Riverside Official Named Pasadena’s New Public Works Director

City Manager Michael J. Beck announced today that Siobhan Foster has been appointed the new director of the Pasadena Department of Public Works effective Wednesday, Oct. 26.

For the past six years Foster has overseen and managed the Public Works Department for the City of Riverside, the 12th largest city in California, with a population of more than 303,000.

“Siobhan Foster has a proven track record of innovation, strong fiscal management, and operational leadership,” said Beck. “I am confident in her ability to lead the Public Works Department during these fiscally challenging times.”

During her tenure in Riverside, Foster’s department constructed $269 million in infrastructure projects since 2006 as part of the city’s Riverside Renaissance initiative, with another $489 million of additional projects now in construction or final design. Projects include railroad grade separations, reconstruction of freeway interchanges, and rehabilitation of Victoria Avenue, recognized on the National Park Service’s Register of Historic Places.

Under her leadership, the department also cut costs while increasing project efficiency and responsiveness to citizens’ needs. For example, upon taking responsibility for utility line clearance trimming for Riverside Public Utilities, the department reduced the annual number of tree-related power outages by 80 percent, and cut the number of minutes customers were without power by 83 percent.

The Riverside public works department also introduced the use of Asphalt Rubber Aggregate Membrane in lieu of traditional asphalt for street paving, reducing costs by 50 percent while producing a superior road surface, and installed the first fuel cell in California that uses 100 percent biogas to generate 1 MW of power at Riverside Regional Water Quality Control Plant.

Foster’s service to the citizens of Riverside began in 1990 when she worked as a management assistant in the city manager’s office. She worked her way up the ranks, taking on greater responsibilities, eventually serving as Deputy Public Works Director for Field Operations Foster earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at Lake Forest College in

Illinois in 1989, and a Master of Public Administration degree at University of Kansas in 1991.

She and her husband, Barry, are the parents of two daughters.

The Pasadena Department of Public Works has more than 300 full-time employees and a current operating budget of $51.5 million.

The core services provided by Public Works are divided into six key areas that include the following divisions: Finance and Management Services; Engineering; Construction; Street Maintenance and Integrated Waste Management; Parks and Natural Resources; and Building Systems and Fleet Management.

More information about the Pasadena Department of Public Works can be found at www.cityofpasadena.net/PublicWorks.