The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) announced that Executive Director and CEO Lori Kahikina, P.E., received the prestigious Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) 2025 Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation Award in recognition of her professional achievements and exemplary leadership.
“I am so honored and grateful to receive this award,” said Kahikina. “It is even more humbling to know that one of my own HART ‘ohana members nominated me for this distinct honor. The award is a testament to the hard work of the entire HART ‘ohana and our key stakeholders to advance this major transportation infrastructure project in ways that will truly benefit the City and County of Honolulu.”
COMTO held its 14th Annual Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation Award Breakfast today, Wednesday, May 21, at the National Portrait Gallery, in Washington, D.C., where Kahikina received the coveted award. The Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation Award is one of the highest honors bestowed by COMTO and recognizes outstanding women across the nation who have provided inspirational leadership and move our nation forward. Kahikina is the first woman from Hawai‘i to receive this award.
Since joining HART in 2021, Kahikina’s leadership has been instrumental in reestablishing a positive and collaborative relationship with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and key stakeholders, the resumption of disbursements of $744 million in federal funding through the 2022 Recovery Plan and the amended Full Funding Grant Agreement, the delivery of Segment 1 of the Honolulu rail system to the City & County of Honolulu in June 2023, the award of the City Center Guideway and Construction contract in August 2024, and continued progress on Segment 2, which is expected to be ready to hand over to the City & County of Honolulu and begin service before the end of 2025.
Past honorees of Celebrating Women Who Move the Nation Award include Speaker Nancy Pelosi (2022), Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (2022), Dr. Christine Darden (2020), Baton Rouge, Louisiana Mayor Sharon Weston (2020), Ohio Representative Joyce Beatty (2019), The Honorable Polly Trottenberg (2015), and the Honorable Nuria I. Fernandez (2012). View all the 2025 cohort of honorees at https://comto.org/programs-events/celebrating-women-who-move-nation.
COMTO began in 1971 at Howard University to provide a forum for professionals in the transportation industry with a mission to ensure transportation serves all. Its mission across 40 chapters in North America is ensuring access, innovation, and leadership across the industry.