TRB Panel Examines Ways to Create Equity in Transportation

Dr. Shawn Wilson  – secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development – headlined a roundtable discussion at the Transportation Research Board’s 2022 annual meeting on January 11 in Washington D.C. entitled “State DOTs: Creating Pathways to Equity.”

Wilson has made equity one of his key emphasis areas during his yearlong tenure as 2021-2022 president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

He noted during his opening remarks that in the 107-year history of AASHTO, there has only been one African American president “and it happens to be me.” However, he noted that the demographics of state department of transportation leadership – indeed, for the transportation industry as a whole – is undergoing significant and rapid change.

Wilson said one of his overriding goals is to create a “sustainable structure” for equity that “others can follow” in the transportation industry.

“We need to talk about creating a ‘new normal’ – about having quality in the workplace alongside putting leadership of DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] principles in place to address future infrastructure needs,” he said