Terecia W. Wilson received the Kathryn J.R. Swanson Public Service Award for her role in advancing roadway safety at the federal, state and local levels over the past 50 years.
Wilson's roadway safety journey started in high school, when she chaired the Student Government's Highway Safety Committee, attended a statewide teen highway safety conference, and returned to her school to implement a variety of assembly programs to promote safe driving.
Over the ensuring decades, Wilson held numerous leadership roles in the South Carolina Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the Department of Public Safety and Department of Transportation, where she worked on just about every traffic safety issue and with every stakeholder or agency. If there’s a roadway safety campaign, program or initiative in South Carolina, odds are it has Wilson's fingerprints all over it.
While at the South Carolina Highway Safety Office, Terecia led a complete reorganization of the state’s Traffic Records System and conducted statewide training for law enforcement officers in the new system and its reporting requirements.
She also developed and implemented the state’s widely recognized "Highways or Dieways" program and spearheaded a daylong media tour to highlight traffic safety on TV stations across the state. Her devotion to this comprehensive public awareness and advocacy campaign is a testament to her ability to not only envision large-scale change but to do what it takes to make it happen.
If there’s a roadway safety campaign, program or initiative in South Carolina, odds are it has Terecia’s fingerprints all over it. Even retirement couldn’t stop Wilson from sharing her knowledge and passion by educating the next generation of traffic safety leaders.
After leaving the South Carolina DOT in 2012, Terecia turned her focus to working with partners to help Clemson University develop and implement its Masters of Traffic Safety Administration, the nation’s first and only graduate degree in the management and administration of roadway safety programs. As a founding member of the four-person team that started Clemson’s MTSA program, Terecia has worked tirelessly to support and grow the program over the past decade-plus. Countless traffic safety leaders – current and future – owe Terecia a debt of gratitude.
In addition, GHSA and its members have benefited extensively from Terecia’s extensive knowledge and desire to help others over the years. She served two terms as Secretary back when GHSA was the National Association of Governors Highway Safety Representatives (NAGHSR). She was also an instructor on the Executive Management Seminar, helping new SHSO leaders navigate program management best practices.
Throughout her entire career in what’s traditionally been a male-dominated field, Wilson has been a trailblazer and pioneer. She embodies the same dedication to service and understanding of the nuances of traffic safety that Kathryn Swanson was known for.