Who's New
Onalis Cruz, executive liaison for Project Delivery
Onalis Cruz is the new executive liaison for Project Delivery.
In her new role, Onalis provides high-level support to Donna Berry in her capacity as deputy director of Project Delivery and chief engineer. She is coordinating priorities, managing communications and ensuring alignment and operational efficiency across the Project Delivery divisions.
Additionally, Onalis is taking on the responsibilities of chief of staff, acting as a key resource for coordination and communication with all partners. She is the central point of contact for assignments, briefings, and strategic initiatives, providing valuable support to Berry’s leadership team.
Onalis brings with her an impressive 18 years of state service, having worked at the Department of Corrections, Department of Consumer Affairs, Caltrans, and CalSTA. For the past five years, she has supported Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin at CalSTA, where she advanced strategic priorities and cross-departmental collaboration.
Outside of work, Onalis enjoys traveling, photography and spending time with her husband and their three children, especially cheering on her son at baseball games. She is excited to support the Project Delivery team and contribute to initiatives that help move California forward.
Byron Lim, Encampment Program director
Note: The following was emailed to all Caltrans employees by Director Dina El-Tawansy.
Byron Lim has been appointed by the governor as the Encampment Program director.
Byron brings more than 26 years of dedicated service and broad experience across the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
He began his Caltrans career in 1998 as a transportation engineer in Structure Construction before rotating to Structure Design and later to the Office of Structure Maintenance & Investigation.
In 2018, Byron expanded his public service experience by joining the city of Mountain View’s Public Works Department. He returned to Caltrans in 2019 as part of the Cooperative Agreements Branch within Program & Project Management and later promoted to project manager overseeing Tunnels & Tubes Director’s Orders and multiple projects in Napa County.
In 2021, Byron was selected as the District 4 Clean California program manager, leading several of the governor’s key Clean CA initiatives. He went on to hold additional leadership roles within the district, serving as the supervising transportation engineer in the Office of Maintenance Performance (2023) and advancing to assistant deputy district director for Field Maintenance in 2024.
In his new role, Byron will serve as the department’s primary lead and single focal point coordinating the Encampment Program. He will work closely with the deputy director for Maintenance, Operations, Safety & Equipment, the assistant deputy director for Public Affairs, and all 12 Caltrans district directors to advance the program’s mission and objectives.
Kenneth (Ken) Murray, new deputy division chief in Division of Design
Kenneth (Ken) Murray is the new deputy division chief (principal landscape architect) in the Division of Design overseeing the Landscape Architecture Program, the Office of Complete Streets and the Offices of Development and Support Services.
Ken brings 26 years of experience working with Caltrans and has held various positions in the Divisions of Design and Maintenance including acting as the deputy division chief of design for the previous six months.
Ken graduated from UC Davis with a bachelor of science degree in landscape architecture and started his career with Caltrans. For two years he worked in North Region as a landscape associate and then promoted to become the district landscape architect for the next 10 years.
Ken then began working for Headquarters’ Division of Maintenance in the Office of Roadside Management for eight years. He has also served as an executive senior assistant for the Division Chief of Maintenance and held an acting assignment as the office chief for Roadside Management.
He has also rotated through the Division of Headquarters Programming and North Region Construction. Ken then returned to the Division of Design as an office chief for LAP Office of Standards and Procedures where he has been for the past three years prior to his acting assignment as the deputy division chief.
Ken has also served as the chair for AKR20 – Standing Committee on Roadside Maintenance Operations as a part of the Transportation Research Board and is a current committee member for AKL18 – Standing Committee on Roadside Landscape and Environmental Design, Operations and Maintenance.
In his spare time, Ken enjoys traveling, hiking, biking and helping raise service dogs for Canine Companions with his wife, Jennifer.