Elizabeth Amar Named Young Engineer of the Year by WTS Houston

HOUSTON, Texas—CDM Smith is pleased to announce that Elizabeth "Liza" Amar, AICP, was named Young Engineer of the Year by the Women’s Trans­porta­tion Seminar (WTS) Houston chapter. Amar is a principal trans­porta­tion planner with 12 years of experience in traffic forecasting and modeling, including travel demand model estimation, calibration and validation. Amar is also a regional team leader at CDM Smith, overseeing and supporting more than 30 technical staff who work on planning, design and traffic and revenue projects. “It’s a rewarding job. I enjoy helping staff, providing them guidance and as many oppor­tu­ni­ties as I can to help them advance their careers,” she said.

Amar’s involvement in WTS reaches back to the beginning of her career. “I became involved with WTS’ Charleston, South Carolina chapter at the start of my career. Now, I’ve been a member of the Houston chapter for more than 10 years, watching it contin­u­ously grow and nearly double in size thanks to some of the passionate individuals within our chapter.”

Since 2013, Amar has led WTS Houston’s sponsorship committee, which plays an important role in supporting key programs for the chapter and helps fund its scholarship program. Like other WTS chapters around the globe, the Houston chapter provides oppor­tu­ni­ties for networking and actively supports the community, partic­i­pat­ing in STEM events for local middle and high school students.

“Being involved in WTS has been a fantastic way to get to know others in the industry and learn what they do,” said Amar. “WTS has helped me improve my career by under­stand­ing industry issues from the perspective of my peers and local trans­porta­tion issues in Houston while also providing oppor­tu­ni­ties to give back.”

CDM Smith provides lasting and integrated solutions in water, environment, trans­porta­tion, energy and facilities to public and private clients worldwide. As a full-service engineering and construc­tion firm, we deliver exceptional client service, quality results and enduring value across the entire project life cycle.