Dina El-Tawansy was appointed the 35th Director of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) by Governor Gavin Newsom and sworn in on July 1, 2025. Director El-Tawansy manages a nearly $20 billion budget and more than 22,000 employees who oversee 50,000 lane miles of highway, maintain approximately 20,000 bridges, provide permitting of more than 400 public-use airports, fund three of Amtrak’s busiest intercity rail services, and provide transit support to more than 200 local and regional transit agencies. Director El-Tawansy is focused on implementing Caltrans’ Mission, Vision, and Goals, building and strengthening partnerships, and continuing to work toward multimodal, sustainable, safe, and reliable transportation solutions that equitably serve all Californians. Prior to her appointment, Director El-Tawansy served as the Bay Area District 4 Director, becoming the first woman to hold that position. She managed a $2 billion budget for in-house and oversight investments and led a staff of nearly 3,400. Her responsibilities included oversight of all highways, toll bridges, and tunnels in the greater San Francisco area, encompassing nine counties: Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Marin, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. Prior to that role, she served as Chief Deputy District Director for the same District. While much of her three-decade Caltrans career has been in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, Director El-Tawansy also served as Acting Assistant Division Chief for Project and Program Management in HQ (Sacramento) and the Deputy District Director of Operations and Maintenance in D12 (Orange County). Director El-Tawansy holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly Pomona and an M.S. in Construction Management from Long Beach State University. She is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in the State of California and a Project Management Professional (PMP).