Friday, January 18, 2002
Page 3
Sarah Catz Joins Nossaman Guthner Knox & Elliot’s Irvine Office
By a MetNews Staff Writer
California transportation leader Sarah L. Catz has joined the national infrastructure practice at Nossaman Guthner Knox & Elliot in its Irvine office.
Catz said she decided to start part-time since she is currently working to create a center for transportation and land-use management at the University of California, Irvine.
A self proclaimed “infrastructure geek,” Catz has played a key role in major transportation projects in California. She spent the past 10 years with the Orange County Transportation Authority, serving as chairman in 1998, and as chairman of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink) she led the initiative for the first commuter rail system in Southern California.
“Sarah is a powerhouse in the transportation field; her knowledge and experience will be invaluable to our infrastructure clients,” Geoff Yarema, who head’s the firms national infrastructure practice form Los Angeles, said.
Catz said that financing infrastructure projects will be a big challenge in the coming year as state budgets “shortfall,” and said she would actively look for ways to secure federal and state funding for projects involving water, transportation, highways and other areas “that governments have ignored for so long.”
She added that the firm was a great fit since they have had “a huge hand in shaping policy in the last ten years.”
“Nossaman is internationally known for providing innovative, cost-effective solutions to transportation challenges,” Catz said. “The firm has a solid understanding of today’s national transportation needs, and I look forward to being a member of its dynamic infrastructure team.”
In addition to working with Nossaman’s clients like the Las Vegas Monorail, the Alameda Corridor and the $1.16 billion Colorado Transportation Project, Catz will continue working on the board of directors of the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission that is developing a high-speed rail service between Orange County and Las Vegas.
“Looking back, I see much progress in California’s transportation industry,” said Catz. “Looking forward, I see that much needs to be done. Nossaman gives me a unique opportunity to continue that work.”
Copyright 2002, Metropolitan News Company