, and sight-seeing via boat all of the celebrity homes along the water. It was a great trip to Miami and I am really looking forward to Seattle in August.
