Board of Directors

 

WILL KEMPTON

Chief Executive Officer, Orange County Transportation Authority

Will Kempton is chief executive officer of the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), a countywide transportation agency with 1,900 employees and an annual budget of $1.2 billion.  Under the direction of a 17-voting member Board of Directors, he is responsible for planning, financing and coordinating Orange County’s freeway, street and rail development as well as managing bus services, commuter-rail services, paratransit van service for people with disabilities and a host of other transportation programs. He has served in the position since August 2009.

Prior to joining OCTA, Kempton served as the director of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), overseeing an annual operating budget of more than $13.8 billion with $10 billion worth of transportation improvements under construction and 22,000 employees. Appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in November 2004, Kempton also was responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of California’s state transportation system, including more than 50,000 lane miles of state highways stretching from Mexico to Oregon and from the Pacific Ocean to Nevada and Arizona.

Kempton, 62, began his career in transportation with Caltrans in 1973. He held management positions in the area of finance and the director’s office prior to being appointed as assistant director in charge of legislative and congressional affairs.

In 1985, Kempton was named executive director of the Santa Clara County Traffic Authority, the state’s first local sales tax program. The program he managed is widely viewed as one of the most successful in the state, resulting in the delivery of nearly $1 billion in highway improvements in less than 10 years. During his assignment as director of the Santa Clara County effort, Kempton mobilized California’s sales-tax programs into an effective coalition of “self-help” counties. Selected by his peers to head this group, Kempton marshaled a coalition of agencies and successfully lobbied Caltrans and the state Legislature to create a state-matching program for locally funded projects. To date, the partnership program has delivered more than $2 billion in matching funds for local transportation projects. This results-oriented approach – innovation to meet favorable objectives and consensus-building among diverse partners – characterizes Kempton’s leadership style.

Over the course of his career, Kempton has cultivated extensive contacts throughout the transportation community at all levels of public service.  These contacts include local, regional and state administrators, as well as many key members of the state Legislature and the U.S. Congress. Kempton has been able to utilize these contacts to accomplish many policy and legislative objectives.

He was charged with overseeing the operations of the city’s Community Development, Neighborhood Services, Parks and Recreation, Utilities, and Public Works departments. Prior to his city appointment, he served as a City Parks and Recreation Commissioner for eight years.

Kempton resides in Orange County with his wife, Beverley.  They have two adult children, Mark and Christina.

 

ANN C. OLSON, C.E., T.E., P.T.O.E.

President, MRO Engineers, Inc.

Mrs. Olson is President of MRO Engineers, a multi-disciplinary civil engineering firm in Rocklin, California. She has 30 years of engineering experience and oversees all traffic engineering, civil design, and planning projects of the firm. Her project portfolio includes hundreds of traffic impact studies, dozens of Project Study Reports/Project Reports, and many preliminary and final designs for roadway widenings/realignments and intersection modifications.

Mrs. Olson has degrees in both Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis. She is licensed as a Civil Engineer in California and Nevada, a Traffic Engineer in California, and a Professional Transportation Operations Engineer.

In addition to her professional involvement, Mrs. Olson has served as the President of the Ophir Elementary School District Board of Trustees and is very involved in her church, Bayside Auburn, where she served as Chair of the 2008 Capital Campaign, taught Sunday School, and currently serves as a Building Committee Member. In addition, she is the Area Coordinator for the ten-county Sacramento Region for Operation Christmas Child – a program which sends a message of hope to children in some of the poorest countries around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes that contain personal necessity items, school supplies, and small toys.  Nearly 8 million children received a shoe box gift in 2008.

 

TONI BATES

Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB)

Toni specializes in bus and rail transit planning and project development.  Her experience includes project management, transit service and system planning, bus and rail facilities development, short and long range transit service planning, transportation-land use coordination, environmental analysis and documentation, public involvement programs, and interagency coordination.

Toni joined PB in 2006 after 20 years as Director of Planning and Development and Project Manager for the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB), and three years as Director of Transit Planning for the San Diego Association of Governments(SANDAG). While with MTDB, she managed the planning, preliminary engineering and environmental document preparation for the San Diego Trolley Mission Valley West and East light rail extensions, which opened in 1997 and 2005, respectively.

Toni has presented at professional conferences, including the Transportation Research Board, RailVolution and the American Public Transit Association, on topics as diverse as public involvement programs, federal planning and funding processes, and transit project development.  She has published papers in the Journal of the Transportation Research Board.  Toni is an active member of the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) and received the San Diego Chapter’s 1998 Pursuit of Excellence Award, and 2001 and 2007 Member of the Year Awards.  She is also a member of the American Planning Association and the Transportation Research Board Light Rail Subcommittee.

Toni earned her B.A. in Geography from San Diego State University and her M.S. in Urban Planning from UCLA.

 

LINDA CLIFFORD

C.C. Myers, Inc.

Linda Clifford has been a member of the public works transportation construction industry since early 1986 after previously spending 14 years in commercial & industrial construction.  She is the CFO for C. C. Myers, Inc, an employee-owned general engineering construction company.

Linda is a member of Women in Transportation Services (WTS), and participates with Associated General Contractors (AGC), CFMA, Transportation California, and ARBTA.  She holds general contractors’ licenses in California and several other Western states.

She also teaches Financial Management and Construction Accounting for the University of California, Davis, Construction Management Program, and serves as a Governor’s appointed commissioner on the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission.

 

WILLIAM GRAY

President, Gray-Bowen

William is the President of Gray-Bowen, Inc., a successful Transportation Consulting firm based in Walnut Creek, California. His firm provides a unique blend of transportation consulting, strategic project planning and governmental relations services to a variety of public and private clients. William works with his clients to develop what he likes to call “technically feasible and politically acceptable solutions” to complex transportation and infrastructure problems.

Gray-Bowen (then Smith-Gray and Company) was the first consultant retained by the original Santa Clar  Traffic Authority (TA) – the first of the “Self-Help” counties. Bill assisted the then newly retained Executive Director of the TA (Will Kempton) with the development of the management strategy and state local partnership that lead to the successful delivery of the TA’s projects. Over the years, William has become known for his knowledge, creativity and expertise in the delivery of locally financed projects under the complex and sometimes confusing Caltrans project development process.

William is a registered Civil Engineer. He graduated from the University of California at Davis with a degree in Civil Engineering and has over 37 years of public and private experience in transportation and Public Works Management.

William is a past president of the Contra Costa Council, a local business group that represents over 400 businesses in Contra Costa County. William lives in Clayton with his wife Kathy. They have been married over 40 years and have two children – both of which are now married and gainfully employed.

 

CARLTON HAACK, P.E.

HDR, Inc.

Carl Haack, P.E, is a Vice President with HDR, and has more than 19 years of engineering experience in the transportation field, working in both public and private sectors.  Carl is HDR’s Northern California Transportation Group Manager, and is responsible for the operations, leadership and development, and financial performance of the group of approximately 80 employees that performs highway, rail, transit, and transportation planning projects throughout Northern California.

Prior to joining HDR, Mr. Haack was with Caltrans, serving in various District and Headquarters positions, from Resident Engineer to Project Manager to Project Management Division Chief at Caltrans. In each of these positions, Mr. Haack was instrumental in the successful delivery of transportation projects and programs.  As Caltrans’ Project Management Division Chief, his leadership resulted in a $2.5 billion annual statewide project delivery program.

As HDR’s Northern California Transportation Group Manager, Carl continues to work with both local and state transportation officials in delivering transportation projects, programs, and funding.  He is a registered civil engineer in California, and in addition to the California Transportation Foundation, his professional affiliations include the American Public Works Association, and the Women’s Transportation Seminar.

 

ARTHUR HADNETT

Vice President and California Transportation Practice Leader, Stantec

Arthur Hadnett has more than 26 years of experience in transportation consulting engineering industry, he has demonstrated his ability to lead and oversee the project development, project management, and construction management of major, high priority infrastructure projects. He has an impressive track record of innovatively and cost-effectively managing significant assignments with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Federal Transit Authority, Orange County Transportation Authority, Los Angeles World Airports, and Southern California Regional Rail Authority. Arthur is well known for his project planning and management, and project policy-making experience for public and private clients throughout the US and internationally.

 

MATTHEW J. HENRY, P.E.

President and CEO, Fehr & Peers

Matt Henry is a Principal with more than 22 years of experience in the civil engineering industry.  He is currently President and CEO of Fehr & Peers, a transportation planning and traffic engineering consulting firm with approximately 250 employees in 12 offices throughout the western states including California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Washington.  His corporate responsibilities include leadership and oversight of the company’s strategic and operational initiatives, as well as personnel issues and financial performance.

He graduated from the University of Memphis with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Civil Engineering in 1987.  Since joining Fehr & Peers in 1992, he has held the positions of Project Manager, Office Manager, and Chief Operating Officer prior to becoming the President in 2004.

 

RANDELL H. IWASAKI

Executive Director, Contra Costa Transportation Authority

Randell “Randy” Iwasaki was appointed by the CCTA Board as Executive Director on April 16, 2010.  CCTA administers a one-half percent sales tax program.  The 1988 “Measure C” program consists of $1.1 billion in projects and programs; the 2004 “Measure J” program totals $2 billion and will run from 2009 through 2034.  The Authority is also the Congestion Management Agency, making recommendations on how state and federal transportation funds will be used in Contra Costa; and serves as manager for the Transportation Funds for Clean Air Program.

Prior to his appointment as Executive Director, Iwasaki was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger in August 2009 as Director of the California Department of Transportation.  He was in charge of the operation of the California state transportation system, including more than 50,000 lane miles of state highway, intercity passenger rail, state support for local mass transportation systems, 12,400 bridges and more than 250 general aviation airports.  He oversaw an annual budget of almost $14 billion and a staff of more than 22,000 maintenance, planning, right of way, environmental, administrative, and engineering personnel.

A licensed civil engineer, Iwasaki had been with Caltrans for more than 26 years serving in a number of high profile engineering and management positions.  From November 2004 to August 2009, he was appointed as the Department’s Chief Deputy Director.

Iwasaki also serves on a number of national transportation panels.  The panels include chairing the Technology Coordinating Committee Chair for the renewal portion of the Strategic Highway Research Program and AASHTO’s Special Committee on Transportation Security and Emergency Management. He is the past Chairman of ITS America

In 2009, he was named to Government Technology’s list of 25 “Doers, Dreamers and Drivers,” and in 2008 was the recipient of the Thomas H. McDonald Memorial Award, which is considered the highest award presented by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials for “rendering continuous outstanding service over an extended period of time or have made some exceptional contribution to the art and science of highway engineering.”

Iwasaki earned his bachelor’s degree in Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and a Master’s in Engineering from California State University, Fresno.

 

JODY JONES

District 3 Director, Caltrans

Jody Jones, as the District Director of District 3, Marysville, is responsible for state transportation in the eleven counties of Glenn, Butte, Colusa, Sutter, Yuba, Sierra, Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Sacramento, and Yolo. This includes 1500 miles of State Highways.

Jody, with a staff of about 1800 is responsible for all project development (environmental, design, right of way, and construction) activities in the 22 counties of the North Region (District’s 1, 2, and 3). The North Region is one-third of the geographical area of the State, from the Sacramento/San Joaquin County line to the Oregon Border and has an operating budget of about $280 million and a Capital Construction Program of $1.7 billion.

Jody started her career in Transportation with the University Transport System (UNITRANS) in the City of Davis, when she was a student at UC, Davis. She graduated in 1978 with a degree in Political Science/Public Service. She joined Caltrans in 1980 as a Transportation Planner in District 3. In 1989, she was promoted to Senior Transportation Planner in Caltrans HQ and served as Chief of 3 different planning branches. She promoted to District Division Chief, Planning in 1992, and four years later, became the North Region Environmental and District 3 Planning Division Chief, supervising a staff of 160 in Marysville, Redding and Eureka. In 1998, she served a rotation to HQ as the statewide Planning Program Manager. She was named Acting District 3 Director in February 2001 and was appointed to the position permanently in September, 2001. Jody is also active in her community serving as a Commissioner on the Planning Commission for the Town of Paradise.

 

BRIAN C. KRAMER, P.E., G.E.

President and CEO, Twining, Inc.

Brian Kramer, PE, GE currently serves as President, CEO and part owner of Twining, Inc., one of California’s leading geotechnical engineering, materials testing and inspection companies. Established over 114 years ago, Twining is home to over 300 employees and operates five state-of-the-art laboratories serving on projects throughout the State. Twining employs some of the industry’s most well-known construction materials experts who perform research and consult with regulatory agencies to shape the future of construction standard practices.

Brian is a business leader sharing ownership in two other companies: Quality Assurance, Inc. (QAI) and Quality Built, LLC. Prior to joining Twining, he founded Testing Engineers – Los Angeles (TELA.) – 1998 – 2003 and served as the President and Principal Engineer for the firm.  He provided managerial and engineering oversight for all staff and projects thus forming the company from scratch and building it into a successful consulting service provider.

Brian is a current member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and is actively involved with his forum group.

Brian attended San Diego State University and achieved a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1992. He subsequently achieved his MBA through the University of California, Irvine in 2000.  He is a member of Chi Epsilon, an engineering honor society, and continues to be involved in the Sigma Chi Fraternity and supports the Alumni program at the Paul Merage School of Business at UCI.

Brian contributes to the community by serving as an Advisory and Development Council member at the California State University, Long Beach.  He is married with three children and is an instrument rated private pilot who enjoys kiteboarding, mountain biking, and skiing.

 

 

ANNE MAYER

Executive Director, Riverside County Transportation Commission

Anne Mayer is the Executive Director for Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC). RCTC is the County’s primary transportation planning and funding agency. She leads an organization with 41 employees and an annual budget exceeding $778 million. RCTC also oversees the Measure A program approved by voters in 1988 and 2002.

Prior to joining RCTC as Deputy Executive Director in May 2005, Anne was the District 8 Director for the California Department of Transportation. As District Director, she was responsible for management of the state highway system in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Mayer, who holds a civil engineering degree from Michigan State University, has over 28 years of experience in the public works field.

 

JAMES E. MOORE II, Professor

Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering; Public Policy and Management; and Civil Engineering, University of Southern California

Professor Moore received his BS degrees in Industrial Engineering and Urban Planning in 1981 from Northwestern University’s Technological Institute (now the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science) in Evanston, Illinois.  He received his MS degree in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University in 1982, his Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from Northwestern in 1983, and his Ph.D. degree in Civil Engineering (Infrastructure Planning and Management) from Stanford in 1986.  He specializes in transportation engineering, transportation systems, and other infrastructure systems.

He joined Northwestern’s Civil Engineering faculty in 1986, and the faculty of the University of Southern California in 1988.  He is Director of the Transportation Engineering program, Co-Director of the Construction Management Program, and Chair of the Daniel J. Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering in USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering.

 

LIA V. REYES

President, LVR International

Lia Reyes has over 20 years of experience in the transportation, infrastructure, and commercial development industry working with both the public and private sectors.

She has concentrated in transportation planning, hands-on operations management, and business development in the United States and in Asia . She has built businesses and has experience managing firms with 20-500 employees. Her expertise is in transportation and land-use planning related to parking projects and management operations for mixed-use and strategic regional plans.

She is on the Board of the Los Angeles Women’s Transportation Seminar (LAWTS), Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Transportation Business Advisory Council (TBAC), and the Board of Trustees of Marymount College in California . Other current and past associations include the Board of Governors of City Club on Bunker Hill Los Angeles, Central City Association, Urban Land Institute, National Parking Association, and International Parking Institute.

She is a graduate of the Anderson School of Business UCLA in  California and Marymount of Fordham University in New York.

 

BIMLA RHINEHART

Executive Director, California Transportation Commission

Bimla Rhinehart has nearly twenty three years of experience with the California Department of Transportation. She served for fours years as the Division Chief of Right of Way and Land Surveys, and previously served as the Acting Division Chief of Budgets, and Deputy Director for External Affairs and Special Projects Manager.

On April 1, 2009, Ms. Rhinehart was appointed to the position Executive Director for the California Transportation Commission (Commission) by the Commission members. The Executive Director of the Commission reports to the eleven-member Commission and is responsible for overseeing the Commission’s staff of 19 and its annual budget of $3.6 million. The Commission is responsible for programming and allocating several billion dollars annually for transportation projects throughoutCaliforniain partnership with regional transportation agencies and the California Department of Transportation. The Commission is also responsible for advising the Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing Agency and the California Legislature on key transportation policy matters.

 

MARY ROTELLI

Vice President, Teichert, Inc.

 

STANLEY S. TAYLOR III

Partner, Nossaman, LLP

Stan Taylor is a transactional attorney specializing in local and regional transportation agencies governance and compliance, as well as the funding and financing of transportation projects. He represents public agencies using traditional and innovative methods of project delivery and development. As head of Nossaman’s Northern California infrastructure practice, he has worked on innovative programs such as the Translink® universal fare card program and solutions to complex issues such as the Doyle Drive congestion pricing project.

Mr. Taylor has a detailed understanding of the public transportation funding landscape and skillfully advises clients about how to obtain government funding or generate additional revenues through sales tax programs. He has a demonstrated ability to draw on his prior experience with complex corporate transactions, including; mergers and acquisitions, organizing public corporations as well as securities issuance and compliance, in order to craft workable solutions to multi-faceted issues.

 

RACHEL VANDENBERG, P.E.

Vice President, AECOM Transportation

Rachel Coburn Vandenberg, P.E., is a vice president with AECOM and serves as Transit/Rail Leader for the company’s West and Southwest/Mountain regions. She has 21 years of experience in transportation engineering and management, including 17 with AECOM. Ms. Vandenberg began her career as a transportation engineer for Caltrans District 4, where she served as assistant resident engineer for construction of the US101/I-380/SFO interchange. Over the course of her career, Ms. Vandenberg’s responsibilities have included all phases of rail and highway design and construction, from funding, programming, environmental clearance, and design, to construction inspection and administration.

Ms. Vandenberg has successfully managed numerous rail transit programs, including preliminary engineering for the Mid-City/Exposition LRT project, final design for the Metrolink capital expansion, and regional environmental studies for the California high-speed train project. She has supported agencies such as the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority, and the Southern California Regional Rail Authority in developing programmatic engineering standards and procedures. Ms. Vandenberg has a B.S. degree in civil engineering from UC Berkeley and an M.B.A. in real estate and finance from UCLA’s Anderson School of Business.

She is a registered civil engineer in California. In addition to the California Transportation Foundation, Ms. Vandenberg’s professional affiliations include the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-way Association; Women’s Transportation Seminar; American Council of Engineering Companies; and the American Society of Civil Engineers. She also serves on the Manhattan Beach Unified School District’s Citizens Bond Advisory Committee. Ms. Vandenberg is married and has two teenage sons.

 

AGNES WEBER, P.E.

Executive Vice President And COO, Vali Cooper & Associates, Inc.

Agnes Weber is an Executive Vice President and the Chief Operations Officer of Vali Cooper & Associates, Inc.  Agnes oversees the daily operations of all VC&A projects, including schedule, budget and quality control objectives.  In addition, she directs VC&A’s contract managers in their project management duties.   Agnes’ other duties include employment transactions, IT support, vehicle/asset control, and internal budgeting.  She also oversees the training and safety aspects of the organization.

Prior to joining VC&A in 1996, Agnes spent 11 years working for Caltrans as an inspector, senior resident engineer, and senior claims analyst in District 11 and Caltrans Headquarters.  Agnes is actively involved with the transportation and construction management community through her involvement with the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) and American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).  She served as president of CMAA Northern California Chapter from 2003-2004.  Ms. Weber previously served as a Chair on the Prevailing Wage Committee for ACEC – California and is currently Chair of the Infrastructure Delivery Council.  Ms. Weber graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering from San Diego State University in 1985.

 

TAD WIDBY

Vice President, Parsons Brinckerhoff

Tad Widby is a senior professional associate and senior planning manager with Parsons Brinckerhoff and has a broad background in local, regional, and state transportation planning and specializes in institutional arrangements, financing, and public policy.

Tad has led state and metropolitan transportation plans as well as high occupancy tolling projects across the country. He has managed development of high occupancy vehicle programs, prepared corridor improvement strategies, developed plans for managing travel during major highway reconstruction projects, and managed recreational travel project.

In addition to his experience with Parsons Brinckerhoff, Tad also served as President of Commuter Transportation Services, Inc., Deputy Director of Transportation Planning at the Southern California Association of Governments, and Principal Planner at the California Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. He also worked with public agencies in Michigan and Massachusetts.

 

TOM ZLOTKOWSKI, P.E., T.E., P.T.O.E

Executive Director, Capital Southeast Connector JPA

In March of 2008, Tom became the Executive Director of the Capital Southeast Connector JPA.  Previously, Mr. Zlotkowski was the Director of the Sacramento County Department of Transportation where he oversaw the planning, design, construction and ongoing maintenance & operations of 2600 miles of street and highways located in the unincorporated areas of Sacramento County.  He was responsible for an organization of 375 employees, with a $160 million annual budget. Under Tom’s leadership in Sacramento County, he has overseen the delivery of over $1 billion in capital transportation projects through the initiation and execution of the annual Transportation Improvement Process over the past 14 years.

Tom’s most recent professional acknowledgements include the Institute of Transportation Engineers, “2007 Distinguished Service Award” and the American Public Works Association, “2006 National Transportation Manager of the Year.” Tom is both a registered Civil and Traffic Engineer in the State of California as well as a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer (PTOE).

 

SARAH WEST

Executive Director, CTF

In January 2011 Sarah became Executive Director of CTF.  She is also President of West Directions, an association management firm.  Sarah has worked for CTF since 1995, organizing the Foundation’s events, writing its publications and providing management support.  She brings twenty-six years of professional experience in California politics and association management to her new role as Executive Director.  She is the primary strategist for clients interested in organizing, maintaining and growing an association.  Her unique combination of legislative expertise and public relations experience has produced decisive results for a host of West Directions clients.  An expert at grassroots organizing, she has been able to pull together coalitions of affected parties and helped them communicate in a unified voice.

Before joining CTF Sarah served as Executive Director of the California Sod Producers Association, the Council for a Green Environment, and the Self-Help Counties Coalition, where she developed the annual conference, Focus on the Future.

Prior to forming West Directions, Sarah was Senior Associate at D.J. Smith Associates, where she lobbied for private and public interests before the state legislature and local governments.

Prior to joining D.J. Smith Associates, Sarah served as Senior Consultant for Townsend, Raimundo, Bessler & Usher (Townsend & Company) where she directed numerous successful political campaigns throughout California.

Sarah was educated at the University of California at Davis, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science.

 

Caltrans Liaison

Katie Benouar
Chief of Staff, Director’s Office
California Department of Transportation

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emeritus Director

Heinz Heckeroth, CTF and Caltrans Retired

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CTF Whistleblower Policy

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