Who's New
Rene Fletcher, division chief, Right of Way and Land Surveys
Rene Fletcher is the new division chief of Right of Way and Land Surveys.
Rene brings a wealth of experience to this role, with 35 years of distinguished state service, including 31 years as a right of way professional. Over the past year, she has served as the acting division chief for Right of Way and Land Surveys within Project Delivery, where she led the division in implementing the new Airspace Program Guidelines in collaboration with the Governor’s Office and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Rene has more than 15 years of executive-level experience as a right of way agent, having led all Headquarters offices within the Right of Way and Land Surveys Division from Project Delivery and Real Property Services to Land Surveys. She previously served for eight years as deputy division chief and held an earlier acting assignment as division chief in 2020.
Additionally, she served as acting deputy district director for Right of Way and Right of Way Engineering in District 8 in both 2013 and 2015.
Rene earned her degree in criminal justice from California State University, Sacramento in 1991. She began her career with the Department of Justice in Sacramento before relocating to San Diego to join Caltrans in District 11. In 2009, she returned to Northern California to settle in El Dorado Hills with her family.
Rene is married and recently celebrated a milestone as she and her husband dropped off their daughter at Biola University in La Mirada. Go Eagles!
Cecilia Gutierrez, chief executive liaison in the Director’s Office
Cecilia Gutierrez is the new chief executive liaison in the Director’s Office at Caltrans Headquarters.
Cecilia serves as a key coordinator and adviser, ensuring the effective planning, execution and follow-through of meetings, communications and high-level engagements involving the director of Caltrans. She interfaces with internal and external stakeholders to support the director’s priorities and initiatives.
Cecilia brings more than 15 years of combined experience in transportation, infrastructure planning and various support services. She most recently served as the chief executive liaison for Caltrans District 4, supporting strategic coordination across one of California’s largest and most politically active districts.
Cecilia’s Caltrans career spans multiple divisions and organizations, beginning in Caltrans administration at Headquarters, where she led statewide strategic planning and budget analysis. She went on to contribute to the Division of Project Management, chairing the Workplan Standards Guide Committee and the implementation of the PRSM workload scheduling tool.
In the Division of Business Operations, she managed the SHOPP Office Building Program, delivering capital infrastructure plans to the Department of Finance. Her work in the Division of Safety and Management Services focused on statewide policy development and performance assessment.
Before joining Caltrans, Cecilia worked more than seven years in the private sector as a sales engineer at General Electric (GE), specializing in electrical distribution systems across the San Diego and Sacramento regions. She is trained in Six Sigma methodologies and is a graduate of GE’s Leadership Training Program.
She holds a bachelor of science in management science with a minor in engineering science from the University of California, San Diego.
Outside of work, Cecilia enjoys spending time with her family, exploring the outdoors, and walking her pug.
Kelli Hutnick, chief of staff for the Maintenance and Operations Program
Kelli Hutnick is the new chief of staff for the Maintenance and Operations Program.
Kelli has 11 years of state service and has worked for various departments including Fish and Wildlife, CalPERS, and Social Services.
Kelli most recently worked for the Division of Risk and Strategic Management within Caltrans where served for three and a half years. In DORSM she provided support to the Caltrans Strategic Plan development, tracking, and monitoring; the Statewide Leadership Summit; Strategic Action Planning; and Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) reporting.
Kelli deeply values the partnerships she has established in her previous role and looks forward to further developing relationships within the Maintenance and Operations program, the department, and with Caltrans’ external partners.
Kelli graduated from Sacramento State with a B.S. in sociology. She lives in Sacramento with her husband, son, daughter and a generally well behaved bunny.
Claudia Juarez, District 6 deputy director of Administration
Claudia Juarez is the new District 6 deputy director of Administration, following the retirement of Bill Etherton.
Claudia began her career with District 6 in 2001 as an office technician in Maintenance. She went on to support the Central Region Project Development Support team for two years, followed by seven years as a budget analyst with Central Region PPM.
In 2012, Claudia was promoted to a staff services manager I (SSM I) role in Administration, where she led the District’s Position Management and Project Control team. Most recently, she served as the office chief for the Administration Resource Management Office, overseeing Financial Management, Position Management, and Workload.
Claudia brings with her over two decades of experience, a deep understanding of District 6 operations, and a strong commitment to administrative excellence.
Outside of work, Claudia enjoys reading, listening to a wide variety of music, traveling, and spending quality time with her husband and 6-year-old grandson. She’s also an avid fan of the Dallas Cowboys and a dedicated follower of college football.
Sujaya Kalainesan, division chief of Project Management
Sujaya Kalainesan is the new division chief of Project Management.
Sujaya brings over 15 years of diverse experience across both Caltrans Headquarters and district operations. Most recently, she served as the acting division chief for the Division of Project Management at Headquarters, where she led the statewide Project Management and Capital Outlay Support programs.
Previously, Sujaya was the deputy division chief in the Headquarters Division of Local Assistance, where she oversaw nearly 50 local funding programs supporting projects valued at over $15 billion. These projects spanned local roadways, transit, rail, ports, and zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) initiatives. She played a key role in fostering statewide collaboration, building strong partnerships with FHWA, CTC, CalSTA, MPOs, RTPAs, local agencies, tribal governments, and community-based organizations to ensure effective funding allocation and successful project delivery.
During her tenure in Local Assistance, Sujaya led several strategic initiatives, including the delivery of local federal obligation authority, development of a grant management database, and integration of rail and transit programs into Local Assistance through change management efforts.
She also contributed to the Headquarters’ SB1 Office, supporting the Rebuilding California initiative and the development of Cycle 2 performance metrics in coordination with the CTC. Her earlier roles in District 7 included design engineer, design manager and project manager, where she successfully delivered key milestones on high-profile projects such as the Interstate 5 Segment 4, State Route 136 Corridor Development, U.S. Highway 101 HOV Lane Project, and the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Crossing.
Beyond Caltrans, Sujaya has worked on research projects funded by the Department of Defense and Pennsylvania DOT and served as a technical and programmatic specialist for the World Bank on multi-billion-dollar international infrastructure projects. She is a licensed professional engineer and holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.
Outside of work, Sujaya enjoys traveling, staying active and embracing new adventures.