The California Transportation Commission has elected Carl Guardino as its chair and Darnell Grisby as its vice chair, effective March 1. Guardino was first appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to a four-year term on the commission in 2007. He has served as commission vice chair since 2022. Grisby was appointed to the commission by Gov. Gavin Newsom in March 2021. He currently serves as senior fellow at the Beneficial State Foundation, where he leads programs that support economic mobility through transportation and financial justice.

Donna Estacio has been hired as senior vice president of state and local government affairs for WSP’s West region. Based in Los Angeles, Estacio will direct state and local government relations in a 29-state region, including political and civic engagement activities and corporate strategy for public policy issues. Estacio’s most recent role was senior vice president of external affairs for Brookfield Properties. She previously served as a regional director of state and local government affairs for American Airlines and was the former director of state relations for the office of the mayor in Los Angeles. John Maloney has been promoted to WSP’s Pacific Mountain West district’s transportation business line lead. With more than two decades of experience, he recently served as project manager and architecture and engineering design oversight manager on the ODOT I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement project.

Syska Hennessy Group has hired Justin Di Palo to serve as co-lead of its national sustainability practice and associate partner based in the Los Angeles office. Previously, Di Palo was vice president and decarbonization specialist for JLL. Di Palo first joined Syska’s Los Angeles office in 2017 as a mechanical engineer and energy analyst, working on projects in the health care, commercial, aviation, civic and higher education sectors. In his current role, he will help oversee Syska’s team of technical sustainability experts.

Eugene “Gene” Kim has joined STV’s West transportation group as senior vice president and California area manager overseeing the transportation market across the state and driving business development, client and community relations, staff engagement, project delivery and financial performance. Prior to joining STV, he led the strategic delivery efforts for the West Coast transportation business at a global infrastructure consulting firm and served as deputy executive officer of mobility corridors at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

HNTB has hired Chad Allen as a transportation asset management practice consultant. He will develop strategies and frameworks to support asset management and risk management initiatives. Previously, he managed the asset and performance management program at the Seattle Dept. of Transportation and served as director of the asset management bureau at the Vermont Agency of Transportation. Angela Battle has joined HNTB as director of small business partnerships in Seattle, where she will manage programs to sustain and develop small business partnerships and foster diversity and inclusive business practices on projects throughout the Puget Sound region. A key program she will contribute to will be the Washington State Dept. of Transportation’s I-405/SR 167 Corridor Program. David Warner has joined HNTB Corp. as West region sales officer and senior vice president based in the firm’s Santa Ana, Calif., office. He will focus on growth in the company’s 13-state West region by further increasing HNTB’s strategic focus on clients’ infrastructure needs and successful project delivery. Warner was previously at WSP, where he served as California district leader and prior to that as the Pacific Northwest district leader. Amy Scarton has joined HNTB as business development officer and vice president in Seattle where she will focus on maximizing growth in the region, including serving as client service leader for HNTB’s infrastructure projects with Sound Transit. Prior to joining HNTB, Scarton served as deputy secretary of transportation for the Washington State Dept. of Transportation. Scarton was also deputy assistant secretary for transportation policy at the U.S. Dept. of Transportation and majority counsel for the subcommittee on highways and transit for the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Emily Kay has been named Balfour Beatty’s president of California operations, succeeding Brian Cahill, current California president. Cahill, a 31-year Balfour Beatty veteran, will retire at the end of 2024. A 10-year veteran of the firm, Kay has more than three decades of experience in the construction industry. At Balfour Beatty she has served as vice president of operations in California. She also spearheaded the expansion of Balfour Beatty’s special projects operations in the Los Angeles area, where the company provides services for a wide variety of market sectors. Kay will work in a transitional role until the end of the year and assumes her new role and responsibilities as president in California starting Jan. 1, 2025.

Swinerton has hired Lisa Podesto as the firm’s regional director of preconstruction for mass timber and sustainable construction innovation. In her new role, Podesto will continue championing low-carbon structural solutions like mass timber and guiding clients through the early stages of project development. Podesto is an authority on mass timber construction in the U.S. and has served advisory roles in organizations like Tallwood Design Institute, the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, the National Institute of Building Sciences and the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.

Alberici has hired Shelley Scalzo Brown as vice president of safety. She will oversee the implementation of the company’s industry-leading safety program and build on their Make It Personal safety approach that focuses on personal ownership and accountability for safety. Scalzo Brown is a certified safety professional with more than 20 years’ experience in the construction industry, including as corporate safety director at Bergelectric in Carlsbad, Calif., and vice president, safety, health and environment director at AECOM.

Parametrix has hired Sean Ryan as a senior construction manager in the firm’s community building division. He will provide project and construction management, owner’s representative, survey and landscape architecture services to public and private clients throughout the Pacific Northwest. Ryan was previously a senior project manager at Turner & Townsend Heery. He will be based in the firm’s Puyallup, Wash., office. Kimberly Kelsey has joined Parametrix as a principal consultant as part of the firm’s strategic advisory services team, providing owner advisory, business process improvement, organization development and strategic consulting services to public agencies across the Western U.S. Daniel Moore has joined Parametrix as a senior consultant with the firm’s greater Washington community building division, which provides project and construction management, owner’s representative, survey and landscape architecture services to public and private clients throughout the Pacific Northwest. He will be based in Parametrix’s Bremerton, Wash., office.

Global design firm Perkins Eastman has hired Nathan B. Cherry as a principal in its Los Angeles studio. With more than 30 years’ experience in urban development and design, Cherry’s portfolio includes innovation districts, transit adjacent mixed-use sites, sports and entertainment districts, downtown redevelopment and college and university campuses.

SWCA has promoted Amanda Ehrenkrantz to office director for the Pacific Islands. In this role, she will lead the Pacific Islands natural and cultural resources teams to win and successfully execute projects. With almost 20 years’ experience at the firm, Ehrenkrantz joined the company as a wildlife and botanical field technician and steadily rose through various positions in three SWCA offices—Salt Lake City, Half Moon Bay and Pacific Islands. Her most recent role was as a senior project manager focusing on endangered species, renewable generation and electric power transmission.

Harmik Aghanian has been named TYLin’s Vice President Growth, Southwest Water Sector leading the firm’s strategic growth initiatives in Southern California.  With nearly 25 years of experience in engineering and construction, he has managed client relationships with key water and wastewater agencies across Southern California and secured numerous multimillion-dollar contracts in new business. 

Ware Malcomb has promoted Tom Jansen to Regional Vice President for the firm’s Northwest Region where he will lead the firm’s services in the Pleasanton, Calif., San Francisco, and Seattle offices. Jansen, who has also been named a member of the firm’s executive team, has more than 25 years of design expertise and has held multiple leadership roles during his time at Ware Malcomb and most recently was Regional Principal for the Northwest region. Before joining the firm in 2016, he ran a successful Denver-based engineering firm for more than ten years. Ware Malcomb has announced that Angela Ryan has been promoted to Principal in the San Diego office where she is responsible for the growth and management of the San Diego Interior Architecture & Design, Retail and Healthcare studios. Robert Park has rejoined the firm as Director, Architecture in San Diego after four years as Director of Architecture for Ryan Companies, a U.S.-based industrial developer with projects nationwide. Karla Middleton has been promoted to Studio Manager, Architecture in the firm’s San Diego office. Her work shows a range of experience in multifamily, commercial architecture, tilt-up industrial, retail, and senior living. In Ware Malcomb’s Los Angeles office, Alicia Zaro has been named Principal, Joshua Thompson has been named Director, Interior Architecture & Design, and Mili Del Castillo has been hired as Director, Interior Design.

Coriann Presser has been named to President of the Lease Crutcher Lewis (Lewis)’s Washington Division. Presser joined Lewis in 2005 as an intern and has since served in the roles of project engineer, project manager, project executive, and most recently operations director leading the company’s Life Science market sector. Shannon Testa and James Furlan have been promoted to Vice President of Operations in Lewis’s Washington Division. Testa joined the firm’s Seattle office in 2007 and has played a major role in delivering Lewis’ marquee commercial projects, including high-rise office, residential and hospitality projects. Furlan, who has been at Lewis for a decade,  will oversee strategy and growth for Lewis’ corporate, healthcare and life science market sectors. Jeremy Callas has been promoted to Director of Operations for Lewis’ Corporate Market Sector in Washington leading targeted growth and client engagement for end-user spaces.

Fortis Construction has added construction-industry expert Ron Magnus to its Board of Directors as an Independent Director. Magnus is the founder of FMI’s Leadership & Organizational Development practice, and creator of its Leadership Institute which has consulted with Fortis for two decades. His addition makes him the first independent director for the Board of the privately held S-Corporation.

Exxel Pacific has promoted four team members into Vice President roles. Tyson Scheenstra has been promoted to Vice President of Operations, TJ Mellema to Regional Vice President of Exxel’s Bellingham, Wash. office, while Todd Williams and Eric Solem have been promoted as Co-Regional Vice Presidents of Exxel’s Bellevue, Wash. office.

Henderson Engineers has promoted Katie Molstad to retail sector design and construction director focused on leading the integration of retail projects between Henderson Engineers and sister company Henderson Building Solutions. Molstad previously held the role of luxury retail practice director which will be filled by Ryan Haug. Haug most recently served as a retail sector practice manager overseeing project execution and employee relations and performance. He helped lead the establishment of the company’s Los Angeles office in 2014 and has held the position of LA regional leader since 2021, a position that remains unchanged.

Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering has promoted Kyle Boyce to Principal. In his 11 years as a civil engineer, he has worked on institutional, civic, healthcare, and life science projects across Southern California. Jason Gordon has been named Sr. Project Manager for the firm overseeing site planning, civil utility and grading design, construction feasibility, water modeling systems, and construction administration.  

Gensler has promoted Hannah Dahlquist and Maurice Reid, to Managing Directors of its Portland office. Dahlquist has more than  two decades experience as an interior designer with outstanding leadership skills and dedication to pushing the boundaries of design excellence. Reid has 25-years’ experience garnering recognition for his collaborative approach to design and his unwavering commitment to client satisfaction.

Lora Apodaca has been named Tanagram Interiors Director of Business Development for Southern California. She will focus on expanding business opportunities for Tangram’s Healthcare, Education, and Audio-Visual teams. Ali McGee has been named Tanagram’s New Business Developer for Tangram’s Newport Beach office. Previously serving with Humanscale and Shaw Contract, she joined Tangram as an OC Sales Representative just one year ago. Gary Vilinsky has transitioned to Business Development for Tangram Southern California after nearly three decades of dedicated service to the company.