Rya n’s Ra m b lings
Spring is finally showing up in many parts of this great country! As the snow melts away and the buds on the trees start to emerge, I am reminded that the changing of the seasons truly represents a new growth opportunity. Our entire Transportation Talk issue this month is focused on the topics of equity, diversity, and inclusion. I am still on my own journey to grow in my awareness and understanding of these issues and how they relate to our transportation field. I recently participated in a couple of thought-provoking discussions at work on anti-racism leadership and development. It was eye opening to recognize that the position of
Ryan Vanderputten, P.Eng., FITE
privilege that I have can be used as an opportunity to challenge the practices, policies, and procedures that my company (and CITE) has that
President, CITE
do not serve Indigenous and racialized people and over-serve white
president@cite7.org
people. I want to thank our contributors this month—Mariam Bello, Matthew Davis, Dale Lynch, Priyanka Babbar, and David Cooper—for their thoughtful and encouraging perspectives, as well as their patience with me as I walk through this journey myself. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) are topics that many of our partner organizations are also currently working through. While not a specific element of our 2020-2024 CITE Strategic Plan, ED&I is one of my focus areas for 2022. We have added a couple of dedicated sessions at our Annual Conference in Vancouver for our industry to explore these topics in a safe and open environment (see sidebar on page 13). I encourage you to take the time to read the articles, do your own research, and join me in this journey to becoming anti-racist leaders in our community. As your President, I am also humbled to represent CITE at many of our events, including meetings with our partnership organizations. The Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) held their first in-person national transit meeting in nearly two and a half years in Quebec City on April 3-5. I had the privilege of meeting with a number of transit leaders from across Canada and hearing how public transit empowers communities and keeps them moving.
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TRANSPORTATION TALK | SPRING 2022
