STV recently celebrated as several of its clients in the passenger rail and aviation market sectors – the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC) and Baltimore Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI), signed onto the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP) Pledge.
The EIP is a landmark partnership that strives to build generational wealth in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry by growing the equity and access for historically underutilized businesses. In 2022, STV was among the first AEC firms to sign the pledge, while John D. Porcari, a member of STV’s Board of Directors, is the EIP’s co-founder.
“Equitable economic growth is unlocked when agencies take an ‘equity-first’ approach to funding infrastructure,” said STV CEO Greg Kelly, P.E. “By embracing the goals of the EIP, we are helping our clients close historic wealth gaps by creating more opportunities for historically underutilized businesses and disadvantaged communities.”
Kelly and Porcari recently joined Philip A. Washington, EIP co-founder and CEO of Denver International Airport, as MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber signed the pledge during a ceremony held at the 14th Street No. 1, 2, 3 subway station in New York, while Porcari attended the signing ceremony in Washington, D.C., with, AMAC Board of Directors Chair Ricky Smith, and BWI CEO Eboni Wimbush, AMAC president and CEO.
By officially endorsing the EIP Pledge, the MTA, AMAC and BWI become integral members of a dynamic collective of industry leaders committed to advancing transportation equity. The EIP Pledge has already garnered support from 56 heads of transit authorities, airports, ports, water districts, organizations and engineering firms nationwide. Notably, the White House has specifically urged Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grantees to join this transformative movement by signing the Pledge.
Other clients that have signed on to the pledge include the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).
“I talk a lot about the transit system as New York’s engine of equity – it gives everybody access to jobs and education, and it’s one of the few things that makes this city affordable,” said Lieber in a statement. “At the MTA, equity also features prominently. In 2023 almost 40% of all MTA contracts awarded went to MWBEs, accounting for over $800 million.”