WTS-DC recently named Amtrak Executive Vice President of Capital Delivery Laura Mason the chapter's 2024 Woman of the Year, recognizing her commitment to the Washington, DC region and service as an outstanding role model who has contributed to the advancement of women and minorities in transportation.

"At WTS-DC, we were thrilled to honour Laura Mason as the chapter's 2024 Woman of the Year," said Sophia Guiny, President of WTS-DC. "With historic levels of funding for Amtrak in recent years, Laura has risen to lead a truly massive portfolio of capital projects, and upgrades to the Northeast corridor will directly benefit mobility in the DC area. Her career is a great example and inspiration to many women in the field."

"It's an honor to follow in the footsteps of current and former leaders at Amtrak, WMATA and elsewhere in the DMV region who have paved the path for women in the transportation industry and deservedly recognized by WTS-DC in the past," said Amtrak's Laura Mason. "That includes bosses, mentors and peers like Stephen Gardner, Paul Wiedefeld, Jennifer Mitchell, Andy Off and many others who provided their leadership, guidance and support that helped lead me where I am today and continually inspire me to pay it forward for the next generation of female transportation leaders here in the Washington area and beyond."

Each year, WTS-DC recognizes the area's leading women who have had a significant impact on transportation, as well as prominent men and distinguished organizations in our nation's capital-public or private-that support the development, growth and advancement of women in transportation. In 2022/2023, WTS-DC and WTS International honored Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner with the Honorable Ray LaHood Award. Two other Amtrak leaders have received WTS-DC's Woman of the Year honors - in 2019 and 1982.

Laura has longstanding commitment to DC region, working out of Amtrak's DC headquarters next to Washington Union Station and previously serving in a variety of leadership roles with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), responsible for driving transformational transit capital projects across DC, Maryland and Virginia. Before joining WMATA, she spent more than a decade at Bechtel Corp., an American engineering, procurement, construction and project management company.

Today, she leads Amtrak's historic infrastructure investments underway to support future growth along the Northeast Corridor and around the United States, while also improving safety, reliability and travel times for rail passengers. In the DC region specifically, investments include new trains for Northeast Regional and Amtrak Virginia passengers, upgrades at Ivy City Yard in Northeast DC, and several tunnel and bridge replacements or expansions to replace century-old assets between DC and Boston.

Read more about Amtrak's latest infrastructure investment milestones here.