New Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin’s chief deputy is a longtime Caltrans engineer who has held multiple leadership roles in the department.
James Davis, 54, was chosen by Gov. Gavin Newsom to serve in the department’s No. 2 position. Jim previously served as special adviser to the director under Laurie Berman, who retired in June 2019, and Acting Director Bob Franzoia, who took over after Berman’s departure.
Jim served as Caltrans’ Senate Bill 1 program manager from 2018 to 2019, Bay Area district director in 2018, division chief of Project Management from 2013 to 2018, division chief of Transportation Planning from 2016 to 2017, division chief and deputy division chief of Engineering Services from 2004 to 2013, and multiple transportation engineering positions from 1988 to 2004.
Keith Duncan, Chief, Office of Capital and Finance in the Division of Budgets
Keith Duncan recently was promoted to Chief of the Office of Capital and Finance in the Division of Budgets. He began in the position Aug. 5.
Keith has been with Caltrans for 15 years in a variety of roles, including working in the Equipment, Maintenance, Procurement and Contracts, Business Facilities and Security, and Project Management divisions.
Most recently, he served for more than three years as Assistant Division Chief for Project Management, where he helped manage the statewide Capital Outlay Support program budget and provided administrative support for the headquarters Project Delivery divisions.
In Keith’s new position, he will oversee Caltrans Local Assistance and Capital Outlay budgets. He also will work with the California Transportation Commission for project and program allocations.
Tom Ostrom, Division Chief of Engineering Services
Tom Ostrom has been appointed Division Chief of Engineering Services (DES).
Prior to his current role as acting DES Division Chief, Tom held multiple management positions in DES, including State Bridge Engineer and Chief of Structure Policy and Innovation, Chief of Earthquake Engineering, Analysis and Research, Acting Deputy Division Chief of Geotechnical Services, and Chief of Bridge Design North.
Over his 31-year career, Tom has worked on a wide variety of bridge, highway and tunnel projects throughout the state. He is the Department’s voting member on the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Committee on Bridge and Structures and is active in national and international bridge engineering organizations.
Tom has also been a longstanding advocate for bridge research, Accelerated Bridge Construction and quality management. He was the 2007 recipient of the James E. Roberts Award for Exemplary Contributions to the Field of Transportation and the 2018 UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award.
Tom holds a bachelor’s degree in structural engineering from the University of California, San Diego, and a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
Away from the office, Tom and his wife, Tina, enjoy traveling and spending time at the beach and in the mountains with their two college-age children, Matthew and Amanda, and their two Labrador retrievers.
Caltrans has a new director, drawn from the executive ranks of the Tennessee state transportation department.
Toks Omishakin, 43, was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September to fill Caltrans’ highest post. Omishakin was sworn in as director in late October.
Toks comes to Caltrans following eight years with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, where he established environmental, multimodal and planning policies.
As deputy commissioner for environment and planning, Toks was responsible for an administrative and project budget of more than $300 million annually, and he led the activities of the divisions of Environmental Services, Long-Range Planning, and Multimodal Transportation Resources within the Tennessee DOT.
Prior to that, he served as director of Healthy Living Initiatives in the Nashville mayor’s office. Toks is a member of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), where he has served as the organization’s vice chairman of Active Transportation Council since 2017. He also is chair of AASHTO’s Multimodal Task Force.
Toks holds a Ph.D. in engineering management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Jackson State University.
