The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) has a new executive director — Sarah Christensen, a senior transportation engineer at the agency.
Christensen will enter into a three-year contract with the RTC and will report directly to the board of birectors. She will start Monday.
Guy Preston retired as executive director of the RTC in December. Mitch Weiss, a former executive director of the California Transportation Commission, was named interim while the agency conducted an “extensive search” for the permanent role.
As the RTC’s senior transportation engineer since 2017, Christensen has overseen engineering and capital project delivery for the agency, managing the $350 million Highway 1 Auxiliary Lanes & Bus-on-Shoulder Program; leading the implementation of the first permanent bus-on-shoulder facility in the state of California; developing and delivering the equity-focused Watsonville to Santa Cruz Multimodal Corridor Program and helping secure $107.2 million of Senate Bill 1 funds and $30 million of Federal Mega funds for it; and managing the RTC’s Rail Program, including development of Zero Emission Passenger Rail, storm damage repairs and infrastructure preservation of the RTC-owned 32-mile Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line.
Prior to her position at the RTC, Christensen was a transportation project manager in private consulting, where she worked on highway, interchange, bicycle/pedestrian overcrossing, complete streets, trail, bus rapid transit, tolling and express lanes projects. She specialized in delivering and developing funding strategies for multi-jurisdictional and complex projects, including the $500 million Silicon Valley Express Lanes Program for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) along State Routes 237 and 85 and US 101.
Christensen has a bachelor of science degree in civil and environmental engineering from San Jose State University, a master of science degree in transportation management from the Mineta Transportation Institute and is a licensed civil engineer.
“During my time with the RTC, I have enjoyed engaging with the community, fostering partnerships, and delivering results that will create a lasting positive impact on the quality of life for Santa Cruz County,” Christensen said. “In my new position as executive director, I look forward to continuing to provide high-quality transportation solutions for the community and leading the Commission into its next successful chapter.”
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