Page 171 - SAC - DPW - AMB 09 05 19

One of the functions of my division is transportation planning. Fresno is a community is very fast growing
and we get quite a few maps around traffic impact and I am very actively involved in reviewing those
TIS's

The State of California has passed laws requiring increased recycling of Organic Waste, with the
goal of reducing disposal of organic waste by 50 percent compared to 2014 levels, by 2020.
Please provide your experience with recycling and solid waste in addressing this issue.

My experience with Solid Waste has been limited to the design of the American Avenue Landfill. That
doesn't mean that I don't understand what the Solid Waste operation is. Those functions are solid waste
landfull operations. Recycling, all that is managed by our resource division. I know the functions, we are
very active. That's not my responsibility. As far as the target for recycling, I am familiar with California
laws, and the challenge that we have for our recycled materials.

What experience do you have in supervising a diverse group of employees, mentoring and growing
them, and what employment issues and challenges have you faced in embracing diversity?

I cherish diversity. My team right now is a staff of 40 people. Our backgrounds are from 12 different
nations. Honestly, I cherish that. Being an immigrant to this country and having worked with people
with diverse backgrounds I appreciate what everyone brings to the table. We have potlucks, softball
games, all types of activity outside of work that creates a family feel. That's how I manage my team
because I truly believe in creating a team environment. Everyone in my team understands their role.
That's something that I have really asked my staff to appreciate and become part of this. If you are not
a team player, in today's engineering, there is no way any engineer can deliver a project by
themselves ­ we have to trust one another and rely on one another. Diversity is important, making sure
that everyone understands and appreciates diversity is important ­ if you have one bad apple who
doesn't appreciate diversity ­ it can create a lot of headache for the rest of the team.

The DPW will manage seven divisions and a staff of over 700. What do you see as the challenges
and what is your experience in managing multiple divisions?

I have managed staff at different levels throughout my career. When I was in academia I was a research
professor - those teams were small in magnitude but the projects were very complicated. Getting the
team to work cohesively was a challenge. My team here, even thought the number is larger, it's 40. The
roles that we have, the engineers that we have, they work on similar kinds of projects. As the size of the
team grows, managing it becomes more difficult. Having reliable supervisors is what makes directing a
department successful or unsuccessful. You have to trust in your managers to know their work - the
managers need to rely on their supervisors. You have to make sure the work is being taken care of
correctly, to make sure we are taking care of our job effectively. Need to make sure our Department is
running smoothly, but we are not going to sit down and make sure everyone is part of the team and
create an environment where everyone wants to do their best.

Anything else you would like to add? If out of area? Are you willing to relocate to the Bay Area
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