In Honor of Work & Family Month: Building the Infrastructure for Life & Work
by Dottie Watkins
October is National Work and Family Month, a time to acknowledge the complex reality of balancing professional ambition with the fundamental priority of family. For me, this month resonates deeply, intersecting with the core of my responsibilities both at CapMetro and as an avid supporter of Dress for Success Austin.
My career in transit started over 30 years ago as a part-time bus operator while I was earning my degree in Social Work. That personal journey—balancing studies, work, and life—taught me that everyone is on a journey, and success requires reliable support.
Today, as CEO of CapMetro, I see daily how essential reliable transportation is for a family's stability. Simultaneously, as a board member for Dress for Success Austin, I witness firsthand how the mission of empowering women to achieve economic independence is inextricably linked to the work of CapMetro.
Dress for Success Austin provides so much more than professional attire; they offer resume writing, interview preparation, and a Professional Women's Group—a complete circle of support. The shared thread between Dress for Success and CapMetro is providing the infrastructure for life to work. Work and Family Month is a time to highlight that we cannot expect people to thrive professionally if their personal foundation is crumbling.
Let's be honest: being a working professional is not easy. It’s a constant juggle of meetings, deadlines, and critical decisions. There are late nights, early mornings, and a persistent feeling that you could always be doing more in one sphere or the other. This challenge is universal, affecting parents and caregivers at every level of every organization.
For me, the key to navigating this is my 10-year-old daughter. She means the world to me and is the ultimate source of my perspective. When I close my laptop, and she's recounting her day or asking me to play Roblox with her, I am instantly grounded in what truly matters. She is my 'why'—the reason I push for reliable transit and strong community support. When I work to improve mobility in Austin, I am working to make her future, and the future of all Central Texas families, more accessible and more equitable.
CapMetro’s purpose is to keep Austin moving, and that starts with supporting the families who make our community and our agency run. My favorite way we do this is through our Kids Ride FREE program. This is one of the most powerful initiatives we have for the community. Children ages 18 and younger ride all CapMetro services for free. This removes a major financial barrier for families and ensures that every child can get to school, to after-school jobs, and to activities without worrying about the fare. This program is not just a "nice-to-have"; it is a critical investment in the human capital that powers our city.
When we offer initiatives like Kids Ride FREE, we directly address affordability and equity. Reliable, free transportation can be the difference between a student graduating or dropping out, or a parent making it to a critical job interview. It’s an enabling tool that unlocks opportunity.
The work of CapMetro and Dress for Success Austin is essentially two sides of the same coin: one provides professional tools and confidence, and the other provides the physical means to get there.
This National Work and Family Month, I am proud to lead an organization that is committed to making Austin a place where families don't just survive, they thrive. I am equally honored to support the amazing work of Dress for Success Austin. Together we will continue to champion policies and programs that ensure the lines between work and family are not boundaries that divide, but flexible connections that empower.