History Month

Caltrans Bay Area is proud of the diverse workforce and understands the importance of highlighting the history of our leaders, those who have left a legacy and created opportunities for others to shine and leave their own positive impact behind.

The traffic signal lights which can be found around the world wouldn’t be possible without Black inventor Garrett Morgan. Dan Kirkland, a trailblazer in his own right, became the first African American Bridge Engineer at Caltrans, which opened opportunities for others in the Department of Transportation.

Many women of color wrote their names in the history books.  Lois Cooper became the first African American women engineer at Caltrans. Dolores Huerta inspired a new generation of Dreamers that “Si Se Puede” is not only a phrase but words of inspiration for fighting for equal rights and better work conditions.

Oakland native, former California Attorney General, and Senator, Kamala Harris, became the first African and Asian American woman to become Vice President of the United States, certainly inspiring many of our youth, no matter their ethnicity, that they too can become Vice President or President.

Caltrans Bay Area is proud to have chosen its first woman as District Director, Dina El-Taswany, who took the helm in March 2021. She arrives at a busy time, with billions of projects in design and under construction.

Ryan Hardy, a Caltrans graphic artist, created daily emails that we sent to all district employees each workday during  Black History Month and Women's History Month.  Click on the links below to follow the stories.  - Pedro Quintana 

                                                                                   

By Ryan Hardy   

Email: ryan.hardy@dot.ca.gov

 

                       Link to Black History Month                                                                        Link to Women's History Month