Susan Habina-Woolard

The city of Wilmington recently hired Susan Habina-Woolard as its new department of transportation director.

Habina-Woolard, who began leading the Wilmington department Monday, brings more than 25 years of engineering, transportation, stormwater and municipal leadership experience to the role, according to a news release. She joined the city from the town of Matthews, where she most recently served as the town engineer, the release stated.

In her role as Wilmington's transportation department director, Habina-Woolard will oversee traffic engineering, development design review, streets, stormwater and Vision Zero programs, according to the release. She will also help guide the city’s long-term transportation and infrastructure strategy, capital maintenance planning and stormwater management initiatives, the release stated.

“Susan is an exceptional leader and exactly the right person to lead this new department,” said City Manager Becky Hawke in the release. “I had the privilege of working directly with Susan for nine years in Matthews and saw firsthand her tenacity, leadership and determination to move important transportation projects from concept to reality. She has a unique ability to right-size projects to maximize their impact and is unwavering in her focus on delivering practical, long-term solutions for her community.

"The (Wilmington) department of transportation will play a critical role in how people safely and efficiently move through Wilmington every day. Susan brings decades of technical expertise, deep knowledge of transportation systems and a collaborative leadership style that will help unify these functions under one coordinated department. I am confident her leadership will help position Wilmington to meet both current and future transportation needs.”

Prior to her work in Matthews, Habina-Woolard served in engineering roles in Charlotte, Indian Trail, New Bern and Kettering, Ohio.

Habina-Woolard is a licensed professional engineer in North Carolina and has been recognized nationally and statewide for her leadership within the engineering profession, the release stated. Her recent honors include the 2025 National Society of Professional Engineers Fellows Designation, the 2025 National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying Distinguished Examination Service Award and the 2025 Society of Women Engineers Charlotte-Metro Chapter Distinguished Engineering Service Award, according to the release.

Habina-Woolard helped develop the Leadership Institute for the Professional Engineers of North Carolina, the Women's Leadership Program for the National Society of Professional Engineers and cofounded the NC Women in Engineering Conference.

She holds a master's degree in civil engineering and a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Dayton.