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Seattle PI article, January 16, 2003, "Advocate Cathy Cole worked to reduce commuting." A Tribute With heavy hearts but rich memories, the friends and associates of Commuter Challenge must say good bye to Cathy Cole. We were shocked to silence by the suddenness of her death at the height of her career. We remember her with awe, respect, tears and smiles. We knew a lady short in stature but of towering resolve. We remember a woman who was infuriatingly right; who hated to lose. We remember a true and loyal friend. We remember a very private, secretly shy woman, born to manage and market. We remember a mother — not only to her family but somehow also to many, many others. We remember a powerful, feisty woman with high expectations of herself and all of us. We remember a charitable and generous person who made four trips to other countries to build houses with Habitat for Humanity. We remember a manager who took over what was to be a one-time commuting campaign twelve years ago and grew it into a multi-faceted, non-profit organization valued equally by business and government for its effectiveness and integrity. While the many faces involved with transportation locally, regionally, state-wide and nationally came and went, Cathy was a constant force, maintaining a standard for everyone to live up to. As a loaned employee of King County Metro, Cathy arrived at the Economic Development Council of Seattle & King County in 1990 to manage its fledgling Commuter Challenge program. Previously she had been part of the employer outreach staff at Metro for five years, preceded by five years of marketing professional services for architectural and engineering firms. As Executive Director of Commuter Challenge, Cathy created a unique conduit for collaboration between business and government on transportation issues. She facilitated improvements to the law to increase the effectiveness of transportation demand management (TDM) programs at employment sites. She helped business speak with one voice and she helped government listen and take informed action, based on solid research. She was sought after as a member of many committees because of her astute judgement and ability to deliver. Under Cathy’s leadership, the Diamond Awards were born to provide business decision-makers with prestigious recognition for their efforts to reduce drive-alone commute trips. She championed the increasing use of work options, including telework, presenting workshops, building a library of case studies and other tools, and overseeing a project to provide free assistance to employers wishing to grow a telework program. Recently, she managed an innovative grants program putting dollars directly into the hands of employers to improve commute options for employees. She oversaw a number of other efforts that all shared one feature in common—to encourage collaboration between business and government to solve transportation issues. In the last two years, Cathy was instrumental in reviving the Oregon and Washington chapter of the Association for Commuter Transportation through her role as Cascade Chapter president. As a salute to Cole, ACT approved the creation of a new national award to be named "the Cathy Cole Memorial Award for Teleworking." Her own work was recognized with a string of local, state and national awards. In 2000, she received the Bob Owens TDM Champion Award—the first-ever national award given to an innovative, entrepreneurial individual who championed advances for transportation demand management. * * * Thank you, Cathy, for helping us see for ourselves that ridesharing and work options are not only good for the environment, but they "make good business sense," the tagline of the Diamond Awards campaign. Your work was integral to the success of a state commute trip reduction effort that quietly increased the capacity of our roadways by removing tens of thousands of cars. Above all, we appreciated your capacity for friendship and your candor, humor, good sense, high standards, loyalty and guts. We dedicate the 2002 Diamond Awards to your memory. We miss you. We are better in so many ways because of you.
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Former
Commuter Challenge Executive Director Cathy Cole died January 2, 2003.
The cause of her death was attributed to an unexpected and massive heart
attack. A memorial service was held January 11, 2003.