WTS South Carolina Recognizes Awards & Scholarship Recipients

Listen to this article

WTS South Carolina, the state chapter of WTS International, which promotes the advancement of women in the transportation industry, held its second annual awards and scholarship event on August 23. At the event, WTS South Carolina recognized the following awards and scholarship recipients:

• Devri DeToma received the “Woman of the Year Award” for her dedication to the field of transportation and public works. Ms. DeToma is the first woman to serve Charleston County as both the Engineering Manager, and now as the Capital Programs Manager where she manages the County’s Transportation Committee (CTC), which has a budget of $750 million. In addition to overseeing Charleston’s infrastructure program, Devri manages a large staff of engineers, project managers, and inspectors, and has been recognized as Supervisor of the Year for her dedication to the County and her staff.
• Jennifer Mustar was recognized with the “Member of the Year Award” for her previous service on the Program Committee and her work helping recruit other WTS SC members. Ms. Mustar is also a transportation advocate in Greenville, SC. In the past, she has co-chaired the Greenville Chamber’s Growth & Infrastructure Committee, is a graduate of Greenlink’s Citizens Transit Academy, and was a vocal participant in the #NoCarNovember Challenge.
• Michael Baker International received the “Employer of the Year Award” for its commitment to recruiting, retaining, and advancing women in leadership positions. Locally, of the 100+ employees that comprise their South Carolina Operations team in Columbia, Greenville, and Charleston, almost 30% are female. Many of them lead major initiatives, have obtained various professional designations, and hold senior positions.
• The I-526 Lowcountry Corridor Project received the “Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award” for SCDOT and FHWA’s leadership in engaging with surrounding communities and developing an innovative Environmental Justice Community Mitigation Plan that outlines partnerships to support housing, education, and employment opportunities. Additionally, project leaders supported staff to recruit disadvantaged business enterprises and small business enterprises (DBE/SBEs) to work on the project.
• Lincoln Hildebrand earned the “Molitoris Leadership Scholarship”. Ms. Hildebrand recently received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina. Within the College of Engineering, she has served as a mentor to first-year civil engineering students and was also a USC Capstone Scholar and University Ambassador. She has accepted a job as a Transit Civil Analyst with Kimley-Horn.
• Lillian Harrell won the “Transportation YOU Scholarship”. Ms. Harrell graduated in June from Lucy Beckham High School in Mount Pleasant where she founded both the math and psych clubs and was a member of the engineering and biomed clubs, participated in Clemson Architecture’s summer program, was an AP scholar, and a National Honor Society Member. She is attending Clemson University and intends to pursue a degree in architecture.

According to Joy Riley, 2022-2023 WTS South Carolina President, “WTS South Carolina is excited to recognize women working in the transportation sector. We believe an annual opportunity to financially support women pursuing higher education and to endow credit to women making advances in the industry will compliment the WTS mission. We look forward to growing the number of scholarship applications and award nominations in the years to come,” said Riley.

More information about WTS South Carolina is available at https://www.wtsinternational.org/chapters/south-carolina.