LA City Council Confirms New City Engineer, Sanitation General Manager

LOS ANGELES, CA — In a unanimous vote, the Los Angeles City Council Tuesday confirmed the appointments of Crystal Lee and Joone Kim-Lopez to lead the city's bureaus of engineering and sanitation, respectively.

Bass nominated Lee to serve as the city's first female city engineer. She is expected to implement the mayor's capital infrastructure program and the completion of a major expansion of the downtown Convention Center.

"I am deeply honored to accept the mayor's appointment as City Engineer," Lee said in a statement. "I look forward to strengthening partnerships across the city, applying strategic leadership to advance our priorities, and empowering and elevating the exceptional teams driving this work," Lee added.

Lee has worked for the city for more than 17 years. She served as deputy executive director of the Airport Development Group at Los Angeles World Airports, leading more than 300 city and consultant professionals to drive long- term planning for infrastructure, revenue generation and climate resiliency at Los Angeles' airports.

She also holds a professional engineer license and master of science in civil engineering, with an environmental emphasis, from Loyola Marymount University.

Lee will replace interim City Engineer Alfred Mata, who has served the city for more than 30 years. Mata led key projects on climate resiliency, among other things.

"I thank him for stepping in to lead the Bureau of Engineering during this important transition period," Bass said in a statement.

Bass nominated Kim-Lopez to serve as the executive director and general manager of LA Sanitation. She is expected to oversee efforts to clean streets and ensure sustainability for sidewalks, street lights and other infrastructure.

"LA Sanitation & Environment is charged with the important work of keeping our communities safe, clean and resilient by cleaning our streets, ensuring integrated planning for the city's critical infrastructure, and protecting our environment," Kim-Lopez said in a statement.

"I'm looking forward to advancing partnerships and innovation to get the job done and dedicating myself, alongside the members of our bureau, to the highest level of service for all Angelenos," she added.

Kim-Lopez was raised in Los Angeles after emigrating from South Korea.

With more than 30 years of experience, Kim-Lopez currently serves as the general manager and CEO of the Moulton Niguel Water District, overseeing the delivery of water, wastewater and recycled water services to six cities in South Orange County.

She holds a master's degree in public administration from Cal State University Northridge and is fluent in Korean and Spanish.

Kim-Lopez will replace Interim Executive Director and General Manager Traci Minamide, who has served the city for nearly 40 years.