Hi Kateline! Can you start off by telling us about your role at SJW?
I've been with SJW for 7 years. I work in our Planning department as an Engineering Supervisor. My main role is preparing our capital improvement budgets, monitoring performance against those budgets, and overseeing the administration of our capital work orders. We have a lot of these — as many as 400 active at any given time! I'm also involved with planning our infrastructure projects, General Rate Case filings, and master planning for water supply and demand.
What is your favorite part of the job?
Being in Planning is fun because our group covers diverse functions, including hydraulic modeling, green energy initiatives, asset management, and leak detection. It's always something new and my teammates are brilliant. My latest adventure is navigating the recently adopted Making Conservation a California Way of Life regulations. It’s a complex set of regulations. Water never stops being a critical issue here in CA and we all need to adapt. While on the job, I love any excuse to be in the field, especially if it's a station in the mountains or the watershed. You can spot cool raptors, banana slugs, and mushrooms.
What’s your connection to San Jose? And where are you from originally (if not San Jose)?
I grew up on Oahu, then in Taiwan (aka the land of boba!) where my family is from, before going to Stanford for college. I landed at SJW after my work twin and college mate (shout out to Hannah Lin!) referred me.
When you’re not at work, what do you like to do for fun? Any hobbies?
Outside of work, I enjoy playing video games, hiking with my dog, baking bread and birdwatching.
The mic is yours – anything you want to say to your SJW team?
Thank you to my wonderful and supportive coworkers! Execution of our capital improvement program wouldn’t be possible without everyone’s contributions. My role is only one piece of the puzzle. Our teams work diligently behind the scenes to make our many projects happen. I'm constantly impressed by all that my colleagues do.