On October 16^th 2019, ULI Philadelphia’s WLI, hosted the 3rd annual “Inside the Urbanist’s Studio” where two industry leading women interviewed each other. The event was held at the FMC Tower at Cira Center, thanks to our host’s Brandywine Realty Trust. The sellout crowd was treated to breathtaking views of the 30^th Street Station transportation hub and Cira Green well as to delicious appetizers provided by Birchtree Catering. This year’s event featured Secretary of PennDOT Leslie S. Richards and Assistant Treasurer of Strategic Initiatives at SEPTA, Liz Smith, with Patty Elkis, Director of Planning at DVRPC helping to moderate audience Q+A. These three women have known each other for years, which made for a very open, honest and insightful conversation.

Liz started by asking Leslie how she became a leader. We learned about Leslie’s winding career path from urban studies to motherhood to getting involved in her community. Her role as County Commissioner eventually lead to her appointment of Secretary of Transportation in Governor Tom Wolf’s cabinet. Liz had a more conventional career path in that she was always interested in transportation. She worked as a Non-traditional Transportation Engineer for the DVRPC when she was recruited by SEPTA, where she currently works.

One key point that both women agreed on was the need for transportation engineers and planners to better understand and communicate with each other. Planners are there to help make engineers’ jobs easier and engineers are there to implement the planners’ plans.

Leslie also went on to discuss some of the best advice she had received during her career:

1. “Speak from your heart. It doesn’t matter what you say, people will see you passion.”
2. “Rational and logical thinking have nothing to do with certain outcomes. You need to play the game like everyone else if you want to win.”

However, one of the worst pieces of advice Leslie received was to not befriend the clerical staff because they were all women. This lead into her discussions on how she is a strong advocate for diversity. She is the first woman in her position and now leads a team that is 50% women 50% men. She urged that you need to push for change every day or you won’t see it happen. In fact, she will not meet with anyone that brings a team that lacks diversity. Liz strongly agreed that we need more young women in the transportation field. This transitioned into their discussion around imposter syndrome as a woman in a male dominated field. Leslie was very adamant that you need to tell yourself you do deserve it and you should have this position. Both women shared with us that no one “has it all together” even though you may think they do. The message about diversity and inclusion highlights a key aspect of the mission of WLI, to promote the advancement of women, throughout their careers, as leaders in the real estate industry.

The women finished their discussion by sharing that if they had a magic wand they would both want more funding for transportation. PA is leading technological advancements in transit, but there just isn’t enough money to implement all of the changes we need.

All in all it was a wonderful discussion about the future of transportation, each of their careers and strides as leading women in the industry. We thank them both for speaking! The room was full of engaged professionals, many of whom were new to ULI and impressed by our programming. WLI would like to thank our friends at WTS Philadelphia for their support in attending and promoting the event.