Committee Members
Our team is dedicated to making sure you have a great WRYMC experience.
Jane Tran
WRYMC 2017
Co-Chair
Jane Tran is an alumna of the University of California, Berkeley, and an Engineer IV for Hatch Mott MacDonald (HMM). She is a licensed Civil Engineer in California currently working on the structural design of underground station boxes and aerial structures for rail transit projects. Her experience includes design and task management for various transportation infrastructure projects throughout California, including the Regional Connector Project, CA High Speed Rail, and the LAX Modernization Project. She has been actively involved with ASCE LA YMF since 2008, and was recognized as the ASCE MLAB Outstanding Engineer in Community Service (2011) and ASCE MLAB Outstanding Younger Civil Engineer (2014). Jane is currently serving as LA YMF Past President and WRYMC 2017 Committee Co-Chair.
George Huang
WRYMC 2017
Co-Chair
George Huang is a Civil Engineering Associate for the City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering. He is currently working on street rehabilitation and widening projects for the Street Improvement and Stormwater Division. He graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He has been actively involved with ASCE LA YMF and has previously served as the University Outreach Coordinator, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President, and President. He enjoys camping, biking, volunteering, basketball and tennis in his spare time. George is currently serving as LA YMF WRYMC 2017 Committee Co-Chair.
Linda Luu
Technical Presentations
Linda Luu is a Professional Engineer at Psomas. Linda works on land development projects throughout Los Angeles and surrounding cities, collaborating with architects and engineers from other firms on high rise buildings. She previously worked for Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), City of San Gabriel, and Parsons before joining Psomas in 2015. Linda received her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona. In her spare time, she likes to hike, cycle, binge-watch TV shows, catch up with friends, and volunteer as a career coach for Dress for Success in Los Angeles. She has been an active ASCE member since 2007 and began serving on the ASCE LA YMF Board in 2013. Linda was recognized as the 2016 ASCE MLAB and ASCE LA Section Outstanding Younger Civil Engineer of the Year. She currently serves on the WRYMC 2017 Committee coordinating Technical Presentations.
Arman Motavvef
Banquet Coodinator
Arman Motavvef is an Assistant Engineer in the Structural group at Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. He has previous structural design experience as a Design Engineer at Brandow & Johnston, Inc., working on the design of the 73 story Wilshire Grand tower in Los Angeles. Arman received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering at UC Irvine and his Master's Degree in Structural Engineering at UC San Diego. Arman served as Co-Community Service Chair and as Secretary before becoming Vice President. Outside of ASCE, his interests include visiting museums of any kind, going to concerts and musicals, cooking, and running.
Brian Phan
Registration and Webmaster
Brian Phan is a Transportation Engineer Associate for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. At LADOT, he is currently working on the development of Metro's Crenshaw/LAX line which is an 8.5 extension from the Metro's Expo line to the Metro Green line Aviation/LAX Station. Brian has been involved in ASCE since he was a college freshman as a Steel Bridge competition member and as External Vice-President of his ASCE Cal State LA student chapter. Besides school and work, Brian volunteers as the engineering coach for the nationally ranked Muscatel Middle School Science Olympiad team. On his spare time, Brian likes to travel, cook slow-smoked BBQ, snowboard, help out his community, karaoke, explore local cities for good eats, and relax with his friends. His dedication to ASCE and coaching has influenced him to serve as LA YMF Secretary & K-12 Outreach this year.
Heren Molina
Banquet Coordinator
Herendira (Heren) Molina is a Project Manager for PPC Construction, Inc. She currently manages the construction of various water/wastewater projects, including emergency response, for local and state government agencies in Southern California. In 2005, Heren earned her Civil Engineering degree from California State University, Northridge. Her extensive involvement in ASCE has led her to serve as chair for numerous committees and board positions including CSUN ASCE Student Chapter President, ASCE LA YMF President and ASCE MLAB President. She has received several recognitions, including the ASCE Metropolitan Los Angeles Branch Member of The Year Award (2016) and the Carl Bloom Award Recipient (2013) for her passion and dedication to LA YMF. One of her biggest passions is to help make a positive difference in her profession and community.
Chole Gharios
Social Activies
Chloe Gharios is working at Mark Thomas & Company in the Irvine office in their roadway department. In the past she was the ASCE President for her student chapter at Cal State Fullerton and received the Orange County Branch Civil Engineering Student of the Year. She is looking to pursue her master’s degree at UCLA. Chloe has been involved with ASCE OC YMF and is now currently working as the LA YMF WRYMC Social Chair. Outside of work, she is always found playing soccer or watching a soccer game!
Brooke Crowe
Agenda and Program
Brooke works for Accenture as a Technology Consulting Senior Analyst, currently completing database architecture and systems integration work on projects for various financial services companies. She graduated from UCLA in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering. While at UCLA, she was the ASCE at UCLA President, won the LA YMF Outstanding Student Member award (2014), and also received the UCLA HSSEAS Outstanding Large Student Organization Award. Brooke is currently serving as a LA YMF's Student Night and Job Fair Co-Chair and WYRMC's Program Chair.
Sabrina Rivera
Transportation
Sabrina Rivera is a Water Resources Engineer with Arcadis based in Los Angeles, CA. Her focus on the design and planning of water and wastewater infrastructure in southern California. Sabrina is a graduate of CSU, Long Beach and has been involved with ASCE since her student years.
Kevin Woods
Marketing and Webmaster
Kevin is a senior civil engineering assistant working on water system design improvements at the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works’ Waterworks Division. He graduated from UC Irvine with both his Masters and Bachelors of Civil Engineering. Besides ASCE, he enjoys working with his alma mater’s engineering alumni society, as president, and enjoying going out whether it’s playing sports, socializing, or camping. He is currently the Social Activities Chair.
Ruwanka Purasinghe
Technical Tours
Ruwanka Purasinghe is a Civil Engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). He is currently working for the Geotechnical Engineering Group in the Water Engineering and Technical Services Division. His current projects include the Griffith Park South Water Recycling Project, City Trunk Line South Tunneling Projects, and a variety of Reservoir/Dam projects for the City of Los Angeles. Ruwanka earned his B.S. Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Davis and his M.S. Degree in Civil Engineering from California State University, Los Angeles. Outside of his normal job, Ruwanka teaches Soil Mechanics 1 at CSULA and his interests include Sports, Traveling, and Fashion/Sneakers. Ruwanka is currently serving as President-Elect.
Kevin Chang
WRYMC Awards
Kevin Chang is a Civil Engineering Assistant with the County of Los Angeles, Department of Public Works, Waterworks Division. He is currently assigned to the special projects team of the Water Quality Unit and works on projects that have included the procurement of treatment technology and management of experimental studies. He recently graduated from UCLA with a master’s degree and Washington State University (WSU) with a bachelor’s degree, both in Civil Engineering with emphases on Water Resources & Environmental Engineering. During his studies at each university, Kevin was an active member of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), where he held positions including Student Chapter President and Steel Bridge Team Captain. His steel bridge teams advanced to the national competition each year and he was also awarded a scholarship for Outstanding Participation at the WSU Chapter by the ASCE Inland Empire Section.
Laura Rockett
Social Activities
Laura Rockett is a Principal Civil Engineering Assistant at the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works, working in the Road Maintenance Division. Prior to her transfer to Road Maintenance in 2012, Laura spent four years working in the County's Watershed Management Division. She graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in 2008 with a Bachelors of Science degree in Civil Engineering. Laura has been actively involved with the LA YMF since 2009 and previously co-chaired the Social Activities Committee, Community Service Committee, Popsicle Stick Bridge Committee and served as the LA YMF Vice-President. She is actively expanding her involvements with ASCE and is currently serving as the LA YMF Membership Co-Chair.
Kaitlin Hannon
Social Activites
Kaitlin Hannon is a registered Professional Civil Engineer working as an Engineering Assistant at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. Kaitlin graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering in May 2010. After college she became involved with LA YMF as the University Outreach Chair, and is currently serving as the Community Service Co-Chair. Kaitlin's hobbies include cooking, swimming, going to the beach, and spending time with her family, friends and dog.
Ben Baker
University Outreach
Benjamin Baker is currently a project engineer with Walsh Shea Corridor Constructors, the prime contractor joint venture for Los Angeles County Metro's Crenshaw/LAX Corridor rail transit project. In the past he has also worked as a project engineer in the civil division at KPFF Consulting Engineers, as an intern at the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works Bureau of Engineering (Bridge Improvement Division), and as a utilities engineer in the Rail Transit and Crossings Branch at the California Public Utilities Commission. He has a Master's of Science in Civil Engineering and Project Management from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor's of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UCLA. He has been involved with ASCE since 2006, including as a former officer and project manager for the UCLA student chapter.
Trent Casillas
Sponsorship
Co-Chair
Trent Casillas is a Staff Engineer at Brierley Associates working on geotechnical and tunneling projects in Los Angeles and around the country. He graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and received a Master of Science in Civil Engineering with a focus in Geotechnical Engineering from University of California Los Angeles in 2016. Trent has previous experience as Mentorship Co-Chair with Orange County YMF in 2014 to 2015 and is currently serving as Sponsorship Co-Chair for the WRYMC committee and Professional Development Co-Chair for Los Angeles YMF.
Nancy Duran
Sponsorship
Co-Chair
Nancy Duran was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from California State University of Los Angeles with a dual major in: Applied Mathematics and Civil Engineering. She currently works for Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.-- a contractor for SoCalGas--on the Pipeline Safety Enhancement Plan (PSEP) program which resulted after the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion. Nancy is working full-time whilst preparing to obtain her PE license and volunteering for ASCE LA YMF chapter. She currently holds the postitions: Professional Development Co-Chair and PE Review Course Co-Chair. Nancy loves to meet new people, explore new places, and try diverse foods.
