Each year, the Los Angeles Section presents Project and Individual Awards at the Section Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon Ceremony. These Awards are selected from nominations made by the Branches, Younger Member Forum, Life Member Forum, Technical Groups, Committees, and individual members. All nominations should be coordinated with and processed through the local Branch in which the person is a member or where the project is located. All Award recipients, both Projects and Individuals, will be the official nominees for a Region 9 Award, and will be automatically forwarded to the Region 9 Awards Committee for consideration of a Region 9 Award to be presented in the following calendar year.

2025 INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS

Outstanding Civil Engineering Student - Ashley Esquerra, S.M.ASCE
Outstanding ASCE Faculty Advisor - Marwan N. Youssef, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE
Outstanding Practitioner Advisor - Mahsa Sheykhsoltan, P.E., M.ASCE
Outstanding YMF Officer - Celeste Chan, E.I.T., M.ASCE
Outstanding Life Member - Doug Sereno, P.E., ENV SP, BC.PE(Ret.), F.ASCE
Outstanding Younger Civil Engineer - Sam Potts, P.E., M.ASCE
Outstanding Branch Officer - Ben Baker, P.E., M.ASCE
Outstanding Civil Engineer in Community Service - Rianne Okamoto, P.E., M.ASCE
Outstanding Civil Engineer in Legislative Activities - Dana Robertson, P.E., M.ASCE
Outstanding Civil Engineer In Private Sector - Cesar Ortiz, P.E., T.E.
Outstanding Civil Engineer In Public Sector - Jeannie Lee, P.E., M.ASCE
Outstanding Infrastructure Advocate of the Year - Stephanie Wiggins
Excellence in Journalism - Alissa Walker
Lifetime Achievement Award - John Twyman Morris, P.E., BC.WRE(Hon.), F.ASCE

2025 PROJECT AWARD WINNERS

Outstanding Architectural Engineering Project - Washington Elementary School
Outstanding Airport/Port - Congressman Alan Lowenthal Global Trade and Education Center
Outstanding Bikeways and Trails Project - Adams Avenue and Pinecreek Drive Intersection Multimodal Improvements Project
Outstanding Bridge Project - Pier 400 On-Dock Rail Expansion
Outstanding Community Improvement Project - Cal Poly Partners Plaza - Spanos Stadium
Outstanding Construction Project - I-5 Improvement SR-73 to Oso Parkway
Outstanding Emergency Response/Preparedness - Mulholland Drive Emergency Bulkheads
Outstanding Energy Project - Isomax Heat Integration and Decarbonization
Outstanding Environmental Engineering Project - King Street Urban Greening Project
Outstanding Flood Management Project - Rienda C-Complex Flood Basin
Outstanding Geotechnical Project - Jamboree Road Pavement Rehabilitation
Outstanding Historical Renovation Project - Queen Mary Preservation and Olympic Readiness Project
Outstanding Parks and Recreation Project - Riverside Park Restoration
Outstanding Roadways and Highways Project - Orangewood Avenue Improvements from State College Boulevard to the Santa Ana River
Outstanding Small Project - Afterbay Reservoir Lining
Outstanding Structural Engineering Project - Moss Street Beach Access Improvements
Outstanding Sustainable Project - Broderson Avenue Vegetation Management
Outstanding Transportation Project - Rosecrans/Marquardt Grade Separation
Outstanding Urban or Land Development Project - Century Villages at Cabrillo - The Cove, Phase 4
Outstanding Water Project - Return Capacity Improvements for Regional Drought Resiliency
Outstanding Water/Wastewater Treatment Project - Fullerton Main Plant PFAS Treatment Plant

2025 ASCE LA Section Annual Awards

We enjoyed hosting you at the ASCE Los Angeles Section 2025 Awards Event and Officer Installation at the iconic Petersen Museum! ASCE was honored to award the best projects and individuals from our profession throughout the LA Section covering over 8,000 Civil Engineers and 7 Counties!

This was an exciting opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our peers, expand our professional networks, and enjoy the world-renowned automotive exhibits that highlight the intersection of engineering and car culture.

Special thank you to our fascinating speaker, Stephanie Wiggins, CEO of Metro!

MEET OUR SPEAKER: STEPHANIE WIGGINS

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, METRO

Stephanie Wiggins is the CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), the lead transportation planning, programming, financing, and construction agency for the 10 million residents of LA County and the second busiest transit agency in the United States. As CEO of Metro, Wiggins leads a public agency with 12,000 employees and an annual budget of $9 billion. Wiggins also leads the nation’s largest transportation capital improvement program, with $26 billion worth of projects in active planning or construction. A lifelong trailblazer and champion of equity and inclusion, Ms. Wiggins is the first woman – and first African American woman – to lead Metro.

Over her three-decade career in transportation, Wiggins has led numerous initiatives that have driven innovation in the transportation industry and centered equity in the delivery of transit and transportation services. As CEO of Metro, Wiggins has led massive investments to improve the transit customer experience, including the creation of the nation’s largest transit ambassador program, and numerous other improvements related to safety, cleanliness, and reliability. She has also overseen the delivery of several transit megaprojects, including the $2.3 billion K Line in south LA and the $1.9 billion Regional Connector in downtown LA. She has also ensured Metro’s transportation investments are as equitable as possible through the implementation of Equitable Zero-Based Budgeting. Ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Wiggins is also leading the delivery of dozens of projects that will leave a legacy of permanent transit improvements for LA County’s residents.

Before joining Metro as CEO in June 2021, Wiggins served as the CEO of Metrolink, the nation’s third largest passenger rail system with 538 route-miles throughout Southern California where she grew ridership to historic levels pre-pandemic. Prior to Metrolink, Wiggins was Deputy CEO of Metro, where she assisted the CEO in providing leadership, formulating, and achieving strategic public transportation objectives, including the passage of Measure M, a half-cent sales tax approved by 71 percent of voters in LA County. Earlier in her career, Wiggins led the creation of LA County’s first high occupancy toll lanes, known as ExpressLanes and greatly expanded Metro’s utilization of local, small, and historically underutilized businesses through new inclusive procurement strategies.

Wiggins is a graduate of Whittier College and holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. She has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 2024 Bond Buyer Freda Johnson Award of Trailblazing Woman in Public Finance. She is the founding president of the Inland Empire Chapter of Women’s Transportation Seminar, a Board Member of the Los Angeles Chapter of Friends of the Children, the Wiley Center for Speech and Language Development, the Southern California Leadership Council, and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.