Patrice Gilmore of Holt Brothers Construction Honored with Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award
Patrice Gilmore, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for Raleigh-based Holt Brothers Construction, will be presented with the Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award at WTS International’s NC Triangle chapter’s annual scholarship and awards gala on Thursday, May 3, 2018. The event will be held at the Park Alumni Center Ballroom in Raleigh. WTS is a leading organization of transportation professionals with chapters in 49 U.S. states.
Gilmore is receiving the Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership Award for “exhibiting extraordinary efforts or initiatives in facilitating professional opportunities for women and minorities and contributing significantly to the promotion of diversity, inclusion, and multi-cultural awareness.”
Gilmore has nearly 20 years of experience in the construction industry in the areas of supplier diversity and project management. She is known for her ability to manage supplier diversity programs that create an environment of inclusion for small, minority and women-owned businesses. In her role at Holt Brothers Construction, Gilmore focuses on identifying diverse contractors and vendors for projects, establishing internal program goals, tracking program results, monitoring contract compliance, and maintaining relationships with clients and members of the local community.
Passionate about providing small and minority businesses equal access to opportunities, Gilmore’s work has been recognized with such awards as the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce Circle of Influence Diversity Award and the NC Department of Administration Office of Historically Underutilized Business Industry/Agency Individual Award. In 2015, the Triangle Business Journal selected her for the prestigious “40 Under 40” Leadership Awards program, which honors the brightest, most promising young business people under the age of 40 in the Triangle.
She is the current chair of United Minority Contractors of North Carolina (UMCNC), the state chapter of the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC). Other professional affiliations include the Airport Minority Advisory Council, the American Contract Compliance Association, the Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Council, the Institute for Supply Management, the NC Minority/Women Business Enterprise Coordinators Network, the North Carolina A&T State University Construction Management Advisory Board, the NC State HUB Advisory Committee, and the UNCCH HUB Advisory Committee.
Gilmore graduated with honors from North Carolina A&T State University in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in Construction Management. She volunteers numerous hours to several non-profit organizations that she supports on a professional level. After the passing of her maternal grandmother in 2008, she developed a personal interest in Hospice care and formed Milestone Community Foundation, a non-profit focused on supporting the Hospice mission.
In addition to celebrating community activism, innovative design, and construction projects through the annual awards program, the WTS-Triangle gala supports the local chapter’s mission to raise funds for scholarships and outreach programs for young women – middle and high school students – interested in pursuing STEM secondary education and careers. Event sponsors include these local transportation engineering, design, and construction firms: VHB, Trailblazer level; HNTB, Advocate level; CH Engineering, Gannett Fleming and KCI, Patron level; and HDR, Simpson Engineers Associates, Stewart Engineering and WSP, Friend level.
About WTS
Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) is an international organization of transportation professionals with over 5,000 members represented in over 48 chapters throughout the United States. Members include engineers, planners, administrators, marketing professionals, and other men and women in public agencies and private firms working in a variety of transportation disciplines from all ethnic backgrounds. The NC Triangle Chapter is highly recognized for hosting local to national level transportation industry events.
