YOUNG MEMBER OF THE YEAR AWARD

This Award is bestowed upon an individual who has been identified as one of ITE’s Young Leaders to Follow. There are two paths to consideration for the Young Member of the Year Award.

Purpose

ITE recognizes that to advance and promote the transportation industry, we must cultivate and recognize the up-and-coming talent and future generation among our ranks. To that end, ITE promotes two programs to help identify and recognize the best and brightest transportation professionals 35 years old or younger who have demonstrated leadership and innovation within the transportation industry:

• ITE’s Young Leaders to Follow Program

For this program, anyone with ITE member credentials may nominate a transportation professional meeting the criteria outlined below (and here) through ITE’s awards portal. This includes employers, peers, or self-nomination. A selection committee reviews all eligible submissions and chooses a class of 20 Young Leaders to Follow (which automatically includes each District Rising Star).

• ITE’s District Rising Stars Program

For this program, Districts select one Rising Star from among their respective District membership. Each District Awards Coordinator then enters one official entrant into ITE’s Rising Stars program. To promote uniformity, ITE encourages its Districts to use the criteria outlined below to choose their recipient. District Rising Stars are automatically integrated into ITE’s Young Leaders to Follow Program and eligible to win the Young Member of the Year Award.

The following information outlines the nomination process, required application materials and judging criteria for both the Young Leaders to Follow Program and the District Rising Star Program.

  YOUNG LEADERS TO FOLLOW PROGRAM 

Purpose

Each year, ITE will recognize a class of 20 Young Leaders to Follow. Eligible candidates for this program include any active ITE member who is 35 years old or younger on January 1, 2025. Individuals selected as the Rising Star in their District will automatically be included in this group for the current year. One of these individuals will be selected as the Young Member of the Year and will be recognized at ITE's Annual Meeting and Exhibition.

Eligibility for Consideration

Nominees must meet the following eligibility requirements to qualify for selection into the Young Leaders to Follow Program:

• Must be an active ITE member
• Must be 35 years old or younger on January 1 of the award year
• Must submit all the required nomination materials outlined below via the awards portal
• May not have been in a previous Young Leaders to Follow Class

Nomination/Application Process

Nominations may be submitted by employers, peers, or the nominees themselves. The information and materials collected as part of the nomination package are designed to provide insight into the nominee’s technical and professional experience, leadership abilities, involvement with ITE and affiliated councils and committees, and breadth of volunteer experience.

Selection Committee

The selection committee will be chaired by the International Vice President. Members of the Selection Committee will include the Council Leadership Team Chair, Chair of LeadershipITE, Chair of the Younger Member Committee, and Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

 Required Materials

The following documents must be included in each submission package via https://ite-youngleaders.secure-platform.com/a.. 

1. Current CV or resume for the person being nominated, to include key transportation related projects as well as leadership and volunteer experience in ITE and other national or international organizations.
2. One (1) recommendation from a colleague or current or past supervisor (200-word max)
3. Examples of specific work project and ITE volunteer experience including the nominee's specific roles in each.
4. A headshot or photo
5. A shipping address in the event that the award plaque needs to be shipped directly to the recipient.

Timeline

December 1 Application/ Nomination Period Opens

March 15 Application/Nomination Deadline

April 15 Selection Committee Evaluation and Selection Complete

Early May Announcement of the ITE Young Leaders to Follow

June ITE Journal Announcement

            DISTRICT RISING STARS PROGRAM   

Purpose

Each of ITE’s Districts is encouraged to hold its own district-wide nomination/application process to identify and select one District Rising Star to represent their District. To provide guidelines and uniformity among our Districts, we have outlined the following parameters for eligibility. Because the District Rising Stars will be integrated into the Young Leaders to Follow Program, we have adjusted the criteria to be better aligned. Following are the guidelines for the District Rising Stars program.

Eligibility for Consideration

Each year’s Rising Stars Class will consist of one representative from each of ITE’s Districts selected of the current award year. Nominees must meet the following eligibility requirements to qualify for selection into the District Rising Stars Class:

1. Must be an active ITE member (student members are not eligible)
2. Must be 35 years old or younger on January 1 of award year
3. Nomination must be submitted by the District Awards Coordinator
4. Nomination package must include the required materials listed below
5. Nominee must not have been previously named as current District's Rising Star.

Nomination Process

This award is designed to help ITE’s Districts encourage and recognize young member engagement and leadership on a District-level. We recognize Districts may have slightly different internal processes but encourage District leadership to design a District-level nomination process that enables them to receive a pool of candidates by March 1 from which to choose one to be your District Rising Star prior to ITE’s submission deadline of April 1. ITE only accepts one nomination per District, and it should be submitted by a predetermined District Awards Coordinator.

 Judging Criteria

• Scope of Work/Project Experience
• Demonstrated Impact from Individual’s Involvement
• Exhibits Leadership Skill
• Exhibits a Commitment to the Advancement of the Profession
• Applies Innovative Ideas to Profession/ Volunteer Role
• Involvement with ITE

Required Materials

District Rising Star entrants must submit the following required information to their District Awards Coordinator* by March 1:

1. The information collected from the Application Form provided by ITE to District Awards Coordinators
2. A current resume or CV that includes local and national ITE involvement as well as leadership and volunteer experience in any other professional organizations
3. One (1) recommendation from a current or past supervisor (200-word max)
4. Three (3) examples of specific project experience with a description of the individual's role in each project (150-word max/each)
5. A headshot or photo
6. A shipping address in the event the award plaque needs to be mailed directly to the recipient

Each District Awards Coordinator will be responsible for submitting all of the above documents for their chosen District Rising  Star in electronic format via the Open Water platform at https://ite-awards. secure-platform.com/a/ no later than April 1.

If you have questions, please email your District's Rising Stars Award Coordinator. 

*District Awards Coordinators may distribute the form to collect nominations that are consistent in their content. The questions on this form will be required fields in ITE's online Awards portal and will ensure all nominations contain the relevant elements.