Join the California Transit Association’s Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Melissa Figueroa, for a panel discussion titled "Not all pathways to the C Suite in Transportation are Linear" at the 2026 WTS International (
@WTS_Org) Annual Conference in Los Angeles, happening Thursday, May 7, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 11:50 AM. This session will highlight the importance of fostering diverse professional pipelines to grow the next generation of the transportation workforce.
Panelists:
Melissa Figueroa - Director of Communications and Public Affairs, California Transit Association
Avital Barnea - Senior Executive Officer, Multimodal and Integrated Planning,
@metrolosangeles
Maria Guadalupe Meleandez - Chief of Staff,
@DENAirport - Denver, CO
Margaret Cederoth - Executive Director, Strategy Development,
@SoundTransit
Karen Philbrick, MA, EDM, PhD (she/her/hers) - Executive Director/CEO,
@MinetaTrans
Join respected women leaders who transitioned into the transportation sector from diverse professional backgrounds, including medical services and television news, as they share how their past experiences led to their current roles and provide insights for hiring managers on identifying talent outside traditional skillsets to build more resilient organizations.
For registration details, visit:
wtsannualconference.org/