About Damaris

  • Family

    I was born in Tijuana, Mexico. I am the daughter of a single mother, Rosa, who raised my two siblings and I to be responsible members of our society. My Mom instilled in us since we were little the importance of being present, responsible, hard workers, and to do what we say we are going to do. She worked hard at giving us all an education because she knows that by educating ourselves we become more productive members of our society.

  • Play

    My husband Cristobal, our dog Wall-e, our turtle Lupita, and I love living in the San Francisco Bay Area. On our free time you can find Cristobal and I bike riding on our local streets, trail running on our local parks, hiking, wine tasting in Livermore, attending local events and fairs, hanging out with friends or just gardening on our back yard in Fairview.

  • Education

    My engineering career began at Southwestern Community College in Chula Vista, CA. After graduating high school, I did not have the resources to enroll directly into a four year university and needed to work. Community college then provided me with the flexibility to continue my education while being able to work. After a couple of years, I was able to transfer to the University of California in San Diego and completing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Engineering. I was later accepted to Stanford University to complete my Master of Science Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering graduating in 2011. I am happy to inform I finished paying my loans in 2020.

Career and Experience

I am a registered professional civil engineer in the state of California, a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM), and a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan Practitioner and Developer (QSP/D). My professional focus for the last 12 years has been in water resources engineering. During my professional engineering career, having worked in both public and private sectors, I have managed a variety of water infrastructure projects.

As examples of my work, during my employment at San Jose Water Company, I served as the project manager for the completion of a pipeline risk assessment study for the 2,400 miles of distribution system within the service area. My role as the project manager was to direct all aspects of the project which had the main goal of objectively identifying and prioritizing pipeline in disrepair. This project allowed the agency to prioritize and organize projects based on replacement need, allocate resources more efficiently, and spend money where needed. This project was completed on time and on budget and was praised by management and the public for its completeness, creativity, and innovation. It was also the subject of various professional presentations at the American Water Works Association Conference in 2016.

As a Project Manager at the Santa Clara Valley Water District, one of my main responsibilities was managing the completion of the planning phase of the Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project, a flood risk reduction project which had the goal of protecting approximately 14,000 residents in the City of San José from flooding. Due to the social and environmental sensitivity of the project, development of project alternatives was done with the assistance of the public, and subject matter experts including a team of biologists, environmental planners, and geologists since any alternative considered needed also to have minimal environmental impact on the creek and creek habitat. The planning study report, which represented the culmination of the planning phase of the project, was completed in the fall of 2021. This project is currently beginning construction.

In addition to my desire to finding solutions to water resources challenges, I am an energetic and highly driven individual who brings to the table excellent communication, negotiation and leadership skills, and a can-do attitude with a passion to serve her community and to bring genuine equity into our water infrastructure projects. My ultimate professional goal is to help rebuild and improve our aging infrastructure, making it more resilient for our ever-changing future while using engineering practices for the preservation, support, recovery, and restoration of the natural environment.