Mobility 21 to Host 7th Annual
Sacramento Legislative Reception
Please join the Mobility 21 Board of Directors and Advisory Board Members in honoring California’s transportation leaders at a reception in Sacramento.
Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2023
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
The Citizen Hotel
926 J Street, Sacramento
Sponsor the Event
$2,000 Host Level
Includes complimentary attendance for 5 and logo on event marketing and signage
$1,000 Support Level
Includes complimentary attendance for 2 and logo on event marketing and signage
$500 Small Business Level
Includes complimentary attendance for 1 and logo on event marketing and signage
Contact Kristin Slocum to sponsor the event.
Registration
$95 Private Sector
$45 Public Sector/Nonprofit
Elected Officials and Elected Staff complimentary
Mobility 21 Advisory Board Member Spotlight:
Les Hopper
Vice President, Western Regional Practice Lead—Transportation
Michael Baker International
Les Hopper, PE is Vice President and the Western Regional Practice Lead for Transportation at Michael Baker International (Michael Baker). In this role, he is responsible for growing the practice through collaboration with our team of transportation professionals throughout California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Alaska. He is also collaborating with other RPLs nationally in a leadership role. His work has focused on company growth through business development, sound project management, and the creation and execution of successful marketing strategies- both locally and regionally.
Les has over 40 years of hands-on experience in the management, planning, permitting, and design of both public and private projects from inception through construction. Project experience includes preliminary studies, local roadways and state highways and interchanges, multi-use facilities, environmental reports, and both heavy and light rail improvements. He brings specialization in the coordination of owner, multiple agencies, and stakeholders on large scale complex projects- with an emphasis on gaining approvals through each process milestone. Les has also been a principal owner of several planning and engineering firms and is also experienced in private project development and entitlement processes from conceptual plans through final design of subdivision and commercial site work.
During his career Les has managed on-call contracts with MPOs and Caltrans totaling well over $100,000,000 and has managed or participated in projects ranging from new bike paths to the $120M West Mission Bay Bridge Replacement and the Grand Del Mar five-star resort. He is currently managing the SR-60/ World Logistics Center Interchange project in Moreno Valley as well as several Caltrans Broadband on-call procurements.
Les is a Registered Civil Engineering in the states of California and Nevada, and holds a Masters of Business Administration from Chapman University. In addition to his role as a Mobility 21 Advisory Board member, Les is serving on the statewide ACEC Professional Liaison Committee, the SANDAG Independent Taxpayers Oversight Committee (ITOC), and the San Diego Transportation Development Association board (past president). He is also the past chair of the ACEC/ SANDAG Transportation Liaison Committee, a member of the LA Chamber of Commerce, and participates in or serves on the board of several other professional society groups such as WTS and APWA. Les and his wife Susie live in North County San Diego and have one son (Noa- 24 years old). In his spare time Les enjoys paddling sports such as Hawaiian outrigger and dragon boat racing. He has also organized a number of SUP paddling events to benefit charities.
Mobility 21 Advisory Board Member Spotlight:
Andrew Liu
Senior Vice President, Regional Business Line Leader, US West Transportation
AECOM
Andrew Liu is Senior Vice President and Regional Business Line Leader for US West Transportation at AECOM. In this role, he oversees all business operations for Aviation and Ports & Marine for 33 states in the western United States; and Transit-Rail, Highways & Bridges, Intelligent Transportation Systems, and PMCM for the west coast. Mr. Liu is based out of AECOM’s Downtown Los Angeles office.
Andrew is a native Angeleno, born and raised, and currently resides in the City of Arcadia with his wife and three sons. He is a civil engineer by background, with approximately 25 years of experience in design, construction, and project management of transportation infrastructure including transit systems, highways, bridges, airports, and ports. Prior to his current role, he has also held multiple senior transportation leadership roles at AECOM and Parsons, and an emerging transportation startup.
Outside of AECOM, Andrew serves on multiple external organizations including on the current board of California Transportation Foundation and Smart City Works Venture Studio; and previously as the Chair of the ITS Americas Emerging Technologies committee, Board of the LA Chapter of ASCE Geo-Institute, and Aspire ERC (a NSF engineering research center focused on transportation electrification).
Andrew is a licensed Civil and Geotechnical Engineer in the State of California and received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Civil Engineering from UCLA with honors, and his MBA from the Wharton School.
OCTA Board Selects Tam T. Nguyen of
Fountain Valley to Serve as New Chair
The Board of Directors of the Orange County Transportation Authority unanimously selected Tam T. Nguyen as its new chair for 2024.
The Board also appointed Doug Chaffee to serve as Vice Chair and four members were sworn into new terms on the Orange County transportation board.
With an annual budget of $1.7 billion, OCTA is responsible for planning, funding and delivering public transportation improvements for Orange County.
Last year, Chair Nguyen served as vice chair on the OCTA Board of Directors. He replaces outgoing Chairman Gene Hernandez.
Nguyen, a Fountain Valley resident, is a community and education leader.
“Since being appointed to serve as a public member on the OCTA Board in 2021, I have witnessed firsthand how much this agency is making a difference in helping to enhance travel options for residents, businesses and visitors,” Nguyen said. “I am grateful for the tremendous amount of trust of my fellow board members in selecting me as their chair, and I look forward to working with them as stewards of the public’s funds to continue innovating and delivering a balanced, equitable and sustainable transportation system for Orange County’s diverse communities.”
Chair Nguyen serves as one of two public members on the OCTA Board, and he has served in that capacity since April 2021. Nguyen has been a member of OCTA’s Diverse Community Leaders Group since its creation more than a decade ago.
Nguyen is also respected throughout the county as a leader in business and philanthropy. He is co-owner of Advance Beauty College, a second generation, family-owned business that was founded in 1987. Over 50,000 students have graduated from its innovative training with many becoming successful entrepreneurs, beauty manufacturers and salon owners in the beauty-care industry throughout North America.
Under his leadership as president from 1999 to 2022, Advance Beauty College has become nationally recognized for its manicuring program. It has been honored as a Civic 50 OC, Excellence in Education, Center for Family Business Hall of Fame Commitment to Education Award and Inaugural Golden School Award from the American Association of Cosmetology Schools.
Nguyen teaches business management at California State University, Fullerton, and is past president of the university’s alumni association. In 2015, he received the Cal State Fullerton Vision & Visionaries Award. He is currently the chair of the Cal State Fullerton’s Philanthropic Foundation Board of Governors.
In addition to his leadership with Advance Beauty College and Cal State Fullerton, Nguyen serves on the board of directors for Genesis Bank, MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center & Saddleback Medical Center, Small Business Diversity Network, Orange County United Way, Pro Nails Association, Center for Family Business, Garden Grove Police Chief’s Advisory Council and recently the board of the Garden Grove Community Foundation, Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce and Project Vietnam Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nguyen co-founded Nailing It for America, a volunteer group that helped collect and deliver nearly $30 million worth of personal protective equipment for healthcare professionals, frontline workers and vulnerable community members.
Chair Nguyen was 1 year old when he and his family arrived in California in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War. He and his wife are proud to be raising their three children in Fountain Valley and to be part of Orange County’s vibrant Vietnamese American community. He is a local college graduate who studied at both UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton.
Newly appointed members of the OCTA Board include: Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken, Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua, Garden Grove Councilmember Stephanie Klopfenstein and Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens.
The OCTA Board is comprised of 18 members, including the five county supervisors, two members from city councils in each of the five supervisorial districts, two public members and the Caltrans District Director serves in a non-voting ex-officio capacity.
I-15 Express Lanes Extension to Lake Elsinore Moves Along
Extending the I-15 Express Lanes south beyond Cajalco Road in Corona is part of RCTC’s 10-Year Western Riverside County Delivery Plan to deliver traffic relief to the growing communities along the I-15 corridor. With the approval of the Project and Construction Management (PCM) contract to Parsons, the Commission is getting ready to line up contractors and agency agreements to begin construction on the 15 Express Lanes Project Southern Extension (ELPSE) by 2026.
The 15 ELPSE will construct two express lanes in each direction from Cajalco Road to State Route 74 (Central Ave.) in Lake Elsinore. This 14.5-mile extension of the Riverside County express lanes system is designed to bring much-needed mobility options to the area. Over the past 20 years, the community of Temescal Valley and the cities of Lake Elsinore and Corona have grown tremendously, bringing with it new housing, residents, and increased travel throughout the region.
Once complete, the new express lanes will give motorists an option for a reliable commute between Lake Elsinore, the 60, and Orange County. With additional lanes, congestion relief of the general-purpose lanes is possible, improving traffic operations. The 15 ELPSE will also help improve transit and rideshare options by providing free-flowing lanes to buses and commuters that carpool or vanpool. This cost-effective commute opens possibilities for new routes and employers to incentivize employees to avoid solo car trips.
The Commission will use an innovative progressive design-build project delivery method to speed up construction. Unlike traditional construction-bid delivery methods, the progressive design-build method will allow RCTC to engage with the design-build contractor earlier, enabling solutions that save funding and help maintain the construction schedule. This progressive design-build approach is vital as the Commission continues to assemble funding for this project. With this process, RCTC will have the option to build and deliver the project in phases. This innovative project method is made possible by the passage of recently approved Senate Bill 617.
The project is a partnership between RCTC and Caltrans and will be funded with a combination of federal and local sources. Sign up to receive project updates at rctc.org/15expsouth
Elected by the OCTA Board to serve as Vice Chair for 2024 was Director Doug Chaffee.
2024 Go Human Community Streets Grant Program Open for Applications
SCAG’s 2024 Go Human Community Streets Grant Program awards funding to eligible community organizations to implement local traffic safety strategies through community engagement projects. SCAG will award up to $30,000 to approximately 12 selected traffic safety projects in the SCAG region. The program’s Call for Applications is now open, with applications due on Friday, Feb. 2. Learn more about the program by reviewing the Program Guidelines and registering for the upcoming application webinar or to join SCAG staff for office hours.