A Conversation with Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Ben Waldman, by Rae Stephani
Posted by cowyite on Aug. 11, 2026 / Colorado-Wyoming Section Notifications / Subscribe 0
In 2025, the Colorado-Wyoming Section of ITE recognized Ben Waldman with our Lifetime Achievement Award. It's an honor reserved for individuals whose careers have left a lasting mark on both the transportation profession and our Section, and anyone who has worked with Ben knows he's more than deserving of the recognition.
One of the traditions that comes with our annual awards is taking the time to tell the story behind the recipient. Having worked with Ben professionally and through ITE for several years, I was excited to have the opportunity to sit down with him, learn more about the path that brought him here, and hear him reflect on the experiences that have shaped his career.
As we talked, it became clear that no single project defines Ben's career. Instead, it's the way he has continually embraced new opportunities, stayed involved in the profession, and invested in those around him.
Like many transportation engineers, Ben didn't set out to become one.
Growing up with both his father and older brother in engineering, he always knew engineering was the right fit. After exploring several disciplines in college, including chemical, mechanical, and aerospace engineering, he eventually landed in civil engineering at the University of Texas. Even then, transportation wasn't on his radar.
That changed when an opportunity with the University of Texas Center for Transportation Research introduced him to transportation engineering while working alongside TxDOT on a major highway reconstruction project. The experience ultimately led him to pursue a master's degree in transportation, and as Ben put it, "The longer I've been in it, the more I've just fallen in love with transportation."
As Ben described it, transportation offered something he hadn't found elsewhere: a mix of technical problem solving, collaboration, and the opportunity to make a difference in how people move through their communities.
Over the next three decades, Ben intentionally built an incredibly broad career. His experience has included development review, traffic impact studies, roundabout design, traffic signal operations, multimodal planning, transportation safety, and leadership roles in both the public and private sectors. Rather than following a straight path, he consistently embraced opportunities that broadened his experience and challenged him to keep learning.
Ben summed up his approach to his career simply:
"I've been very fortunate throughout my career," he said. "And you also make your own fortune. I was willing to raise my hand and walk through the doors that opened for me."
That same mindset carried into Ben's decades of involvement with ITE.
His involvement began in graduate school, where ITE meetings were both professional development and an opportunity to build community with fellow students. Early in his career, he found himself supporting local section leaders in Texas before eventually deciding to raise his own hand. In Colorado / Wyoming, Ben’s ITE service began as volunteering to help with continuing education. What started with volunteering to support the Section continued to grow over the years. Through a variety of volunteer and leadership roles, Ben eventually served as Mountain District International Director. Today, he has come full circle, returning to the Colorado-Wyoming Section to oversee the awards program.
Just like his career, Ben's involvement with ITE grew one opportunity at a time. He simply kept raising his hand when new opportunities came along.
He talked about how the organization strengthened his career, expanded his perspective, and introduced him to mentors and lifelong professional relationships. In return, he's spent decades giving that same time and energy back to the profession through service and leadership.
As someone wrapping up my own time on the Colorado-Wyoming Section Board, I was especially interested in hearing how he has seen the Section evolve over the years.
While the Section has always been active, Ben reflected that today it feels more connected than ever. Regional chapters continue to grow, younger members are stepping into leadership roles, and strong technical programming has been complemented by more opportunities to build relationships across the profession. It was clear he's excited about where the Section is headed.
As our conversation wrapped up, I found myself thinking less about Ben's technical accomplishments and more about how he approaches leadership.
Early in his consulting career, he learned that an engineer's credibility is built on integrity. Clients may come to a project hoping for a particular answer, but an engineer's responsibility is to follow the data and provide sound professional judgment.
That same mindset carries over into how he mentors younger engineers.
When I asked what advice he would give someone just entering the profession, his answer was simple:
"Don't be afraid to ask for help."
Receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award naturally invites reflection, but Ben doesn't see it as the end of his journey. Today, he remains energized by leading his team, growing his office, and continuing to help communities solve transportation challenges across Colorado.
Beyond the projects and professional milestones, our conversation often returned to family. As Ben reflected on major career decisions, he talked not only about projects and opportunities, but also about returning to Colorado after getting married and making changes when the demands of work began taking too much time away from home. Throughout our conversation, it was clear that the support of his wife and family has been an important part of the journey behind this recognition, a reminder that careers like Ben's are rarely built by one person alone.
After spending time hearing Ben reflect on his career, it's hard not to come away appreciating not only what he's accomplished, but how he carries himself. Thoughtful, humble, and always quick to credit the people around him, he represents the very best of our profession. His career isn't defined by any one project or title, but by decades of leadership, service, mentorship, and a willingness to keep learning, qualities that have made a lasting impact on our profession and make him such a deserving recipient of this recognition.
Congratulations, Ben, on this well-deserved recognition, and thank you for your decades of leadership, service, and commitment to both our profession and the Colorado-Wyoming Section.
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