Carol A. Lewis, Professor in the Department of Transportation Studies, and Director of the Center for Transportation Training and Research at Texas Southern University, and longtime SWUTC Executive Committee member and key researcher, has been selected as the recipient of the Transportation Research Board’s 2016 Sharon D. Banks Award for Humanitarian Leadership in Transportation. She is recognized for her unique blend of transportation accomplishments, successes in the mentoring and nurturing of young people, and tireless promotion of responsible growth and protection of neighborhoods. Lewis’ people-oriented approach to planning is credited with the difference in lives of countless students, fellow researchers and professors, younger professionals, community groups, and transit riders throughout the Houston, Texas area.
The Banks Award, presented on January 13, 2016, during the Chairman’s Luncheon at the TRB 95th Annual Meeting, honors the memory of Sharon D. Banks, who was General Manager of AC Transit, Oakland, California, from 1991 to 1999 and who chaired the TRB Executive Committee in 1998. She died in 1999. The award recognizes individuals whose accomplishments exemplify her ideals of humanity and service by making a significant difference in the lives of those who use, deliver, or support transportation services.