WTS Arkansas honors Jenny Cochran and Sasha Cerrato with awards at annual gala

Garver’s Business Process Improvement Manager Jenny Cochran received the President’s Award for Outstanding Leadership, and Client Services Team Leader Sasha Cerrato was named Promoter of the Year at WTS Arkansas’ annual gala on February 1 in Little Rock.

Cochran started the WTS Arkansas Chapter in 2018 with Keli Wylie, Assistant Chief Engineer of Program Delivery at the Arkansas Department of Transportation, and the support of Garver’s Director of Enterprise Solutions Jerry Holder, then Garver’s Director of Transportation.

What began as a conversation between Wylie and Cochran in 2018 led to the chapter’s ratification and first event in the spring of 2019. Cochran served as the chapter’s Vice President from 2019-2021. 

“Being part of getting the Arkansas chapter up and going, with help from such an amazing group of people, is definitely a career highlight for me,” said Cochran. “WTS Arkansas has become so much bigger than our original ideas, the first board, and the founding corporate sponsors. It has become a self-sustaining force for change in fewer than five years, and everyone who played a role in that should be proud.”

Cerrato was a founding board member of the Arkansas chapter and served as its Communications Chair from 2019 – 2021. She was instrumental in launching the WTS Arkansas chapter, helping tell its story and share its mission. From the start, she was committed to making the chapter an active and engaged part of the community. Cerrato not only had a vision for the ways WTS could support and connect women in the industry, but she helped realize that vision.

“I’m proud of how the chapter has grown in such a short time and how receptive and supportive the community has been,” said Cerrato. “We’ve already created some enduring partnerships that are going to continue to help empower women in this industry.”

WTS has honored Garver and its employees in the past. In 2021, the WTS Heart of Texas chapter named Garver Employer of the Year, and in 2022 Garver was given the same honor by WTS chapters in Mississippi and Oklahoma. In 2023, Garver was again named Employer of the Year by WTS Arkansas, and Garver Transportation Project Engineer Michelle Howington was named Member of the Year by WTS Mississippi.

Garver is a proud sponsor of WTS chapters across its 18-state footprint and is committed to supporting and advancing women in Transportation and across the AEC industry.

To learn more about what Garver's Transportation Team can do for you, visit our  Transportation services page.