Who's New

Crystal McIlroy, Director’s Office executive analyst

Crystal McIlroy is a new executive analyst in the Director’s Office.

She started her career with Caltrans as a PI Dispatcher Clerk in February 2011 at the District 3 TMC, promoting to permanent full-time dispatcher clerk at the Headquarters Communications Center later that same year.

In early 2012 Crystal became an office technician (typing) for the Administrative Services team under the Division of Business Operations.  In January 2013 she transferred to the Division of Equipment and served as staff administrative support for the Office of Maintenance and Repair. 

In 2017 she worked an out of class assignment as an SSA, working as the executive analyst for the Division of Equipment Executive Staff, and promoted permanently to the position in January 2018.

Crystal is a third-generation Caltrans employee, following in the footsteps of her mother, father, uncle and grandfather (all retired). 

In her time off she enjoys spending time with her young son and three dogs, going on road trips and visiting with family.

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Jimmy O’Dea, assistant deputy director for transportation electrification

Note: The following email was distributed Aug. 15 by Caltrans Chief Deputy Director Michael D. Keever.

Jimmy O’Dea is the new assistant deputy director for transportation electrification and works out of the Director’s Office of Sustainability.

As part of its commitment to climate action, Caltrans will continue its unrelenting efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. Electrifying our transportation network and accelerating the deployment of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and charging infrastructure – and also championing the transition to zero-emission transit, rail, and freight systems – will be key in the fight against the climate crisis.

Jimmy comes to Caltrans with 18 years of experience in zero-emission vehicles and policy. He was previously deputy director of trucks at CALSTART, where he worked with businesses to advance federal and state policies supporting the widespread electrification of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, including the “Commercial Clean Vehicle” tax credit in the Inflation Reduction Act.  

Prior to joining CALSTART, Jimmy was senior vehicles analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, where he played key roles in the strengthening and adoption of first-of-their-kind policies for electric trucks and buses, including the Advanced Clean Trucks and Innovative Clean Transit standards in California.   Jimmy was a Science and Engineering Congressional Fellow in the office of U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). In postdoctoral and graduate research in chemistry at Cornell and UC Santa Barbara, he studied materials used in fuel cells, batteries and solar cells.

Over the next few months, Jimmy and the Director’s Office of Sustainability will be working with many of you to re-orient and set a new direction for this next chapter of our journey toward a zero-emissions transportation system. Please join me in welcoming Jimmy to the Caltrans family!

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Daniel Rubinstein, Director’s Office executive manager

Daniel Rubinstein is the Director’s Office new executive manager.

He previously worked in the Director's Office at the Department of Managed Health Care, where he was an acting manager and analyst in the administrative unit. Previously, Daniel was an analyst in the Office of the Secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, an Assembly intern, and a student assistant at the Secretary of State's.

Daniel graduated summa cum laude from California State University, Sacramento with a bachelor's in political science. He is a native Sacramentan and a first-generation American of Ukrainian descent.

Daniel can be found at the gym or a cafe in his free time.

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Ryan Snyder, Director’s Office executive liaison

Ryan Snyder who is serving as the Director’s Office executive liaison through February 2023. Ryan comes from Caltrans District 7, where he was the senior transportation planner/manager of Sustainability. Ryan headed up a number of projects including the Zero Emission Infrastructure Plan, plans to get solar panels in our rights-of-way, mobility hub planning, and reconnecting communities.

Prior to Caltrans, Ryan was a principal in transportation consulting. Much of his career has been with active transportation planning, having prepared many bicycle, pedestrian and safe routes to school plans.

Ryan started his career in transportation demand management (TDM) and has also done some transit planning.  He coordinated the development of the Model Design Manual for Living Streets and has prepared other street design manuals for regions such as Las Vegas and Honolulu. He also coordinated the AV Policy Framework Summit that brought some 100 national experts together to advance the policy discussion on how to prepare for a future with automated vehicles.

Ryan taught graduate students at the UCLA Urban Planning Department for seven years, and served as vice president of the Los Angeles Board of Transportation Commissioners.

Ryan holds an M.A. in urban planning and a B.A. in economics from UCLA. 

His primary mode of transportation is a bicycle. In his spare time, he likes outdoor activities like swimming, snorkeling, hiking, exploring new places and eating out.  He loves to travel and enjoys studying languages.

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Walter Yu, Clean California Program’s principal transportation engineer

Walter Yu is the Clean California Program’s new principal transportation engineer. 

As a graduate of UC Berkeley, Walter began his Caltrans career in 2006 with District 4 as a transportation engineer.  He joined the Division of Environmental Analysis in 2016 as a senior transportation engineer.  Next, he joined the Planning and Modal Programs as Caltrans Enterprise Data and Geospatial Governance Program manager.

During the course of his more than 16‑year career, Walter has worked on a variety of new initiatives including the District 4 Construction Stormwater Inspection Program, Caltrans Statewide Trash Implementation Plan for the State Water Resources Control Board, and Enterprise Data Governance Task Force.

Since 2021, Walter has served as a Clean California Program Manager, responsible for program implementation including the Local Grant Program.  He also supported the State Beautification Program and Division of Maintenance litter eradication efforts.

In his free time, Walter enjoys spending time with family, volunteering with Code for America as co-chair of the Sacramento and Fresno chapters, and was recently admitted into the Master of Science in Transportation Management Program at San Jose State University for the spring 2023 semester.