Delia Gonçalves, an award-winning journalist, joins COMTO as Vice President of External Affairs

The Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) added Delia Gonçalves as Vice President of External Affairs, Previously, Gonçalves was a reporter, anchor and managing editor at WUSA-TV.

According to a release, “Gonçalves brings a wealth of experience as a multiple award-winning journalist, storyteller, and communicator. As the Vice President of External Affairs, Delia will oversee the strategy and execution of COMTO’s communications, marketing, and media engagement. Delia’s career is marked by a talent for enhancing organizational reputation through communication savvy, credibility and engaging interpersonal skills.”

According to an online bio, Gonçalves joined WUSA9 in June 2010. She “got her first break in the business right here in Washington at the U.S. Senate Radio-TV Gallery and at NBC Network News. She then left D.C. to pursue her on-camera reporting endeavors which took her back to her native New England.

“Delia spent five years crisscrossing the region, working at several stations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. During that time, she had the privilege of covering a number of national stories including the Station Nightclub fire in Rhode Island that claimed 100 lives and the historic vote on gay marriage in Boston – the first vote of its kind in the country.

“Before returning to the nation’s capital, Delia spent four years in Baltimore where she was named Baltimore’s Best Reporter in 2009. Among her most memorable stories in Charm City, Delia’s profile of a woman and her daughter living in a home with no electricity or running water got them in a safe shelter. Her reporting on the homeless in DC has helped people get off the streets and reunite families.  Her relentless 3 year investigation into systemic failures in DCRA that were putting homeowners and residents at risk, forced resignations of top officials and led the city to break-up the troubled agency.  Delia is passionate about reporting the facts, challenging the status quo and telling compelling stories at the heart of our community.

“Delia is a first generation Cape Verdean-American born in New Bedford, Massachusetts of immigrant parents who taught her the invaluable lessons of faith, hard work and perseverance.”