Pictured is Mikki McDaniel, Sacramento County Department of Transportation (SacDOT) principal planner. Photo courtesy of Sacramento County 

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) – The Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Sacramento Chapter has named Sacramento County Department of Transportation (SacDOT) Principal Planner, Mikki McDaniel, the organization’s member of the year at the annual Women’s Transportation Seminar Scholarship and Awards Program in Sacramento on Jan. 28.

McDaniel first joined SacDOT as an assistant civil engineer in 2019, after moving over from the Department of Regional Parks. At SacDOT, she has led the development of the Sacramento County Active Transportation Plan. The plan is a guide for county staff, public officials, residents and developers to build a balanced transportation system that supports and encourages active modes of travel.​

McDaniel sees herself as a public servant whose mission is to get people where they need to go by bus, bicycle, walking and rolling. Several of her projects at SacDOT highlight her drive to improve alternative forms of transportation around unincorporated Sacramento County. They include the County’s Zero Emission Bus Plan, Safe Routes to School Program, Bell Streets Safe Routes to the School, Stockton Boulevard Complete Streets and the Whitney Avenue Road Diet and Multimodal Improvements Project.

“It wasn’t a natural fit – Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Receptions Chair, but I learned a lot from being the gatherer. We need joyful spaces to meet with our colleagues from other agencies – to learn and connect – it all translates into better projects for Sacramento County in the end,” said McDaniel.

With degrees in engineering and city and regional planning, McDaniel was promoted to her current role as principal planner where she is now spearheading a unique project that will provide safer pedestrian travel and better accessibility for the elderly and members of the disability community.

McDaniel says the recognition from the Women’s Transportation Seminar is a real surprise and hopes to continue assisting Women’s Transportation Seminar in promoting the advancement of women in the transportation industry.