Bios

Alvin Papa – Chapter President 

Alvin has 20+ years of public works experience and is the Director of Public Works at the City of Cerritos. Alvin is a registered Civil Engineer and holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from CSULB. He enjoys rock climbing, snowboarding, hiking, and fishing. He currently serves as Chair of the Membership Committee and Co-Chair of the Mentorship Committee.

Kelli Pickler – President-Elect/Secretary/Treasurer 

Kelli Pickler PE is the Lakewood Public Works Director.  Kelli also serves as Co-Chair of the Awards Committee and a member of the Golf Committee. She usually spends her weekends on a pool deck watching her son and daughter play water polo, but when she finds time she loves skiing and golfing.

Reuben Tolentino – Ist VP 

Reuben Tolentino serves as Principal/Vice President at Psomas and Regional Manager overseeing the Orange County Office.  Reuben has served on the APWA SoCal Board and C-Chairs the Chapter Mentor Program.  Reuben previously served as CIP Coordinator for the Long Beach Public Works Dept.  Reuben is a proud father of 4 and enjoys family time in Hawaii.

Ken Taylor – 2nd VP 

Design Manager at Griffith Company.  Responsible for business development and marketing for transportation projects in southern California, including large multidiscipline design-build projects, BRT, light rail and regional rail improvements, grade separations, station site design, flood control facilities, storm drain, water, sewer, and other municipal facility projects.

Vincent Hellens – Past President 

Vincent is the California Regional Manager at Alta Planning + Design. He’s a Principal with over 17 years of transportation management and design experience. Vincent has won the coveted Chapter’s Emerging Leader Award for 2015 and was a graduate of APWA’s Emerging Leaders Academy, Class X. He serves on the National Public Works Institute Committee and co-chairs the highly successful SoCal APWA Public Works Institute.

Carlos Castellanos – Delegate

Carlos is the Anaheim City Engineer. He is a licensed Civil Engineer with a BSCE (CSULB), MS – Construction Engineering (CSUF) and Executive MBA – Real Estate Development (UCI), with 20 years of government experience. Carlos is passionate about learning, teaches SAC, SCC and SDSU & coaches youth sports. He is also the Chapter Installation Committee Chair.

 Nicole Jules – Director

Nicole is the Lead for the Traffic & Transportation Services for Ardurra. She presently serves as the Public Works Institute Committee Co-Chair.  Nicole is a Registered Civil Engineer and member of many professional and community service organizations.  She is mom to 2 kids, 2 dogs and 4 guinea pigs and loves the beach and the outdoors

Tom Wheeler – Director

Tom is the Public Works Director and City Engineer for the City of Lake Forest. Tom is responsible for all CIPs, engineering related private development inspections and plan checks, solid waste services, flood control, traffic, and road and park maintenance. One of Tom’s projects, the City’s new Civic Center, won the 2020 National APWA project of the year award.

 Jesseca Martinez – Director

Jesseca Martinez is a Transportation Design Engineer II at Mark Thomas. She is the Young Professionals Committee President 2022 and Chairs the Scholarship Committee. Jesseca enjoys going on scary tours, collecting pins, attending concerts and trying out new cuisines.  She was honored as the APWA SoCal 2017 Emerging Leader of the Year – Private Sector.

Chris Tanio – Director

Chris is the Deputy Director of Public Works/City Engineer for the City of Placentia.  He presently serves as the Programs Co-Chair of the APWA SoCal Chapter and as a member on the APWA National Certified Public Works Professional (CPWP) Council. In his spare time, he enjoys playing basketball.

Rene Guerrero – Director

Rene Guerrero, P.E. has 25 years of public works experience and is currently the Deputy Director of Public Works for the City of Ontario. He is currently a Mentor in the Mentorship Program. Rene is very proud of his son and daughter who currently attend UCSD and Chapman University, respectively. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf.

Victor Chavez – Director

Victor is an Associate Engineer for the Costa Mesa Public Services Department. He is currently the SoCal Chapter’s Young Professionals Co-Chair, and serves on the APWA National Young Professionals Committee as the Region 8 liaison. Victor enjoys golfing, traveling, race car driving, and connecting with others that are passionate about giving back to the community!

Lisette Bice – Director

Lisette Bice is a seasoned Senior Project Manager in the Public Works group at Ardurra, where she brings over 20 years of expertise in civil engineering to her role. She is currently serving on both the APWA Scholarship and Membership Committees. As a licensed civil engineer, Lisette has a proven track record of leading successful projects that contribute to the growth and development of public infrastructure. Outside of her professional life, she is an avid outdoors enthusiast, whether she’s hiking the trails on foot or exploring new terrains by four-wheel drive.

Steven Anderson – Director

Steve is a senior civil engineer for David Evans and Associates.  He is currently the chair of the SoCal PWX Conference,  held every April at the Carson Events Center.  He is also very involved with government relations, visiting Sacramento every year and providing guidance on bills introduced to the California legislature.  Steve enjoys playing tennis and the piano when he’s not chasing his two toddlers around the park. 

John Martin – Director

John is the Construction Contracts Administrator for the City of Anaheim.  He has been serving as the Programs Co-Chair since 2022, is a licensed Mechanical Engineer, and graduate of UCLA.  In his spare time, he enjoys watching sports and spending time with his three kids, wife, and dog.

Shahnawaz Ahmad – Director

Shahnawaz is President of SA Associates, a consulting engineering firm, specializing in water and wastewater engineering, with offices in Arcadia and Anaheim. Shahn has a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and a Master’s in Sanitary Engineering.  Shahn has a long history of service to APWA.  At the local level, he served as President of the Southern California Chapter in 2003, and then as a Chapter Delegate from 2004 to 2013.  He then became the Region VIII Director from 2015 to 2021. He was recently selected for the APWA Top 10 Public Works Leaders Award. Shahn is married to Farah and has 4 beautiful daughters.  He is also an avid tennis player.

Jerry Burke – Inland Empire Branch President

Jerry is the Director of Engineering at Inland Empire Utilities Agency in Chino, California. He started his Civil Engineering career in 1989 with the County of Los Angeles in Alhambra, California and spent almost 17 years there working in various Divisions such as Bridge Inspection, Facilities Maintenance, Road Maintenance, Flood Control and finally, Watershed Management. In 2006 he joined the private sector working with a Civil Engineering firm then in 2009 he went to work as the City Engineer/Assistant Director of Public Works for the City of Glendora and since 2015 he has worked at the Inland Empire Utilities Agency helping to manage their capital improvement program of over $900 million dollars in projects. He lives in Norco, California with his wife, dog and two horses.

Tim Jonasson – Coachella Valley Branch President

Info coming soon.

Amalia Marreh – High Desert Branch President

Amalia Marreh is the Assistant City Engineer for City of Santa Clarita Public Works Department, she has been an active member of the High Desert Branch and served as a Director as well as on the Audit, Communication and Membership committees. She went to schools in Toronto and is an avid Maple Leafs hockey fan.

Trish Pietrzak – Chapter Administrator

Trish Pietrzak is the owner of Maverick Group, a consulting firm, and has volunteered in many roles with APWA since 1998. Trish serves APWA as the chapter administrator for APWA SoCal Chapter since 2011.  She handles chapter administration, strategic planning, marketing and pr, customer relations, finance and event coordination.  Originally from Australia, she enjoys skiing, horse riding and attending her daughter’s many sports events with her husband, Terrell.

Trish@maverickgroupinc.com

310-995-9800