Timmons Group is proud to play a role in the shift of conversations supporting women’s and minorities’ rights in the industries we serve, both inside the firm and throughout our communities. We invite colleagues firmwide to have discussions through employee resources like Women in Design workshops and Diversity in Design focus groups. We highlight individuals from across the firm with unique backgrounds, ideas, and experiences on company social channels and the company blog. We observe cultural heritage months and DEI-based holidays by celebrating employees and community members who identify within these spaces. We do all of this because we believe in the powerful uplift that can emerge from acknowledging and celebrating differences.
It is with this background that we are excited to be the first ever private company to receive the Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award. Founded in 2013, the Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award recognizes an organization that supports the WTS Central Virginia Chapter and provides an affirmative action in hiring and promoting at all employment levels.
Through Timmons Group’s emphasis on DEI-based (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives, we have the opportunity to cross pollinate our vision with a myriad of professional organizations, many of which the firm’s own staff are members of, including WTS, a globally recognized organization that focuses on promoting the advancement of women in the transportation industry.
Since 1977, WTS has been a catalyst for women in the industry, connecting professionals from across the world. With 65 chapters internationally and over 8,500 members, WTS is a leader in supporting challenging conversations surrounding the importance of women in professional infrastructure services.
Timmons Group was nominated for this award by two of the firm’s infrastructure professionals who are active members of WTS. Kaitlyn Jenkins, a project engineer on the Richmond transportation team, and Sadie Pope, a project engineer on the Richmond structure and bridge design team, believe in the weight of DEI-based conversations at Timmons Group. They took their experiences to this year’s WTS nomination platform.
“It’s not always about having comfortable conversations,” Kaitlyn said. “It’s about challenging those biases together rather than creating tension with each other.” Kaitlyn says finding and celebrating differences at Timmons Group has been a welcoming part of her role in the firm’s infrastructure division since she arrived in 2020.
Kaitlyn’s dad is a wastewater treatment facility operator, so she’s seen behind the scenes infrastructure design her entire life. When she took a leap into transportation-focused civil engineering, Kaitlyn recalls how grateful she is for the opportunity to explore STEM-based career paths by learning from her father while growing up. “I have women friends who have careers in the computer engineering and science side of STEM careers, but I don’t know as many women who knew that infrastructure, or even civil engineering, as a field was really an option for them,” Kaitlyn said. “It’s conversations like this that can help us change that.”
Being involved in WTS has allowed Kaitlyn to amplify her networking skills, development and training opportunities, and involvement with organizations that celebrate individuals for their differences and accomplishments. Kaitlyn has been a deputy member on the organization’s board for nearly two years and she’s currently serving as scholarship chair, working with local schoolchildren to emphasize the importance of equality in the transportation industry.
“We have to talk about things that make us different, because, otherwise, we don’t know who is falling through the cracks,” Kaitlyn said about her investment in DEI messaging, especially as it pertains to children who are learning about their potential career paths. She believes that conversations and community engagement can help her empower that message.
Kaitlyn works closely with Sadie in the firm’s infrastructure division, and together they researched the Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award and nominated Timmons Group.
“I’ve been an active part of WTS for the last three years. I was actually invited to become a member by another Timmons Group woman in transportation. Since then, I’ve been a committee chair or board member,” Sadie said. Sadie sees value in connecting with other professionals in transportation, especially women in the field. “I’m always craving ways to enhance my professional development, and I’m so happy to have found that with the Central Virginia Chapter of WTS.”
Sadie explained that she and Kaitlyn believe the firm’s DEI initiatives are strong and reflect Timmons Group’s commitment to affirmative action, so when the Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award nomination information came across their desks, they felt that Timmons Group could be the right fit for the award.
“We are project engineers,” Sadie said, “so we aren’t very involved in HR, recruitment, or marketing. But to us, we see the consistent and intentional affirmative action that the firm as a whole is taking to promote diversity and inclusion in our industry.” Sadie said that she and Kaitlyn wanted to learn more about what goes on ‘behind the scenes’ with Timmons Group’s initiatives, and the WTS nomination process was the perfect opportunity to broaden their understanding.
“It makes me proud that, in the three years I’ve been with the firm, I have seen policies change to accommodate so many cultures at our firm, real action,” Sadie said. “It’s not only about accommodating people, but also about celebrating them.”
Sadie was named this year’s Central Virginia Chapter of WTS Member of the Year for her outstanding work in the field, as well as for her professional involvement in enhancing opportunities for the chapter and its members.
WTS promotes growth of its younger members and mentoring opportunities for its more seasoned professionals, both practices that allow women in transportation, like Kaitlyn and Sadie, to benefit from other chapter and national members. With networking events spanning luncheons and receptions to scavenger hunts and charcuterie board demonstrations, the organization is breaking the box of what traditional professional development looks like. WTS chapters also host events that commemorate DEI-focused holidays like Women’s Equality Day and Juneteenth, as well as salary negotiation workshops for women in infrastructure.
According to the organization’s website, the WTS International Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative is in support of its vision for equity and access for women in transportation, stating that diversity and inclusion have always been at the core of WTS, a value that Timmons Group shares in its initiatives.
Timmons Group is appreciative for the opportunity to continue to serve our employees and our communities through extensions of our values like the Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award. We are grateful that industry-leading organizations like WTS provide the platform on which our professionals can enhance their careers and uphold the legacy of the fight for equity within the industries we serve.
Learn more about Timmons Group’s own DEI initiatives on our website.
