The WTS Foundation, the non-profit philanthropic arm of Women’s Transportation Seminar International (WTS), has appointed Marcia Ferranto as CEO. Ferranto also serves as President and CEO of WTS International. She will now manage the functions of the WTS Foundation in addition to WTS International, which she has led since February 2010. 

“Consolidating the leadership of WTS and the WTS Foundation under the CEO of WTS will enable the Foundation to better support WTS’s mission of advancing women in the transportation industry,” said Pippa Woods, President of the WTS Foundation’s Board of Directors.

“With the implementation of this new executive leadership model, we are taking an important step toward our vision of WTS’s key role in advancing women in transportation,” added Terry Gruver, Chair of the WTS Board of Directors. “Consolidating our executive leadership ensures unity of purpose, streamlines operations, and allows the WTS organization to more effectively serve members, chapters, and the industry. With Marcia Ferranto’s leadership, WTS and WTS Foundation are well-positioned to achieve their strategic goals and objectives.”

Ferranto was previously Executive Director of the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation of Wilmington, Del., an educational organization dedicated to the building, sailing and preservation of Delaware's tall ship ambassador, the Kalmar Nyckel. From 2003 through 2006 she was with the Delaware Art Museum, where she held positions as Director of Finance and Human Resources and Chief Financial Officer. She is a graduate of Widener University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

The WTS Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization that promotes the advancement of women in transportation through scholarships, education and research. Among programs supported by the foundation are an annual conference; national scholarship awards that to date total $1 million to more than 500 young women; a research project, called MOVE; and a partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation to encourage women to complete undergraduate and graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Founded in 1977, WTS is an international organization of 4,100 women and men in 43 chapters whose mission is to “transform transportation through the advancement of women.”