Who's New
Chris Clark, broadband media specialist
Chris Clark (and his daughter, Olivia)
Chris Clark has rejoined Caltrans after previously serving the Public Affairs unit in 2020-21, where he specialized in media relations and crisis communications during the pandemic.
His current post as the broadband media specialist focuses on strategic message development, media outreach and public relations regarding Caltrans’ role in facilitating the Middle Mile Broadband Initiative (MMBI).
Prior to public service, Chris spent two decades as a front office executive in professional sports and served as communications director for two U.S. Congressional campaigns.
A lifelong Sacramentan, Chris enjoys watching baseball, outdoor recreation, and spending time with his wife, Nicolette, and their 2-year-old daughter, Olivia.,
John Kirkpatrick, deputy division chief in Traffic Operations and Safety Programs
John Kirkpatrick
John Kirkpatrick is the new deputy division chief for the centralized administration program serving both the Division of Traffic Operations and the Division of Safety Programs.
In this role, John oversees the Program Support, Program Management and Talent Management Offices that serve a critical role in supporting both the headquarters divisions and the statewide programs seeking to bring transformational change in mobility and safety.
John began his career with Caltrans in 1998 with District 4 as a toll collector and subsequently served the district in many areas, including business and administration, traffic management, tolling, and data validation. He also provided valuable leadership to the traffic management teams (TMT) during the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge East Span replacement and emergencies such as the 2017 Napa fires response.
John joined the Division of Traffic Operations in 2017 on a temporary assignment to lead the development of a zero-based budget using data analysis to drive programmatic decisions in collaboration with the districts and was permanently appointed as the chief of the Office of Program Management.
In March 2022, John began an acting assignment as the deputy division chief for administration, where he led the administrative and resource management teams in support of the statewide Traffic Operations and Safety Programs activities and successfully coordinated the merger of the Traffic Operations and Safety Programs administrative teams.
John is also an experienced facilitator, and his various skills were highlighted when he provided logistical support at the 2022 Intelligent Transportation System World Congress in Los Angeles and other department and industry events.
John is a passionate sports fan and follows the Warriors, Raiders, A’s, and the Glasgow Rangers of the Scottish Premiership. He also has the distinction of attending the World Series, NBA Finals, Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup, and the College Football National Championship! John also enjoys relaxing with his wife and three children and visits his family homeland of Scotland often.
Bonny Nyaga, DBE-SBE support manager in Director’s Office
Bonny Nyaga
Bonny Nyaga is the new construction Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) and Small Business Firms (SBE) support manager in the Director’s Office.
Bonny has more than two decades of experience with Caltrans, performing diverse functions across multiple divisions including Maintenance and Construction. During his career in public service, he has championed innovation and built lasting partnerships with other agencies, contractors and stakeholders.
Bonny joined Caltrans in 2001 as a civil transportation engineer in District 4, which spans the nine Bay Area counties. For most of his career, Bonny has worked in the Division of Construction - as a resident engineer, structures representative, and the district functional support branch chief. In 2018, Bonny was promoted to the position of office chef/transportation asset management for the Division of Maintenance.
Currently, Bonny is a district division chief, responsible for specific functional activities within District 4, Division of Construction – a position he has held since 2020. He serves as the principal construction engineer for San Francisco and San Mateo counties, seven toll bridges and district office engineer (DOE). Project workload varies from tens of millions to over a billion dollars.
Bonny actively advocates for small business participation in Caltrans procurement and contracting. Since 2007 he has been instrumental in the development, implementation, and management of the Caltrans Construction Mentor Protégé Program (CMPP). The goal of the CMPP is to increase the participation of emerging construction companies – small business firms, disadvantaged business enterprises and disabled veterans business enterprise – in the procurement and contracting of public works construction projects.
Bonny is a licensed professional engineer and a graduate of San Jose State University, where he earned a master of science degree in transportation management. He earned his bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Nairobi in Kenya.
Bonny is committed to working through the many Caltrans employees and other stakeholders to advance equity and economic opportunity for all through Innovation and engagement.
Nikki Tiongco, South San Diego County and Trade Corridor director
Nikki Tiongco
In District 11, Nikki Tiongco is the new South San Diego County and Trade Corridor director, effective June 1.
Nikki has been with Caltrans for 15 years. In those earlier years, she rotated through various departments in the Division of Engineering Services. In 2018, she was promoted as senior bridge engineer and in 2021 she took over the responsibility of project manager for the South County Trade Corridor (SCTC).
As the acting SCTC director appointed in 2022, Nikki leads the Otay Mesa East site preparation contract, the Harbor Drive 2.0 and Vesta Street environmental clearance, and the South County asset management projects.
Nikki’s vision for the corridor is a more efficient, economically competitive, and less-polluting transportation network. She is committed to delivering projects that align with and bring to fruition the California Sustainable Freight Action Plan, the Border Master Plan, Caltrans Strategic Plan, and the region’s Regional Transportation Plans.
Nikki’s commitment to equity was highlighted during a recent Title 6 audit of the district, when the auditors credited Nikki’s leadership for the Title 6 program of the SCTC as the best in the district.
Nikki has been responsible for overseeing the construction and rehabilitation of many complex structures in District 11, including the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge. She was the structures lead for many emergency projects and a regular trainer in the Resident Engineer Academy and the Structures Construction Winter Training Program.
Throughout her career, Nikki has demonstrated her ability to lead and motivate effective teams, to engage our stakeholders and the public, to resolve complex engineering issues and negotiate conflicts fairly.
If Nikki is not at work, she’s practicing yoga, hanging out with friends, playing the piano, or out of town sightseeing.
Duper Tong, District 10 deputy district director of traffic operations
Duper Tong
Duper Tong is the new District 10 deputy district director of traffic operations. He is responsible for the supervision over a multi-disciplinary staff and for managing and leading the Division of Traffic Operations in the district, which includes the Office of Safety and Office of Mobility.
Specific responsibilities include planning, organizing, budgeting, controlling, reviewing and directing the work of Traffic Operations programs of safety and mobility.
Duper has more than 25 years of professional experience in transportation planning, design, traffic safety, electrical systems and traffic operations from both the private and public sectors, including working for Caltrans for the past 20 years. He is a licensed professional engineer in civil engineering and traffic engineering and received his bachelor of science degree in civil engineering and master of science degree in transportation engineering from California State University, Sacramento.
Before joining the public sector, Duper worked as a project engineer in a private traffic engineering and design consulting firm for over five years. Duper began his Caltrans career as a team leader with the Traffic Investigation Branch and the Traffic Accident Surveillance Analysis System (TASAS) Branch in the Headquarters Division of Traffic Operations.
In 2005, Duper joined District 10 to serve as the chief of the traffic safety branch with the District Division of Maintenance and Operations. Next, Duper served as chief of the legal liaison branch in the HQ Division of Traffic Operations, providing a wide range of traffic and transportation engineering consultations for the Legal Division.
When Duper served as office chief in the HQ Division of Traffic Operations, where he managed various traffic engineering functions including the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD), traffic investigations, mait investigations, pedestrian/bicycle safety, traffic control devices, traffic safety devices, transportation management system, mobility data, weigh-in-motion and traffic electrical system. As a lead on the California Traffic Control Devices Committee, he represented Caltrans to consult with local and federal agencies and partners for development and continuing revisions to the CA MUTCD and provided technical advice for the uniform application of traffic control devices in California.
Duper served as a voting member of the AASHTO Committee on Traffic Engineering (CTE) where he provided technical expertise in assessing the effectiveness of traffic control strategies and devices for the efficient and safe operation of the nation’s highway system.
Duper received an award for Operation Efficiency Program of the Year from the California Transportation Foundation. Most recently, he was the chief of the office of standards and procedure in the HQ Division of Design, where he managed the Highway Design Manual, Design Information Bulletin and Project Development & Procedures Manual. Duper established the Roadshow for Safety, Equity, and Climate Action training to provide broad education regarding Caltrans’ three foundation principles.
He has been leading a team to create “DIB 94, COMPLETE STREETS: Contextual Design Guidance,” and the Traffic Calming Guide to encourage more walking and biking and improve safety.
Duper is married with two older children and enjoys reading, running, and watching basketball and soccer outside of work.
Kathie Vizgaudis, administration deputy district director for District 1
Kathie Vizgaudis
Kathie Vizgaudis is the new administration deputy district director for District 1. She succeeds Jana Hollifield.
Kathie started her Caltrans career in 2008 as the small business liaison, working in the Public Information Office and also assisted with various PIO duties. Over the years she has held several positions in administration including district safety officer, chief of administrative services and most recently administrative operations manager.
Kathie has lived in Humboldt County for most of her life. She and her husband, Dennis, reside in Fortuna with their 7-year-old son, Levi, their beloved pup Sadie, two cats and 16 chickens.
In their free time, the family enjoys exploring different states while camping in their travel trailer, spending time with friends and family, and attending Levi’s various sporting events.