Headquarters Public Affairs is preparing to honor Caltrans employees who have served our nation in the United States military and would like your help. If you are a veteran or are currently serving, please submit a photo of yourself in uniform to be included in this year's video. If you have provided us with your picture in previous years, we ask that you resubmit, since this is the best way we can ensure that we are featuring current employees.
Long before Mitch Miller became a diver with the Caltrans Dive Team, he was a kid drawn to the water. What started with snorkeling and swimming eventually grew into a passion for recreational scuba diving, leading Miller to earn his open-water certification before joining Caltrans. Now, after 22 years with the Dive Team, the water that first captured his curiosity has become an important part of his career.
Each year, Caltrans holds a Safety Poster Contest open to all children and minor family members of department employees. The contest’s aim is to reinforce the message that safety is the responsibility of every person that uses the state’s vast transportation system to get them where they want to go. Inspired by the theme of Caltrans’ 2026 contest – “Safety Begins Behind the Wheel” – four talented young artists’ posters were selected from more than 100 submissions for inclusion in the department’s Workers Memorial last April.
Under the leadership of Supervisor Roger Casi, District 10’s Structural Steel Paint crew traveled to San Diego this summer to assist with a deck-rigging effort on the iconic 200 foot high Coronado Bridge. The highly trained and respected District 10 team is a designated travel crew, sent by Headquarters to assist in locations around the state, Roger said. For this operation, crews participated in rigging and derigging across two of 32 spans of the 11,179-foot-long bridge.
A recent repaving project on State Route 33 in West Stanislaus County used Partial Depth Recycling (PDR), an innovative pavement rehabilitation method that saves time, money and natural resources by making new pavement out of old pavement. PDR grinds the top three to five inches of existing asphalt and blends it with a recycling agent such as foamed asphalt or emulsified asphalt to create new pavement material.
Hidden beneath the packed earth along the state right of way near northbound State Route 87 in San Jose, Caltrans crews uncovered something entirely unexpected. What appeared at first to be a routine encampment cleanup quickly shifted when staff noticed an opening partially concealed by soil and debris. A closer inspection revealed a secret underground shelter, carefully tucked beneath the roadway, invisible to passing traffic and easily missed during surface level checks.
Kelly Loehrer helps job candidates navigate the challenging state of California hiring process and supports partner agencies applying for Clean California grant funding to improve their communities. As District 10’s Position Management and Clean California Grant Coordinator in Maintenance, Kelly brings empathy and dedication to her work, embodying Caltrans’ core values: collaboration, equity, innovation, integrity and people first.
Some people collect stamps. Others collect sneakers. But Michael Conrad collects credit cards – 33 of them to be exact. What started in 2024 as a practical effort to secure travel insurance has grown into a finely tuned rewards optimization that has unlocked business class flights, luxury hotels, and bucket list trips around the world. Travel has always been a priority for Michael, the District 10 Business Operations chief. In the past, he and his family typically planned one weeklong vacation a year.
Healthy aging looks different for each of us. For many people, it simply means staying healthy enough to continue doing the things you love, whether that's spending time with family, traveling, gardening, volunteering, or enjoying favorite hobbies. Many factors can influence how healthy you are as you age. The good news? Many aspects of healthy aging are within your control.
Gillian Gillett has been appointed division chief of Data and Digital Services (DDS). For more than a year, Gillian has served as acting division chief of DDS while also leading the California Integrated Mobility Program at Caltrans. During this time, she has built a multidisciplinary team that provides technical assistance to more than 200 California transit operators, helping them modernize service through standards-based technologies, open payments, automated discounts, and digital planning and grant-management tools.
Jennifer Simmers as the new deputy division chief over the Office of Employee Health and Safety, Workers Compensation, Reasonable Accommodation and FMLA. Jennifer began her career with the state in 2017 and became part of the Caltrans family in 2019, joining the Office of Employee Health and Safety. She has been instrumental in leading, developing and streamlining processes, policies, and training for major department-wide employee health and safety initiatives.
Luc Sou is the new division chief of Caltrans’ Division of Procurement and Contracts, Luc is a results-driven leader with more than 20 years of experience leading automation initiatives from concept to completion, enterprise-level governance, portfolio oversight, and contract management in complex, highly regulated environments. She specializes in modernizing legacy systems and implementing enterprise-wide automation platforms while balancing strategic goals with organizational needs.
Kathleen “Kathy” Nolan (Fillmer), 80, passed away peacefully in her sleep on July 14 in Redding. Kathy was born November 23, 1945, in Tilden, Nebraska, to Leonard and Verna Fillmer. She and her family moved to Corning in 1955, where she grew up and graduated from Corning High School. Kathy met lifelong friends while working at Fish & Wildlife in Red Bluff and finished her career at Caltrans in Redding, where she retired in 2010.
Thomas (Tom) Rut passed away suddenly in Stockton on August 20 at the age of 83. He was born in Cicero, Illinois, to Marie and Nathaniel Rut. Tom graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1965 with a B.S. in civil engineering. He moved to California after graduation to work for Caltrans and eventually held licenses in civil and structural engineering.
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