Previous Years Award Winners:

2018 WINNERS

WOMAN OF THE YEAR

Holly Rockwell SR/WA, R/W-RAC, CPA 

Senior Executive Officer, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

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Holly Rockwell is a Senior Executive Officer in the planning department of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Authority. She oversees real estate acquisition and management (including Los Angeles Union Station), transit-oriented community programs, first/last mile solutions and transportation demand management (TDM). For the 18 years prior to joining LA Metro, she co-founded, owned and was president of a real estate and right of way firm that provided consulting services to public agencies throughout the west coast. 

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She was a charter member of WTS-IE and participated in the Women Business Owner’s Roundtable at the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Annual Conferences. Holly graduated from Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. She loves spending time with her husband, Bryon, their two sons (ages 11 and 10), daughter (age 6) and their yellow lab (the last two of which run the family). She has run three marathons and has three more planned.

MEMBER OF THE YEAR

Jannet Loera Gutierrez 

Senior Engineer, Mead and Hunt 

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Jannet Loera Gutierrez is Registered Civil Engineer in the State of California with over five years of experience in the transportation industry. She has been with Mead and Hunt, a national firm offering design services in the fields of planning, architecture, and engineering, for a year. She is a civil engineer with a diverse background in the areas of transportation, aviation, municipal, and private development projects. Jannet has provided engineering services from design to construction. 

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She graduated from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. She was awarded the WTS Molitoris Leadership Scholarship at the WTS International Conference back in 2012. Jannet learned about WTS in her college years as a scholarship recipient and has served as the Higher Education Scholarship Chair for three consecutive years. She looks forward to her continued involvement in helping the advancement of women in the transportation industry. 

EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR

Riverside County Transportation Authority

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The Riverside County Transportation Commission was created as a governmental agency in 1976 with the passage of Assembly Bill 1246. For the past 43 years, RCTC has grown along with the population of Riverside County. The agency has delivered truly significant transportation improvements in partnership with the private sector and other public sector partners to serve millions of Inland Empire residents and commuters. 

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Since 2005, RCTC has been led by one of the transportation industry’s most respected leaders, Anne Mayer. Under Ms. Mayer’s leadership, 64 percent of RCTC’s workforce are women and fill various roles throughout the agency, including planning, engineering, finance, multimodal, administration, legislative affairs, and public affairs. In the past two years, 85 percent of the promotions were earned by women. 

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RCTC supports all of its employees by encouraging them to pursue continued education in transportation-related fields and to participate in professional development seminars, some of which are brought to RCTC’s offices, which also fosters team-building. Additionally, RCTC supports its employees’ participation in professional organizations, like WTS-IE. 

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RCTC has long been, and continues to be, a supporter of WTS-IE and talks regularly with community leaders and organizations about how RCTC can encourage and support girls and women to enter the field of transportation. Thank you WTS-IE for the 2018 Employer of the Year award!

INNOVATIVE TRANSPORTATION SOLUTION AWARD

I-10 Jefferson Interchange Improvement Project

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The new and improved Jefferson Street Interchange is a $42.3 million interchange project that includes two parallel 78-foot-wide by 440-foot long bridges, resulting in a six-lane overcrossing designed for traffic entering and exiting the I-10 freeway from both directions. The new overcrossing also has dedicated turning lanes and shoulders wide enough to accommodate a bicycle lane and a sidewalk for northbound pedestrians. Five entrance and exit ramps were constructed along with one spread footing and four mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) retaining walls, one of which stands 50 feet tall and spans 630 feet in length. 

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This project demonstrated a commitment to sustainability through increased capacity, ramp metering, erosion control, ADA accessibility, removal of hazardous materials, and an architectural/aesthetic treatment to promote graft control. The I-10/Jefferson Interchange Project helps address these demands by accommodating increased traffic, supporting the continuing growth of Indio and the greater Coachella Valley area. 

The I-10/Jefferson Street Interchange is the conduit for traffic heading to local annual music festivals, notable events within the cites of Indio and La Quinta for enhancing the local economy. To avoid interruption during festival set-up and dismantling, and to prevent traffic delays for concertgoers, CHP and the City of Indio required that no ramp or mainline closures were permitted from Thursday afternoon through Monday afternoon for each weekend that events occurred. This affected mobilization of heavy equipment, concrete pours, traffic switches, and placement of falsework. The construction of the interchange and its impact to the community made it successfully through 2 festival seasons and was fully open to the public in late 2017 and fully completed in mid-2018. 

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Michael Baker International is proud to have been part of such an important project to the Coachella Valley. 

SECRETARY RAY LAHOOD AWARD

Supervisor John F. Tavaglione

Riverside County Board of Supervisors, 2nd District 

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John Tavaglione was elected to represent the Second Supervisorial District on November 7, 1994, and was sworn into office on January 3, 1995. The Second District includes the unincorporated communities of Coronita, El Cerrito, Home Gardens and Highgrove, and the cities of Corona, Eastvale, Norco, Jurupa Valley and the western half of the City of Riverside, excluding the La Sierra Area. 

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John served as Chairman of the Board in 2017, which was his 6th time serving as chair during his tenure. In 2017, he was also the Chairman of the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC). In February 2002, he was appointed by State Supreme Court Chief Justice, Ronald George, to the 19 member State of California Probation Services Task Force. He also serves as a member of Riverside County’s Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). In January of 2002, John was appointed to the Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP), the State of California’s 2nd largest public health plan serving Medi-Cal, Healthy Kids, and the Medicare Advantage Special Needs populations in the Riverside/San Bernardino County Region. John is a member of the Riverside Transit Agency (RTA) Board of Directors and of Riverside Conservation Agency (RCA). Until completion of their mission in 2010, Supervisor Tavaglione was proud to sit as a member of the Court Facilities Dispute Resolution Committee (CFDRC), whose charge was to settle transfer disputes as part of the statewide process of shifting courthouse ownership from counties to the State of California. Supervisor Tavaglione has been a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) for the past 20 years, and was elected by California’s 58 counties in 2010-2011 to serve as President of the Association, where he worked closely with Governor Jerry Brown and his administration in negotiating Public Safety and Health/Human Services Realignment.

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John is a fourth generation resident of Riverside County and has dedicated much of his life to improving the Inland Empire Region. Prior to his election to the Board of Supervisors, he served on the Riverside City Council and was a member of the Riverside Public Utilities Commission. His professional career spanned nearly 25 years as a commercial real estate executive. John received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from California Baptist University. He is a proud U.S. Army Veteran (’68-’70). As a member of the Board of Supervisors, John has been credited for his leadership in regional transportation issues, community and economic development, parks and open space preservation, and for his strong fiscal and organizational management. Supervisor Tavaglione is dedicated to improving the economic and social future for the residents of Riverside County and the Inland Empire Region. As an advocate for youth, John is a strong supporter of collaborative programs that provide educational and growth opportunities for the County’s youth population. Supervisor Tavaglione is a Board Member of Greater Riverside Dollars for Scholars and past President of the Southern California Dollars for Scholars Governing Board. John and his wife Jan have helped to send hundreds of students to college, by hosting an annual fundraiser where all proceeds go towards scholarships for graduating high school seniors in his district. 

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John and Jan have two children, Heidi and Chris, a daughter-in-law, Jennifer, granddaughters, Madelon Rose and Grace, and grandson William Christopher. John and Jan reside in Riverside with their dogs Rosie and Ralphie. His hobbies are woodworking and singing/performing with his 60’s classic rock group, The Legendary Mustangs, and most enjoys babysitting and spending time with his grandchildren.

2017 WINNERS

WOMAN OF THE YEAR

Paula Beauchamp 

Director of Project Delivery, San Bernardino County Transportation Authority

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MEMBER OF THE YEAR

Alma Valencia

Office Engineer, HDR  

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EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR

Epic Land Solutions, Inc.

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INNOVATIVE TRANSPORTATION SOLUTION AWARD

Downtown San Bernardino Passenger Rail

San Bernardino Country Transportation Authority

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SECRETARY RAY LAHOOD AWARD

Juan Perez

Assistant CEO/TLMA Director, County of Riverside Transportation and Land Management Agency

2016 WINNERS

WOMAN OF THE YEAR

Andrea Zureick

Director of Fund Administration and Programming, San Bernardino County Transportation Authority

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MEMBER OF THE YEAR

Amy Cook

Inland Empire Marketing Manager, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff

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EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR

Stantec

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INNOVATIVE TRANSPORTATION SOLUTION AWARD

San Bernardino Transit Center​

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SECRETARY RAY LAHOOD AWARD

Dr. Raymond Wolfe

Executive Director, San Bernardino County Transportation Authority

2015 WINNERS

WOMAN OF THE YEAR

Patricia Romo

Assistant Director, Transportation Department, County of Riverside

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MEMBER OF THE YEAR

Rebecca Young

Michael Baker International, Inc.

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EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR

Michael Baker International, Inc.

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INNOVATIVE TRANSPORTATION SOLUTION AWARD

Perris Valley Line

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SECRETARY RAY LAHOOD AWARD

Joseph Tavaglione

California Transportation Commission

2014 WINNERS

WOMAN OF THE YEAR

Eliza Echevarria

Community Relations Manager, Riverside County Transportation Commission

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MEMBER OF THE YEAR

Renee Gleason

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EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR

Kleinfelder

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INNOVATIVE TRANSPORTATION SOLUTION AWARD

Colton Crossing Flyover