What a year! FasTracks public information manager wins Woman of the Year

By Kevin Flynn
Inside-Lane.com

If anyone had to go through a year like Pauletta Tonilas did last year, they might just want a nice vacation.

But the truth is that this year will likely be even more intense for Tonilas, the public information manager for RTD’s FasTracks program.

You’ve heard about FasTracks, haven’t you?

So you know that RTD’s ambitious rapid-transit expansion has hit a rough stretch of track. Tonilas’ job is to make sure the greater Denver community gets prompt access to accurate information, and with the rapid pace of developments in the FasTracks program last year, that made Tonilas’ task a bit like drinking out of a fire hose.

The flood isn’t likely to subside this year, as RTD reshapes FasTracks’ buildout and plan of finance, decides whether to ask voters if they are willing to dig deeper into their wallets to complete it, and selects a consortium to proceed with an innovative implementation of private investment, design, construction and operation of the FasTracks East Corridor heavy-rail line to Denver International Airport and, if successful, the Gold Line to Arvada and Wheat Ridge.

In recognition of the work Tonilas did to meet the challenges presented by FasTracks’ fast-changing problems and the work being done to find solutions, she was honored this week by the Colorado Chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar as its “Woman of the Year.”

The chapter held its annual awards gala Thursday at Mile High Station, a stone’s throw from the first FasTracks corridor now under construction, the West Corridor light rail project from Union Station to Golden.

Tonilas has managed public information for transportation infrastructure projects before FasTracks. Previously public information manager for the city of Englewood, she came to RTD during the T-REX project on the Southeast Corridor to handle public information from the transit side of that successful multimodal project.

WTS President Carrie Wallis of PBS&J and Andy Mountain of GBSM were masters of ceremony for the gala, which honored several other award recipients as well as four student winners of WTS scholarships.

WTS, founded in 1977, is dedicated to the professional advancement of women in transportation. The Colorado chapter has more than 200 members. It provides networking, educational and career advancement opportunities for its members.

The other awards:
• Member of the Year: Nadine Lee, senior project engineer, RTD FasTracks. A past WTS chapter president and “guiding force” of the state chapter, Lee is an active mentor for young professionals and led the chapter’s strategic plan and corporate partnership program.
• Diversity Leadership Award: Kenn Hardin, business opportunity and outreach officer, RTD. He set aggressive project goals for small and disadvantaged business participation in transit projects, and also provides financial, compliance, mentoring counseling and compliance services.
• Emerging Leader Award: Kara Luckey, planner, David Evans and Associates. She served as planning lead on to recent municipal projects for the firm while pursuing her master’s degree in urban and regional planning at the University of Colorado-Denver. She has managed the chapter’s mentoring program and is on the professional development committee.
• President’s Choice Award: Scott Epstein, environmental scientist, Pinyon Environmental Engineering Resources. He chairs the chapter’s program committee, a series of innovative and educational events for WTS Colorado.
• Employer of the Year: Department of Public Works, City and County of Denver. In recognition of a record of affirmative action, commitment to excellence and quality, the department was chosen for its inclusion of women in key roles while implementing key projects such as its Strategic Transportation Plan and the ARRA stimulus projects.
• Large Project of the Year: Woodmen Road Corridor, El Paso County. Implemented over nine years of multi-jurisdictional cooperation between state and local governments, federal agencies and developers to transform the rural two-lane corridor into a four-lane expressway with grade separations, pedestrian and bicycle trails, new drainage and low-impact development design.
• Small Project of the Year: Living Streets Initiative, City and County of Denver. This interdisciplinary projects brought together stakeholders and the work of eight city agencies to plan for transportation facilities that are effective, true to context, and maintain safety and mobility.

The scholarship winners are:
• Emily Silverman, University of Colorado-Denver, the Helene M, Overly Memorial Scholarship. Silverman is pursuing dual master’s degrees in urban and regional planning and urban design, with a focus on place-making.
• Roxann Hayes, University of Colorado-Denver, the President’s Legacy Scholarship. Hayes is studying for her master’s degree in transportation engineering with an emphasis on Geographic Information Systems.
• Lisa Truong, Colorado School of Mines, the Sharon D. Banks Memorial Scholarship. Truong is studying civil engineering at Mines and has completed traffic engineering and planning internships. Her goal is to be a project manager.
• Emily Layton, University of Wyoming, the Louise Moritz Molitoris Leadership Scholarship. Layton is studying civil engineering with a focus on transportation, while being a leader on the school’s soccer team. She has earned the Mountain West Academic All-Conference Award three times.