Mountain District ITE Candidate Announcement for 2023 Executive Committee
Posted by [email protected] on Jun. 14, 2022 / Subscribe 0
The Mountain District is presenting an exceptional slate of candidates for the 2023 Executive Committee. This is also the year for electing a Director for a three-year term to represent the Mountain District on the International Board. Online voting will begin Thursday, June 16, 2022 and will close Friday, July 15, 2022, at midnight EDT. Members of ITE with a valid email address on file with International Headquarters as of May 1st will receive an email message with instructions on how to vote electronically. The email message from [email protected] with the subject of Mountain District ITE 2023 Ballots – Vote Now! will contain the voting link. If you do not receive an email notification on June 16th, please check your spam file or contact Melissa Gende.
Members can request a paper ballot no later than July 8, 2022, from Melissa Gende by email, phone, or mail.
Melissa Gende, P.E., PTOE
2829 W. Howard Place
Denver, CO 80204
Phone: (303) 512-5108
Email: [email protected]
Thanks for helping the Mountain District serve our members with these dedicated officers! You will find each candidate's written statement below as well as links to video of each Secretary-Treasurer candidate's speech given at the 2022 Mountain District Annual Meeting.
2023 ITE Mountain District President Candidate - Danielle Scharf
It is an honor to be a candidate for President of the ITE Mountain District. ITE is my professional organization of choice and I feel passionately about giving back to an organization that has been such a big part of my life for 20 years. I am especially excited about the opportunity to help grow the newly formed Mountain District into the best district in ITE. I look forward to joining the other Board members to continue the important work of establishing new traditions and exceeding our members expectations.
Prior to joining the Mountain District board, I was the Student Initiatives Committee Chair for the Western District for 10 years. This role gave me the opportunity to grow and shape the student programs for the Western District, which has been held up as the model for ITE. I have worked hard to ensure that the next generation of ITE leaders are offered the same opportunities that I was given as a student member of ITE, the opportunities that have shaped both my career path and leadership path in ITE. I also served as an officer of the Intermountain Section and Montana Chapter of ITE.
I am a Principal and Region Manager for Sanderson Stewart in Bozeman, Montana. I have worked for Sanderson Stewart for 20 years and have received nothing but enthusiastic support and encouragement for my involvement in ITE.
I’m excited for this next chapter of serving as President of the Mountain District and I would sincerely appreciate your support.
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2023 ITE Mountain District Vice President Candidate - David Lucas
I am proud and honored to be a candidate for Vice President of the ITE Mountain District.
Prior to joining the Executive Committee this year as Secretary-Treasurer, I had the pleasure of working with District leaders on the Board of Direction in my dual roles as Arizona Section Representative and Advertising Committee Chair for two years. I was so impressed with their expanded vision for the Mountain District, and the work they were doing to build upon the foundation developed by the One ITE Mountain District Subtask Force, that I was encouraged to step up and run for higher office to take an active role in helping to implement this vision and I look forward to continuing that work as Vice President.
During the few short years our District has existed, we have established our unique identity, grown our membership and increased the number and type of leadership opportunities available to our members, allowing us to benefit greatly from the new ideas and wealth of experience they have brought to our District. We communicate with our members regularly, providing monthly and quarterly content to tie together our large geographic area, while providing numerous awards to recognize the excellent work being done at all levels of the organization. With support from our sponsors and public/private agencies, we are financially stable, with growing revenues that provide new opportunities to increase our membership and support the personal and professional development of our students and young professionals, including the establishment of a unique annual District meeting format. As your Vice President, I will support our Chapter, Section and District leadership to continue these efforts and expand the opportunities available to our Community of Transportation Professionals.
With over 25 years of experience in the Intelligent Transportation Systems field, in academia and both the public and private sectors, my broad experience has served me well as both a professional and a leader in ITE. I am currently the Traffic Technology Branch Manager at the Maricopa County Department of Transportation; MCDOT recognizes the importance of professional organizations and is a strong supporter of my active involvement. I would be honored to have your support as well.
2023 ITE Mountain District Secretary-Treasurer Candidate – Chris Sobie
It is an honor to be nominated for the Secretary-Treasurer of the ITE Mountain District. ITE has been my professional organization of choice since I was a student in 2015. I have had the pleasure of serving ITE at the student level, section level, and district level. ITE has continued to provide me with opportunities for growth including being the youngest member of the OneITE Mountain District Sub Task Force in 2019 which was a dedicated group of individuals that helped establish the foundation of the Mountain District. I am excited for this opportunity to give back to an organization that has become an integral part of my career, provided countless career and personal opportunities, and become the foundation for the relationships I have within our profession.
I am currently serving as the ITE Mountain District Student and Young Member Committee Chair and the ITE Colorado/Wyoming Section Continuing Education Committee Co-chair. Previously, I was the Northern Arizona University Student Chapter Founder and President in 2015 and the Treasurer-Secretary, Vice President, and President of the New Mexico ITE Section from 2017 to 2019. I am also a proud graduate of LeadershipITE, class of 2020. I was awarded the ITE Western District 2015 Outstanding Student Award and the 2017 Best Paper by a Young Professional Award. I am very proud to have been nominated and awarded the 2022 ITE Mountain District Young Member Rising Star Award.
Through my role as the ITE Mountain District Student and Young Member Committee Chair I have worked hard to lead the creation and maintenance of our student and young member awards, activities, funding opportunities, traffic bowl, data collection projects, Student Leadership Summit, and the Mentor/Mentee program. I believe our future as an industry and an organization lies with our students and young members. I am always seeking to increase engagement and bridge the gap between our students/young members and our tenured professionals so that all of our ITE members continue to be the leaders in the transportation industry.
I am currently the Traffic Operations Engineer for the Town of Castle Rock, CO. The Town supports and encourages my involvement in ITE so that I can continue to grow and learn in my career to better serve the traveling public.
I’m excited for this opportunity to serve as Secretary-Treasurer of the Mountain District and I would sincerely appreciate your support.
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2023 ITE Mountain District Secretary-Treasurer Candidate – Aaron Heumann
Similar to many of you, I was first introduced to ITE when in college at the University of Illinois. While I joined the student section, my true participation in the professional society was when I became involved with the North Central Section as the Membership Chair while living and working in Minnesota. When I arrived in Colorado, I first became involved with the 2009 Western District Meeting in Denver as the Financial Chair. After getting a taste of volunteering for the Colorado-Wyoming Section, I was elected to the four-year cycle of Section Secretary-Treasurer, Vice President, President, and finally Past-President from 2011-2015.
After my tenure was complete for the Section, Ben Waldman and I pitched another Western District Meeting in Colorado, but this time in the mountains. The idea was so well received by the District Board that a decision was made to develop the 2018 Keystone, Colorado District Meeting into a joint effort with the Texas District. So, we began the four-year planning and preparation of an event larger than the Western District had ever seen. Ben apparently needed less time to recover than I did, as he moved right on to assist with the development of the Mountain District. But now that I have been away from all my friends and colleagues, I am ready to take on a new challenge to join the leadership of the Mountain District.
2023 will mark my 30th year working in the transportation engineering and planning fields, with my time divided partly on the private side for consulting firms, and now on the public side trying to make a difference in the city in which I live and work. I have been fortunate to work on a wide variety of projects, including: light rail design, airport design, roadway/intersection design, along with numerous traffic studies. I have been humbly awarded the Colorado-Wyoming Section Transportation Professional of the Year both in 2009 and 2018, both times presumably for my work on the Colorado District Meetings.
Outside of work, I have enjoyed my contributions to ITE, but also volunteer as a Board Member for the Littleton Housing Authority and coaching soccer. My wife, Gina, and I are set to celebrate our 29th anniversary, and are proud adoptive parents of two “boys” from Guatemala, now 21 and 18.
If you think I would be a good representative for your Mountain District, I would appreciate your vote!
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2023-2025 ITE Mountain District International Director Candidate – Ben Waldman
Hello ITE Community. I am honored to run for ITE Mountain District International Director this year and I humbly ask for your vote. I have been participating in ITE in some capacity throughout my career starting with my involvement as a student in Graduate School. My most prominent roles in ITE were Colorado-Wyoming Sections President in 2009, Local Arrangements Committee Chair for the joint Western and Texas District Meeting in 2018, and Mountain District President in 2021. I also participated in meetings and workshops in 2019 that established the foundation for the creation of the Mountain District.
When I think about ITE, the first thing that comes to mind is the wonderful people that make up the ITE community. Yes, ITE provides great technical resources but the true strength of ITE is its dedicated membership, volunteers and leaders who are willing to spend their time and effort in bettering our profession. I am running for International Director so I can continue my part in this endeavor. ITE has provided me many opportunities and I want to ensure that the next generation of young professionals have access to similar opportunities.
As International Director I will continue to participate in the Mountain District’s leadership meetings and actively participate in furthering our progress as a new District. I will also participate and support the work of the ITE International Board of Direction (IBOD) including attending four IBOD meetings per year. Finally, I will act as your liaison with the IBOD, reporting both to the IBOD on the activities of the District and to the District on direction given by the IBOD. This will include written summary reports of IBOD meetings and written summary reports of District Activities prior to IBOD meetings.
If elected International Director I will serve the Mountain District with the same passion and dedication that I have brought to my other ITE activities throughout my career. Thank you for your support and for all that you do for the community of transportation professionals.
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