From the District Director

JEN MALZER, M.Sc., P.Eng. Canadian District Director director@cite7.org

Dear members,

I am happy to be home after some busy and wonderful meetings in Washington, D.C. Our winter ITE Board of Direction Meetings are always timed with the TRB conference and there are so many ways we benefit from that timing. Our technical committee meetings and student chapter reception gain from the attendance to both.

There is so much to report from ITE. I am truly amazed by the committed staff at headquarters. ITE, through volunteer projects and contracts to other organizations, produces a tremendous number of technical products. At this particular meeting, the Board had the opportunity to give its blessing on a recommended practice: Guidelines for Determining Change and Clearance Intervals. I want to make a special thank you to Russell Brownlee, a CITE volunteer, for his help on this complicated project.

The Board has also supported the development of new technical practices by the Coordinating Council, like a new report discussing important trends facing our profession and the creation of new awards that recognize excellence across our organization. Please review the ITE and CITE opportunities to nominate projects, initiatives and individuals as this is a great way to advance our industry faster.

This meeting marked the start of Randy McCourt’s term as President and, with that change, it becomes the start of Bruce Belmore’s term as past president. Though Bruce was looking exceptionally relaxed, he still is responsible for some important areas for ITE including the creation of the new Micromobility Sandbox Design Competition that will be held in New Orleans as part of the ITE Annual Meeting. This initiative aimed at students and working professionals is intended to promote multidisciplinary teams to compete and add to the member knowledge of this disruptive space in transportation. Bruce also oversees a legacy fund drive timed in celebration of ITE’s 90th anniversary. All funds go to support member programs like scholarships and LeadershipITE. Consider joining me in contributing $90 for 90 and consider forming a team for this new competition. Please also take a moment to thank Bruce for his service as a thoughtful and approachable President; he represented Canada so well. I have no doubt our District would be welcome to fill that seat again.

Randy’s term will place an emphasis on strengthening the member experience at home, looking at ways that ITE and Districts like CITE can support our Sections and Student Chapters. This aligns nicely with the work happening at CITE. With our CITE strategic plan under review, we are looking at how we can support Sections and what services we might offer in the future. As your Canadian rep, I am also supporting the development of ITE’s next strategic plan so the timing is just right for improving the quality of all of our members’ experiences. Please be in touch with ideas and suggestions.

President McCourt has also been keen to be more productive at IBOD meetings and has assigned homework to all board members. My assignment has been to find ways for ITE to lead and embrace industry change. Using my experience working with The City of Calgary’s Innovation Lab, I took the opportunity to run a couple of activities related to culture change. Fortunately, this was well received and I will continue to have this chance at future meetings. A good reminder to put up your hand. The transportation profession is constantly poised for change and learning, both technical and organizational. ITE Board of Direction (IBOD) gathers in Washington, D.C. IBOD engaged in Jen's culture change exercise

To close off, I am most excited by the students and LeadershipITE candidates I met in Washington. All were studying emerging areas and many examining those areas that connect with parallel professions[b], like active and safe routes to school, variable speed limits or solving the leaky pipeline. Thank you to Amy Jiang (Toronto Section) and Garreth Rempel (Manitoba Section) for representing us at LeadershipITE and to the University of Manitoba Section for joining the ITE conversation at our student reception. Being able to work across disciplines will serve our members well in creating liveable communities in Canada.

Best,

Jen Malzer, M.Sc., P.Eng. Canadian District Director