Diana Gomez

Diana Gomez is the Chief of the Office of Traffic Management and a senior electrical engineer with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). She has worked with Caltrans for 20 years and began her career designing highway electrical systems.

Diana has led projects focused on managing traffic flow and recently developed an advanced weather sensor system to reduce fog-related traffic accidents in California’s Central Valley.

>> I’ll be speaking with Diana about what her responsibilities are at CalTrans and how she performs them. What is exciting to Diana about her job and how did she get there?

Diana has received national recognition for her success professionally and within the Latino community. She has been recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business and as one of the top 100 Hispanics in the technical field by Hispanic Engineer.

Diana has found success in the workplace, in her industry, in her community and on a national level. She began that road to success at a young age, when she learned the value of hard work and persistence. She discovered networking for the first time working in the fields with her grandfather. Learning from his leadership style of the field workers, she gained management experience herself when she started her own payroll business in high school.

Whether working in the fields with family or attending school, she always strove for success. Diana gained interest in engineering when a female engineer presented a lecture at her high school.

>> We’ll be discussing early influences in Diana’s life and what led her to where she is today.

After graduating from high school, Diana earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at California State University, Fresno. During her time at CSU, she was the president of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) student chapter and the president of the professional chapter upon graduation. SHPE is a professional organization that serves as the source for quality Hispanic engineers and technical talent.

>> What led Diana to her initial involvement with SHPE and how has she benefitted from being involved with the organization?

Diana has learned that persistence and higher education couple to create a strong leader prepared to face any set of challenges. Thus, as an engineering advocate, Diana strives to teach students the values instilled in her life – compassion, honesty and commitment.

Diana is currently the National President for SHPE. Since assuming the president’s role in 2003, Diana has applied extensive leadership and engineering expertise to manage the national organization.

Under her guidance as president, SHPE has developed an array of programs. The Advancing Hispanic Excellence in Technology, Engineering, Math, and Science (AHETEMS) Foundation was created along with a new scholarship program.

Diana’s leadership has opened the door for key partnerships with the Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists, Inc (MAES) and the Hispanic College Fund (HCF). In addition to their success, these partnerships were recognized by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management as an “Exemplary Recruitment Practice.”

>> What led to the development of the various programs, and how will they benefit future students?

Diana’s history with SHPE spans more than 20 years. Before serving as president, Diana served on many different levels of the organization, including the offices of regional vice president, secretary and treasurer. She co-chaired the SHPE National Technical and Career Conference in 2001 and served actively in the administrations of four previous SHPE presidents. Diana’s leadership roles within SHPE are all on a voluntary basis.

Diana serves her community beyond her SHPE outreach by speaking at local high schools, encouraging young people to pursue engineering and higher education. For over five years, she has worked with a summer education institute for math and science. She also returns to CSU often to encourage the females in the engineering program to continue in their endeavors.

>> Throughout her career, Diana has demonstrated a strong desire to, and commitment to, giving back to the community. How does she sustain herself, and what can we learn from her?

Diana Gomez offers a unique perspective to the field of engineering, and she will continue to use her extensive skills to impact SHPE, Caltrans and the Latino community at large.