ITE Journal January 2018 - 23

the West Side Highway would be replaced
after a truck fell through it, causing it to
be shut down. This led to public meetings
and the development of inboard/outboard
and boulevard concepts. Although at
times contentious, I thought the process
was fascinating. The second part was tied
in with what followed that work. The
discussions that followed made it clear that
this was not just about a road, but about
people's lives and businesses as well as a
sense of place. I saw how, through transportation projects, one could impact whole
communities across generations. I wanted
to be part of that through design and public
engagement and be able to contribute in
a positive way. Finally, while in college, I
worked for Dr. Lou Pignataro-one of the
great leaders in our field-doing surveys,
weaving analysis data reduction, and many
other tasks for transportation projects, and
I loved what I was discovering.
ITEJ: What were your experiences like as
one of four women attending your first
ITE meeting in 1978, and as the first
woman to be elected International Vice
President and President of ITE? How have
you seen the profession and ITE change,
and how can ITE continue to evolve to be
more inclusive?
MAB: Having worked all through college
and grad school to inform others that
engineering, planning, and transportation
were professions open to women, I knew I
had a mission in ITE to spread the word. At
first, I did not have a word for what I was
doing, but later I realized I had stepped
into mentoring in a big way. I lead the
NY/NJ program under the ITE/Urban
Mass Transportation Administration
Equal Opportunity Education program
(1975-1976) and saw how we could get high
school students excited about the work
we do. I arrived in Atlanta in 1978 for the
ITE Annual Meeting, a young professional
who was going to give my first presentation in front of an audience at a major

conference. When I arrived, I was invited
to attend a reception, and there I met Willa
Mylroie, Ann Hansen, and Emily Blount,
the only other female delegates at the event.
We went to lunch together and realized we
represented the four corners of the United
States, noting there were not many other
women in-between. It was simultaneously
intimidating and exhilarating to think that
I could make both a technical contribution
to my profession but also do so much more
to impact the future.

I was the first woman to serve as President
of the NY/NJ ITE Met Section, so I had a little
taste of the opportunity. I made it a point to
put chairs in place on various committees
who were enthusiastic even if not experienced, with a commitment that I would help
ensure their success. As a result, my pool of
candidates included women and minorities
who had not been included before. The
outcomes were strong and positive and
helped change the make-up of the leadership
forever. I am grateful to those who rose to the
occasion and paved the way for others.
When I was elected Vice President of
International ITE, Bill McGrath (another
ITE legend) who had been one of my
mentors in New York, handed me a list that
I carry around still today. He went through
the paper directory and on a manual
typewriter created a list of all the people in
there he believed were women. He handed
me the list and said, "Now that you have
been elected, you have a responsibility to do
something with and for each of these members." I took that charge very seriously. I
learned that ITE had some traditions that
did not apply to me-for example, I did not
have a reception before the theme party at
my Annual Meeting because it had always
been the President's wife's reception, and I
did not have a wife. At that meeting, I held
a luncheon for the nine women delegates-
we called it the Ladies Power Lunch-and
though it is sometimes held at another time
of day, we have had that event every year
since 1994. This unofficial event, held during
the Annual Meeting, is a forum for relation-

ships, information sharing, and tackling
issues. We now have local sections and
districts that are holding their own version
of this event thanks to Past International
President Jenny Grote's encouragement.
In the past two years, I have seen many
positive changes under the new ITE leadership-staff and elected. The conversation
has appropriately shifted from diversity to
inclusion. It is not about inviting people to
participate but engaging everyone in meaningful activities and conversations. One
example is the LeadershipITE program-a
long overdue but excellent example of
deliberate and successful efforts to be inclusive. It is about reaching out to people of
all kinds of background and ages, from all
geographies and with all kinds of interests
to encourage engagement. We are making
great progress. 
ITEJ: What advice do you have for those
starting in the profession who feel their
voices aren't being heard, or who hesitate
to speak up?
w w w .i t e.or g

Ja nu ar y 2018

23
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ITE Journal January 2018
