FAREWELL FROM ITE JOURNAL'S SENIOR EDITOR AND WRITER

As I prepare my final issue as your ITE Journal senior editor and writer, I want to say farewell and thank you. This month, I will start a new strategic communications role at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, closer to my home in Maryland. As a former senior editor and writer of NASA Spinoff magazine, this will be a homecoming for me in many ways. I am returning to where I first wrote about how science and engineering professionals develop solutions and technologies that make the world a better place. When I said farewell to NASA Spinoff, it was with as much heartache as I say farewell to ITE now.

I joined ITE almost 13 years ago supporting the National Transportation Operations Coalition. When former Executive Director Tom Brahms introduced me to the ITE headquarters staff, he shared something special about each and every one of them. Clearly this staff liked each other, and I quickly experienced the feeling of family within ITE's membership as well. At my first ITE Annual Meeting and Exhibit in Milwaukee, WI, USA in 2006, I learned we could do serious work without always taking ourselves so seriously. I watched distinguished board members arrive to the evening reception dressed in Harley Davidson gear, complete with fake tattoos provided outside the exhibit hall, before riding into the hall on motorcycles. It was surreal. Many meetings and costumes later, I've learned how a spirit of fun and family fuels people who volunteer so much of their personal time to improving themselves and their profession for the greater good. It has been an honor serving such a dedicated and passionate community of transportation professionals who strive every day to deliver sustainable transportation systems that are safe, reliable, and efficient for everyone.

When Tom offered me the opportunity to update ITE Journal's style and content in 2013, it was a dream come true. I am humbled to have received so many compliments on my work, because none of my success would have been possible without the support and trust placed in me by my longtime colleague and manager Marianne Saglam, our executive leadership-from Tom Brahms, Aliyah Horton, and Phil Caruso to Jeff Paniati and Jeff Lindley-and each of the International Presidents and board members I have worked with on each production cycle. Hibbett Neel promoted my work from the beginning and gave me opportunities to expand it. Zaki Mustafa worked side by side with me on some of our best features. John Kennedy taught me to embrace change, even when it is uncomfortable. Paula Benway inspired and challenged me to look beyond the status quo. Shawn Leight introduced me to wonderful connections. Michael Sanderson expanded my leadership skills. Thank you all so very much.

I would especially like to thank all of the authors I have worked with during the past six years-without your time and dedication in sharing your work, there would be no ITE Journal. I am excited to watch ITE continue to grow and do great things. I plan to stay engaged as a LeadershipITE alumnus. ITE-its staff, membership, and mission-will always be close to my heart. Thank you for entrusting me with telling your stories.