Pleasanton hires former Oakland official as director of Public Works

The city of Pleasanton recently appointed a new director of the Public Works Department, which the city created last fall as a way to streamline the work that was previously divided among other departments.

Siew-Chin Yeong was named as the director for Pleasanton’s new department in a press release from the city on Feb. 23. Yeong will be joining the city after having served as the assistant director of public works for the city of Oakland for just over a year and a half.

Her first day in Pleasanton is set for March 25.

“Pleasanton is a progressive city with existing development and infrastructure opportunities,” Yeong said. “I’m excited to join this well-regarded organization as I lead a talented team in accomplishing City Council and community goals and objectives.”

According to the city’s press release, Yeong has 24 years of experience in civil engineering and capital project management as well as development and oversight of capital programs in the private and public sectors.

Yeong has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering and management and a master’s in civil engineering and construction management from Iowa State University.

Prior to her time in Oakland, she was the director of capital program and construction for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency for six years, according to her LinkedIn profile. Before that she served as the assistant superintendent for the city and county of San Francisco for over two years.

According to the press release, during her time in Oakland and in San Francisco, Yeong was responsible for “overseeing delivery of Oakland’s $455 million and SFMTA’s $3.2 billion capital improvement programs, managed construction of a $500 million annual paving program that included replacing 13.6 miles of sewer systems and development of storm water and facilities master plans.” 

After her time at the SFMTA, Yeong also served as a deputy group manager for BART, where she oversaw capital initiatives and the development of a maintenance capital program for the agency.

In Pleasanton, Yeong will be overseeing all of the city’s operations and maintenance, utilities and environmental services, and any engineering activities. 

Her new position was a result of the city’s merger of its Operations Services and Engineering departments into a unified Public Works Department.

Pleasanton’s communications manager Heather Tiernan told the Weekly that the merger allows for “more streamlined care of the city’s infrastructure and amenities.” She said that after the departments joined together, the city underwent an extensive recruitment process to find the leader for the new department.

During the search for someone to permanently fill the role, Norm Dorais had been serving as interim public works director.

“We are pleased to have Siew-Chin join the city’s executive team,” City Manager Gerry Beaudin said in the press release. “Her expertise in budget management, stakeholder coordination, and implementing effective project management, while staying focused on delivering essential services and driving improvements, will well serve Pleasanton.”

Some of the projects Yeong will be tackling include the completion of water, sewer and storm system master plans; the development of an asset management plan; and designing and constructing new wells to address PFAS, otherwise known as forever chemicals.