Annie Nam, Deputy Director, Transportation Planning & Programming
Southern California Association of Governments
Annie Nam currently serves as the deputy director of transportation planning and programming for the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), leading strategic initiatives and overseeing two transportation departments. Previously she managed the goods movement and transportation finance department. She has over twenty-five years of research, analysis, and planning experience, specializing in surface transportation policy and financing. She oversees regional planning initiatives, evaluating transportation system performance and associated economic impacts. She was instrumental in leading the development of Southern California’s Comprehensive Regional Goods Movement Plan and Implementation Strategy and oversaw the development of SCAG’s concept of operations for the Regional Express Lane System and Mobility Go Zone Program. Additionally, she directs the development of financial strategies for SCAG’s Regional Transportation Plan. More recently, she has been leading SCAG’s last mile delivery research and demonstration efforts, focusing on clean and innovative technologies. Prior to joining SCAG, Ms. Nam worked for the City of New York, where she developed financial forecasting models, analyzed capital project financing and economic policy initiatives. Ms. Nam holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Columbia University.
Christina Watson, Principal Transportation Planner
Transportation Agency Monterey County
Christina Watson is a Principal Transportation Planner at the Transportation Agency for Monterey County, where she has worked since 2001. Her current responsibilities at the Agency include managing the Monterey County Rail Extension project and acting as the staff legislative liaison on state and federal legislative issues. Christina is active with the WTS San Francisco Chapter as the Monterey Bay Programs chair, for which she was recognized in 2016 as “member of the year”. She holds a Master of Science in Transportation Management degree from the Mineta Transportation Institute and a Master of Arts in International Environmental Policy from the Monterey Institute of
International Studies. Prior to joining the agency, Christina worked on global climate change policy issues through a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship in Germany. She is a 2009 graduate of the Leadership Monterey Peninsula program. She is also a volunteer guide at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and has studied German, Russian, and Spanish.
Craig Bosman, Principal, Funding Programs & Policy
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
For the past eight years, I’ve been at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the MPO of the Bay Area, working on funding policy and program management, primarily for transit capital projects. My areas of focus have been coordinating regional bridge tolls, state Cap and Trade funds, and federal transit funds across our myriad agencies and projects large and small. I’m passionate about making cities and regions work better and address the climate crisis through better transit and design. Outside of work, I love exploring the nature, culture, and urban form of the Bay Area and playing a variety of sports. I hold a Master’s in Public Policy from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from the University of Washington. Prior to MTC, I worked as an engineer and a Peace Corps volunteer.
Dana Turrey, Senior Transportation Planner
Sonoma County Transportation Authority
I am a Senior Transportation Planner at the Sonoma County Transportation Authority where I manage travel mode shift programs, funding programs, and countywide planning for alternative transportation modes (bike, walk, transit, paratransit). I enjoy building partnerships to solve problems and work toward shared visions. I am passionate about building healthy and sustainable communities at the human scale.
Dominica Davis-Smith, Manager of Transportation Planning
California Transportation Commission
Dominica Davis-Smith is a Manager of Transportation Planning that serves as the California Transportation Commission (CTC) liaison and manages the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Authority. In these roles, she is charged with overall strategy development, managing and executing activities associated with state transportation funding policy, grant-seeking, local agency project delivery support, plan development, capital management, and technical analysis in all Countywide Transportation Planning & Development disciplines.
Having worked in the public sector for 18 years, Dominica has a wealth of experience coordinating effective communications between the public and governmental agencies and a strong ability to translate complicated technical issues into laymen’s terms. Throughout her career, Dominica has demonstrated results in designing and implementing communication campaigns in the fields of environmental education and transportation infrastructure development.
Erika Bustamante, Budget and Grants Manager
Southern California Association of Governments
My name is Erika Bustamante, Budget and Grants Manager for the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). I have twenty years of progressively responsible experience in public administration and financial management. I have a proven track record of leading high performing teams to achieve results, fostering strategic relationships and partnerships with stakeholders, and developing and implementing process improvements. I am committed to leading by example, making an impact, and approaching my work with integrity and transparency.
Grace Orosco, Finance Manager
San Joaquin Council of Governments
I am the Finance Manager and oversee all aspects of the accounting functions of the San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG). I maintain professional standards by ensuring a high degree of financial credibility, compliance with policies and procedures as well as providing customer service to staff and outside customers.
I have been with SJCOG since 1995 and became Finance Manager in 2021. My technical abilities are exemplified through my fiduciary responsibility of $100 to $300 million annually of capital and operating programs. I am responsible for State and Federal compliance reporting and management of the annual Fiscal and Compliance audit. Under my direction, for 22 years, SJCOG has received the Excellence in Financial Reporting Award from the Government Finance Officers Association.
Jennifer Soliz, Associate Regional Planner
Fresno Council of Governments
Jennifer is an Associate Regional Planner for Fresno Council of Governments. She is responsible for managing investment policy and allocations of federal, state, and regional programs and implementing various transportation-related projects that advance the region’s priorities.
With a background in communications, she is experienced in program management and implementing strategies with a deep understanding of collaboration and strategic partnerships. She has managed planning studies that establish a foundation for future policy and programming decisions, streamlined processes and procedures, and secured additional funding for the region.
Born and raised in Fresno, California, Jennifer has a BA in Communication from Fresno State and is enthusiastic to contribute to the success of the region by building a diverse, safe, resilient, and accessible region.
Jenny Russo, Senior Grants and Contracts Officer
San Diego Association of Governments
Jenny Russo is a dedicated public servant. She began working at the local jurisdiction level for the City of Santee and learned many different disciplines that allowed her to expand her career into regional government. She has worked for SANDAG for eleven years and has earned a reputation for being a go-to resource for many different topics and possessing an ability for streamlining complicated processes and procedures and setting up new programs and services. Her exposure to grants and financing has recently blossomed into working on identifying and pursuing competitive funding opportunities for the agency while leading competitive grant programs for local jurisdictions and nonprofit agencies to apply to. Jenny provides strategic advice and has led teams of talented procurement and grant professionals over many years and provided them with leadership and professional growth opportunities to allow them to thrive. In her free time, Jenny enjoys hiking, sewing, and spending time with her family.
John Nguyen, Principal Transportation Planner
Alameda County Transportation Commission
John Nguyen is a professional Transportation Planner with transportation planning and funding expertise garnered from working for a wide range of public governments and private entities. Driven by his desire to improve transportation mobility and travel choices for the communities he serves, he takes tremendous pride in ensuring public funds and limited resources are deployed with accountability, effectively and efficiently. As a Transportation Planner, his aim is to ensure transportation plans and funding are strategically integrated with bonafide investments that benefit communities with modern and efficient transportation infrastructure.
Kaki Cheung, Program Director
City/County Association of Governments San Mateo County
Ms. Kaki Cheung, a Program Director with City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG), has over 15 years of experience in transportation planning, programing, technology implementation and asset management. She currently leads project delivery of the San Mateo County Smart Corridor project, which maximizes efficiencies of the existing transportation network and enhances coordination between multiple public agencies to create a regional incident traffic management approach. Ms. Cheung also oversees various funding programs and manages San Mateo County’s active transportation program.
Prior to C/CAG, Ms. Cheung worked at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as a Senior Project Manager, leading activities of the regional Transportation Management System Program and implementing policy changes to provide a vehicle to deliver technology-based solutions.
Ms. Cheung holds an advanced degree from the Mineta Transportation Institute, and is an alumni of the University of California at Berkeley (Go Bears!).
Keith Williams, Senior Transportation Planner
Shasta Regional Transportation Agency
Keith Williams, AICP, is a Senior Transportation Planner at the Shasta Regional Transportation Agency (SRTA), the metropolitan planning organization and regional transportation planning agency for the Shasta Region. Keith leads SRTA staff’s coordinated effort with local agencies on conducting public outreach and preparing conceptual drawings to get bicycle and pedestrian projects ready for competitive grant programs. Additionally, Keith is learning to manage the region’s four-year program of planned transportation projects in the Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP).
Over the last eight years, Keith has transitioned from annually assessing the region’s transit performance and needs, growing the Social Services Transportation Advisory Council, and developing public participation plans to regional partnership and development of active transportation projects and FTIP management. He serves on the California Walk and Bike Technical Advisory Committee and the technical advisory committee for the state’s Active Transportation Program (ATP). He led the region’s recent effort to submit twice as many ATP applications as were submitted in previous grant program cycles, an effort that led to $17.5-$44 million in ATP Cycle 5 awards, depending on potential state funding augmentation
Kỳ-Nam Miller, Assistant Director for Public Engagement
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Kỳ-Nam Miller is the Assistant Director for Public Engagement at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Previously he had leadership roles at non-profit organizations devoted to advancing racial equity and building wealth in communities of color through a variety of strategies, including housing policy, financial empowerment, bank accountability, and investing in people of color-owned businesses and nonprofits. He spent time in Washington D.C. as an aide to Congresswoman Barbara Lee, and also advocated for low-income communities during Dodd-Frank financial reform during the Great Recession. A California bar-certified attorney, Ky-Nam received his Masters from the London School of Economics, and graduated with honors from UC Berkeley, where he competed on national champion rugby and heavyweight rowing varsity teams.
Mary-Michal Rawling, Public Affairs Manager
Merced County Association of Governments
Mary-Michal Rawling is the Public Affairs Manager for the Merced County Association of Governments where she handles all external communications and activities for the organization, including its three other affiliated agencies – Transit Joint Powers Authority of Merced County, Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System, and the Merced County Regional Waste Management Authority – as well as Measure V, the local transportation sale tax. She also volunteers her time as the Past-President of Soroptimist International of Merced, and an Assistant Coach for the Merced College Volleyball varsity women’s team. Her past accomplishments include being elected to the Merced City Council for a four-year term in 2009 and co-chairing the City’s 125th Anniversary celebration in 2014. Mary-Michal has served on many volunteer committees since moving to Merced in 2002 including the County High Speed Rail Committee, MCAG’s Alternative Planning Strategy Steering Committee, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee, Merced County Tobacco Use Prevention coalition, the Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and the County’s Transportation Expenditure Plan Steering Committee which formulated the Measure V ballot measure that was passed by local voters in 2016. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Clark University in Worcester, MA and her Master of Public Administration from California State University Stanislaus. In 2018, she was named the Chamber’s Woman of the Year. Mary-Michal and her husband have two children, ages 10 and eight.
Michael Germeraad, Resilience Planner
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Michael Germeraad is a resilience planner for the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). He supports Bay Area cities with hazard mitigation, climate adaptation, and resilience planning efforts. His work and past research has focused on infrastructure vulnerability assessments and connecting sustainability and resilience policies. In 2021 he has worked to integrate resilience into the next long-range regional plan for the nine-county Bay Area and support cities integrate resilience into General Plan Housing Elements. You can follow Michael @Get2Resilience on twitter.
Michelle Bastidas, Administrative/Financial Analyst II
My name is Michelle Bastidas and I work for Imperial County Transportation Commission. I have worked for ICTC for almost 8 years, and I am the Administrative/Financial Analyst II for the agency. I have a B.A. in Public Administration from San Diego State University and a Master of Administration Public Management from Northern Arizona University. I live in Imperial County in Southern California, right next to the Mexican border.
Michael Becker, Director of Planning
Santa Barbara County Association of Governments
Michael Becker is the Director of Planning for the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG). In this role, Michael manages the development of the Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities’ Strategy, the Regional Housing Needs Allocation, and many other planning projects undertaken by SBCAG. Prior to coming to SBCAG in 2014, he worked for eight years at the regional planning agency for the Greater Philadelphia region. While in Philadelphia, he also earned his M.A. from Temple University. In his free time Michael enjoys cycling the hills of Santa Barbara and spending time with his family, including his two young daughters.
Molly Graham, Public Outreach Coordinator
Transportation Authority of Marin
Molly Graham serves as the Public Outreach Coordinator for the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) and is responsible for managing the public outreach program to increase awareness of, and participation in, the programs and projects funded through TAM. Molly helped manage the successful renewal of the ½-cent Transportation Sales Tax in Marin County and is responsible for TAM outreach and communications. Prior to joining TAM, Molly worked in the private sector specializing in community engagement for construction and transportation projects and was the spokesperson and communications manager for the Doyle Drive/Presidio Parkway project in San Francisco. Molly has worked with project sponsors including San Francisco County Transportation Authority, Caltrans, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, the County of Marin, the City of Palo Alto and Stanford University.
Sanjay Mishra, Program Manager-Engineer
Napa Valley Transportation Authority
I am a licensed Civil Engineer and a Traffic Engineer in California and have over 30 years of working experience in various capacities. My work experience encompasses overseas projects in India and Singapore. I have worked for various bay area cities as a consultant and as a City employee. My current work requires co-ordination with many agencies i.e. State, Federal and Local.
My project work experience includes industrial (power plant, glass plant), transportation (underground subway, expressway and bridges etc.), water and wastewater infrastructure and local capital projects. I am proficient in various computer software and learn programming at my leisure.
I love to listen to music and have trying to learn and play guitar and piano.
Tarienne Grover, Director – Administrative Services
Contra Costa Transportation Authority
As the Director, Administrative Services, she also serves as the Clerk of the Board for Contra Costa Transportation Authority. Tarienne manages the logistics of Authority Board meetings and provides administrative assistance to Authority Board members. She is also responsible for Administration, Facilities, Human Resources and administrative support to the Executive Director.
Tarienne is a graduate of Golden Gate University and received her B.A. in Business Management with a concentration in Human Resources Management in 2015. Tarienne also earned an Executive Master’s Degree in Public Administration in 2016. She received a designation as a Certified Municipal Clerk in 2015 and a Master Municipal Clerk in 2017 from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks.
Tarienne joined the Contra Costa Transportation Authority in February 2016 and has over 18 years of experience working in local government for both a city and a special district.
Tuere Fa’aola, Regional Planning Program Manager
San Diego Association of Governments
Tuere Fa’aola is the Regional Planning Program Manager for the Sustainable Communities section where she oversees work on the Regional Plan, land use, housing, equity, and climate resilience. She joined SANDAG in 2019 after working many years as a consultant leading major transportation, transit and land use, and multimodal projects in Southern California. In addition to leading the Sustainable Communities section, Tuere was the co-lead for the Complete Corridors element of the 5 Big Moves of the 2021 Regional Plan. And, she serves as the Chair of SANDAG’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.
Outside of her role at SANDAG, Tuere is actively involved in the WTS San Diego County chapter having served on the board of directors for many years. The chapter has honored her with both a Member of the Year award and Rosa Parks Diversity Leadership award. She also serves as the Vice Chair of the City of Chula Vista Safety Commission. Tuere earned her the Master’s in City Planning from San Diego State University and Bachelor of Science in Geography from Old Dominion University.
Name pronunciation: Tuere (to-air-ray) Fa’aola (fā–ā-ola)
Victoria Cacciatore, Senior Analyst
Sacramento Area Council of Governments
Victoria Cacciatore is a Senior Transportation Analyst at the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. She focuses on human-scale transportation and public projects and programs, from engagement and planning to helping local implementers fund improvements. Victoria’s rural upbringing shaped her deep appreciation for independent mobility and the impact of land use decisions. She looks forward to establishing relationships with the CARL cohort and strengthening her potential to influence regional sustainability, livability, and equity goals.
Yanmei Ou, Transportation Modeling and Analysis Team Manager
Sacramento Area Council of Governments
Yanmei Ou has worked in SACOG’s Transportation Modeling and Analysis team for over 10 years, and is currently managing the team. Yanmei has participated three MTP/SCS plan updates and actively involved in developing and modeling scenarios and VMT/GHG analysis of the plans. In between MTP/SCS cycles, she also worked on activity based travel demand model development and calibration. Before joining SACOG, she had worked in TomTom as Sr. Software Engineer in digital map production. Yanmei earned her Master and Ph.D. from University of Idaho in GIS. When not busy in modeling, her passion is gardening. She turned her front and back yard as edible garden and grows many varieties of fruit trees and vegetables.