CIT E Execu ti ve Co m m it te e PRESIDENT (ACCLAIMED) 2022–2023 Ryan Vanderputten, M.Eng., P.Eng. Director, Transportation Planning, The City of Calgary Southern Alberta Section I have been a member of ITE since 1999 and an active participant in four sections (Toronto, BC Interior, Southern Ontario, and Southern Alberta) over my career. I’m involved in a variety of ITE committees and councils including the Public Agency Council Executive, the LeadershipITE Executive, and the ONE ITE Task Force and am a graduate of the LeadershipITE program. CITE Strategic Plan In October 2019, the CITE Executive, along with a few selected members from our organization, met in an initial strategy development workshop to develop and finalize an inquiry process into critical and persistent issues preventing CITE from maximizing its impact and to begin to develop a set of guiding principles. Subsequently, we held a strategic planning session for the CITE Board of Directors to confirm the mission, guiding principles, and priority areas and goals. These would generally define who we were, what we believed in, and where we were going. Based on these workshops, the Board developed priority strategies to focus on in the next few years. The result was a comprehensive strategic plan that would guide the Board’s decision making through to 2024. Since the Board adopted the strategic plan, several initiatives were assigned resource leads to guide implementation. These resource leads have initiated a review of opportunities and have kicked off the priority activities. The pandemic has slowed progress in some areas, but has advanced other priority areas, highlighting the nimble and flexible approach of the plan.
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TRANSPORTATION TALK | SPRING 2021
Moving into 2021 The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on our lives, both personally and professionally. Mobility patterns have changed significantly in our cities and across the country, and there is uncertainty in what the lasting effect will be on travel behaviour. But we are resilient. While we have not been able to meet in person for over a year, many section and district activities have adjusted to meet virtually. This June, we will host our first ever Virtual District Conference, with a technical program curated by our ‘National’ Arrangements Committee. Our CITE Awards Ceremony and Collegiate Traffic Bowl will also return in a virtual format. We continue to explore technical training opportunities for our members, leveraging partnerships with both TAC and ITE to provide greater access to relevant resources. Our student members are struggling, however, with many post-secondary institutions still operating in a remote learning environment. Our public agencies are facing an uncertain future, with financial limitations for memberships and development. But we are still Canada’s community of transportation professionals, and we will continue to provide opportunities to learn, connect, contribute and grow to best meet the needs for safe and healthy mobility in Canada. Please reach out to me (rvanderputten@cite7.org) if you have any questions or ideas on how we can continue to grow as an organization. I look forward to being able to reconnect with many of you in person as we come out of this unique and challenging time.