A San Leandro woman has been appointed director of the California Department of Transportation by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Dina El-Tawansy was named Wednesday to manage a staff of more than 22,000. The proposed budget for 2025-26 is about $18.7 billion.
Since 2021, El-Tawansy has been director of Caltrans operations in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties.
She earned a master’s degree in construction management from California State University, Long Beach and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from California Polytechnic State University, Pomona.
El-Tawansy’s compensation is $227,388, according to the governor’s office.