On August 11, the uprisings that took place in 1965 are still felt today. The “Watts Rebellion,” marched to a familiar tune of racial injustice. The tip of the iceberg that had a titanic effect on the local community, was fueled by a police act.
During my tenure at the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), it became clear to me that access was the foundation of economic opportunity. The transportation sector lacked diversity, equity and inclusion, and this was glaringly obvious to both leadership and employees. Pathways began to emerge to grow a diverse pool of talent, but it was obvious that a more organizational framework was needed to operate at full capacity to best serve veterans, women, underrepresented, and underserved workers; groups that had been previously overlooked.