SUSAN MARTINOVICH, P.E.
Director, Nevada Department of Transportation
Susan Martinovich has worked for the Nevada Department of Transportation for more than 25 years. In this position, she is responsible for the daily operations of the department that has an annual operating budget of $674 million and 1,700 employees.
Prior to her appointment as deputy director/chief engineer in June 2003, she held a variety of positions within the department. Starting as a rotation engineer, she became familiar with the operations of NDOT. She was then promoted into the bridge division, where she was responsible for the design of several structures throughout the state. After six years, she was promoted to the design division, where, as principal design engineer, she was responsible for the early development of many of the major new freeway projects currently under construction. After six years, she was promoted to the director’s office as assistant director of engineering. In this position, Ms. Martinovich was responsible for all of the pre-construction engineering divisions, including design, bridge, traffic, safety, right of way, location, and environmental.
Ms. Martinovich is also involved in national activities in the areas of project management, safety, and research. She is actively involved in the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials, and currently serves as chair of the Standing Committee on Research, vice-chair for the Standing Committee on Highway Traffic Safety, and chair of the Leadership and Engineering Management Committee. She is a member of the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee. She is also a member of many other Transportation Research Board committees, including the Oversight Committee for SHRP-II, which will oversee the national research activities identified in SAFETEA-LU.
Ms. Martinovich has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno, and is a licensed professional engineer in Nevada and California. Ms. Martinovich is a native Nevadan and resides in Carson City. She is an avid runner and proud mother of two sons. One is studying engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno and the other is serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.
R. Scott Rawlins
Deputy Director/Chief Engineer
As Deputy Director, Mr. Rawlins is responsible for assisting the director in the daily operations of the
department that has an annual operating budget of $674 million and 1,700 employees.
Before his appointment as Deputy Director, he served as assistant director of engineering, and was responsible for all of the
pre-construction engineering divisions, including design, bridge, traffic/safety, right of way,
location, environmental, and project management.
Prior to his appointment as assistant director, Mr Rawlins worked as a project manager in the project management division and was responsible for developing projects from planning studies through environmental studies, final design, and construction. Mr. Rawlins was in charge of transportation improvement projects valued at more than $2 billion, including the I-515 Corridor Study, Boulder City Bypass Project, Hoover Dam Bypass Project, and the recently completed I-515/Beltway Interchange. Mr. Rawlins has worked for the Department for 12 years, working his way up through the roadway design and project management divisions. In the roadway design division he worked on and/or supervised the development of more than 40 projects, from enhancement and pavement preservation projects to capacity projects.
Mr. Rawlins is a graduate in the inaugural class of the State of Nevada Certified Public Managers Program. He is also the president of the Nevada Certified Public Managers Society.
Mr. Rawlins received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno, and is a registered professional engineer in Nevada and California. He played college baseball for the University of Nevada and loves all sports. He lives in Reno with his wife Kimie, son Ben, and daughters Grace and Sarah.
Rudy Malfabon
Deputy Director, Southern Nevada
After being away from NDOT for nearly five years, Rudy Malfabon returned on July 7, 2003, when Director
Jeff Fontaine appointed him to the position of deputy director for Southern Nevada. The Nevada Legislature
approved the position in mid-2003 to provide a director’s office presence in Las Vegas.
In 1984, Mr. Malfabon began his career at NDOT as an inspector on the Flamingo Road interchange at I-15 in Las Vegas. As an assistant resident engineer, he was the sole representative of NDOT on privately funded projects at the Colorado River Bridge in Laughlin and the Summerlin Parkway interchange at U.S. 95 in Las Vegas. After earning his professional engineering license, Rudy became a resident engineer and managed the construction of several interchanges and grade separations on U.S. 95 in northwest Las Vegas. Nearly half of Mr. Malfabon’s NDOT career was spent in Carson City, where he held the titles of assistant construction engineer and chief construction engineer. In 1998, he accepted the position of state construction engineer for the Washington State Department of Transportation. Mr. Malfabon has served on two research panels for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, dealing primarily with construction management issues. After being recruited by Jacobs Engineering in Las Vegas in 2000, he worked three years as the manager of Jacobs’ construction management services in Nevada. In his present position as NDOT deputy director for Southern Nevada, Mr. Malfabon seeks to improve communication, coordination, and customer service with local agency partners, elected officials, and the general public.
Mr. Malfabon is a graduate civil engineer from the University of Nevada, Reno, and is a registered professional engineer in Nevada and Washington. His hobbies include camping, fishing, and gardening. He resides in Las Vegas with his wife Theresa, and their children, Jacqueline, Melanie, and Jonathan.
Kent Cooper
Assistant Director, Engineering
Kent Cooper was selected as the assistant director of the engineering division in August 2008. In this role, Mr. Cooper supervises seven divisions within NDOT
Headquarters, representing approximately 340 engineering and right-of-way professionals responsible for creating the design plans and specifications used in the
construction of NDOT projects.
He was previously the assistant director of the planning division since January 2002, and prior to that was NDOT’s program development manager, which administered the Capital Improvement Program, plan adoption, and metropolitan planning organization coordination. Mr. Cooper was responsible for the development and adoption of the department’s State Transportation Improvement Program and the Short- and Long-Range Plan. He is a member of the Washoe County Regional Transportation Commission Blue Ribbon Committee, Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada RTC 3 Committee, AASHTO Reauthorization Steering Committee, and is past state coordinator for Nevada Operation Lifesaver and past state coordinator for Nevada Trails Day. Mr. Cooper also is a member of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada Executive Advisory Committee and the Washoe County Regional Transportation Committee Technical Advisory Committee.
Mr. Cooper is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, and holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering. He is an avid outdoor enthusiast who enjoys hiking, skiing, and golfing. Mr. Cooper and his wife, Laura, reside in Carson City with their daughter, Kaitlynn, and sons, Matthew and Andrew.
Richard J. Nelson
Assistant Director, Operations
As assistant director of operations, Mr. Nelson oversees NDOT’s statewide operations programs, including the
construction, materials, maintenance and operations, and equipment divisions. Prior to his appointment as assistant
director in 2003, Mr. Nelson served as NDOT’s District II engineer for 13 years and in the operations analysis division
for five years. He began his career with NDOT in 1984 as a rotational engineer.
Prior to Mr. Nelson’s employment with NDOT, he served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service attached to the Indian Health Service, serving tours on the Navajo Indian Reservation and with the California Program Office.
During his career with NDOT, Mr. Nelson has developed an extensive knowledge and expertise of surface transportation weather and winter maintenance operations. In 1996, he received the President’s Modal Award from the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials for his contributions in the area of winter maintenance. He co-chaired a delegation of engineers from the United States to study winter maintenance in Japan and was invited to perform an analysis of winter maintenance strategies employed in Argentina, South America. He continues to provide technical assistance in the development of their winter maintenance program on behalf of the United States and NDOT. Mr. Nelson has participated in and has held several leadership positions in national transportation research initiatives, and on committees and initiatives involving highway operations and winter maintenance. He is currently the chairman of the AASHTO Winter Maintenance Technical Services Program (SICOP) and the U.S. representative to the World Road Association-PIARC technical committee on winter services.
Mr. Nelson is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Nevada and California.
Robert Chisel
Assistant Director, Administration
Robert Chisel was appointed assistant director of administration in October 2002. Mr. Chisel leads
and directs the administrative functions for the department, including the divisions of accounting,
administrative services, financial analysis, financial management, flight operations, and information
services. Prior to his appointment as assistant director of administration, Mr. Chisel was chief
accountant for the department and managed, directed, and supervised the accounting division.
Before coming to work with the Department of Transportation, Mr. Chisel worked in the banking, manufacturing, and insurance industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Nevada, Reno.
Tracy Larkin-Thomason
Assistant Director, Planning
Mrs. Larkin-Thomason oversees NDOT research, traffic information, intermodal, program development, roadway systems and operations
analysis sections, responsible for an annual operating budget of $21 million and more than 60 employees.
Her duties include development and plan adoption of Nevada urban freeway corridor improvements. She also oversees the department’s major corridor studies, Transportation Enhancement Program, State Bicycle and Pedestrian Program, the State Rail Plan, the Statewide Multimodal Plan, as well as the department’s research and transit programs.
Mrs. Larkin-Thomason joined NDOT in 1987 as an engineer technician trainee before being promoted to engineering technician I. She then transferred to Roadway Design, where she was promoted through the engineering technician series to become a civil supervisor II. Beginning in 1994, Mrs. Larkin-Thomason rose through the Bridge Division to staff III engineer. In 1997, she transferred to NDOT District II as manager before being named assistant district engineer for maintenance in 2002. As assistant district engineer, Mrs. Larkin-Thomason progressively and enthusiastically oversaw maintenance activities for northwestern Nevada while developing valuable partnerships and working agreements with local government agencies and groups.
She is a Graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. She is also a Nevada Certified Public Manager and Professional Traffic Operations Engineer.
Mrs. Larkin-Thomason lives near Carson City with her family.
Dennis Baughman
Chief of the Communications Office
Mr. Baughman was appointed chief of the newly created communications office in September 2001 and
oversees the public information, customer service, and multimedia sections, and is the department’s
liaison to the Nevada State Legislature. He joined NDOT as its hearings and special projects
officer in January 1996.
After more than a decade in the news media and academia, Mr. Baughman entered state service in August 1985 as an executive assistant to Gov. Richard H. Bryan. In January 1989, after the governor was elected to the U.S. Senate, he began a seven-year stint as public affairs manager for the Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Office, the state agency responsible for overseeing the U.S. Department of Energy’s proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.
Mr. Baughman began his professional career in 1972 as a reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, covering crime, federal court, tourism, gaming, and the 1975 Nevada Legislature. He was news editor at the Five Cities Times-Press-Recorder in Arroyo Grande, Calif., from June 1976 until September 1978, when he enrolled and became a teaching assistant at the University of Minnesota. For three years he taught reporting, publications editing, journalistic techniques for non-majors, and introduction to mass communication while working on a doctorate degree in mass communication.
He was the news editor at the Nevada Appeal in Carson City from August 1981 to January 1983 and from then until August 1985 was the editorial page editor at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where his work won two first- and two second-place freedom of the press awards from the Nevada State Press Association, as well as first- and second-place awards for best editorial and a first-place best editorial pages award.
Mr. Baughman holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UCLA, and enjoys golf, gardening, reading, writing, traveling, movies, and magic. He is married to Lynn Carrigan and is the proud father of Rachelle.
Mary A. Martini
District I Engineer
In July 2004, Mary Martini relocated to Las Vegas from Portland, Ore., to begin her career with NDOT as the District I engineer. District I encompasses the southern half of the state, is the largest geographically, and includes Las Vegas, the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the nation.
Ms. Martini is responsible for District I operations, including the administration of approximately half billion in annual construction projects, as well as the maintenance of the highway system and appurtenances. Traffic operations in the Las Vegas valley are controlled by the Freeway and Arterial System for Transportation. Known as FAST, the system is a coalition of NDOT, the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, and local agencies. Ms. Martini represents NDOT and oversees the state-of-the-art facility that houses both FAST and the Nevada Highway Patrol.
Prior to joining NDOT, Ms. Martini was the director for surface transportation in the northwest for URS Corp. She led a business practice in highway and bridge engineering for Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. URS recruited Ms. Martini from the Oregon Department of Transportation, where she worked for 20 years. Ms. Martini began as a construction inspector/survey crew chief and over the years served as a bridge designer, project manager (resident engineer) for construction, district manager for maintenance, and regional construction engineer. Ms. Martini is a graduate of the Oregon Institute of Technology with a B.S. in civil engineering and an A.E. in structural engineering. She also holds an M.B.A. from Colorado State University.
Thor A. Dyson
District II Engineer
Thor Dyson was appointed District II engineer in August 2003. In this position,
he is responsible for approximately 300 employees & maintenance personnel,
permit and administration employees, plus six NDOT resident engineer crews and
seven to eight consultant resident engineer crews. The District II engineer
position is responsible for all snow and ice and avalanche control operations
along highways. Emergency response operations for western Nevada state highways
also fall under his charge. In addition, he oversees approximately $500 million
in construction and permit projects in northwestern Nevada.
Mr. Dyson received a bachelor of science degree in civil and environmental engineering from Utah State University in 1986. He passed his Engineer in Training examination before graduation, and holds professional engineering licenses in Nevada and California. While attending Utah State University, he spent his summers working for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. A one-year hiatus from the university allowed him to visit Brazil and attend school to learn Portuguese.
After graduation, Mr. Dyson worked in Sun Valley, Idaho, and performed structural engineering for three years. In 1989, he joined the Nevada Department of Transportation in the rotational engineering program.
Before completing the rotational engineering program, Mr. Dyson joined the District II office as a staff engineer for snow, ice, and construction projects along the eastern Sierra, Nevada/Tahoe, and District II desert areas. He was assistant resident and resident engineer for highway construction contracts from 1994 to 1997. From resident engineer, he moved to assistant District II engineer for maintenance and then to assistant District II engineer for construction until he was named District II engineer in 2003.
Mr. Dyson is a 2005 graduate of the State of Nevada Certified Public Managers Program.
Mr. Dyson enjoys, kayaking, skiing, bicycling, and other outdoor activities.
Kevin Lee
District III Engineer
Kevin Lee was appointed in July 2003 as the district engineer for the Department of Transportation’s District III, which covers a broad expanse of rural northeastern Nevada. The western boundary begins on I-80 at Imlay and runs for 265 miles to West Wendover on the Nevada/Utah border. The northern boundaries begin at the Nevada state lines with Oregon and Idaho and extend south for approximately 300 miles. Moreover, this doesn’t include the many hundreds of miles of state-maintained roads that wind within the district.
A native of the District III area, Mr. Lee was born in northeastern Nevada. As a second-generation NDOT employee whose father retired from NDOT as a resident engineer, Mr. Lee joined the ranks in 1985 as an engineering technician. He has worked on highway projects throughout Nevada, including Hawthorne, Wells, Wendover, Winnemucca, Fallon, Austin, and Beatty. While working on construction crews, he enrolled in NDOT’s Engineer in Training Program and passed the EIT and professional engineer exams. Mr. Lee’s prior appointments with NDOT include engineering technician, supervisor I/associate engineer, assistant resident engineer, district traffic engineer, and assistant district engineer.
In 2005, Mr. Lee was appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to sit on the Bureau of Land Management’s Northeastern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council as a representative of transportation and rights-of-way organizations. The council provides advice to the Secretary regarding management of public lands within the Council’s jurisdiction. Mr. Lee has served on various NDOT committees and is a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
Mr. Lee enjoys anything to do with the outdoors, including hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping. He is an avid wildlife photographer, and his camera is always included in these excursions. Mr. Lee and his wife Amy have a daughter, Kassandra, and son, Kynan.
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