Highways

New Faces in Highways - Kristina Magcamit, Jeffrey Barrett, Frankie Mattei, Jeb Bowen

By: Juli Chun

Kristina Magcamit joins Highways division as Human Resource Specialist IV. Make sure to give her a shaka when you see her at HWY-S Punchbowl office.

What are you looking forward to in your new position at the DOT?

As a Human Resources Specialist, I’m looking forward to learning more about the organizational structure of the Highways Division and how the Department as a whole operates.

What aspects of your job are you excited about?

I’m excited about working with various highways to help them establish new positions and redescribe/reorganize when necessary to help support their program’s needs.

What do you do on your weekends for fun?

Explore Hawaii! I’m new to the island, I recently moved here from San Diego, California.

I left a career in law to pursue a lifestyle where I actually have the time to do things that make me happy. I like to surf, hike, and explore different beaches on the weekends.

I’m hoping to learn to fish and free dive. Any tips or resources are welcome!

As the newest Highway Safety Specialist, Jeffrey Barrett hangs out at the HWY-V Aiea office.

What aspects of your job are you excited about?

Can’t wait to see the incredible work you’ll do Jeffrey!

What are you looking forward to in your new position at the DOT?

Being able to build my skills and continue to develop in a professional organization with a talented team.

What do you do on your weekends for fun?

I enjoy travel, scuba, spear fishing, snorkeling, and spending time with family.

focused culture, opportunities to learn and grow my skills from a technical standpoint, and a chance to learn more leadership skills.

NEW FACES continued from page 10

Highways

Frankie Mattei starts at HWY-E as their Information Technology Specialist.

E komo mai, Frankie!

What are you looking forward to in your new position at the DOT?

Looking forward to all it can offer. I’m in a position that is never a dull moment, with that I look for the challenges that DOT will present in these unfamiliar territories.

What aspects of your job are you excited about?

With the IT environment you never know at times the curves that one may encounter. Being new to DOT is exciting, it is a large umbrella hovering many unknowns just waiting on me to work on. Excited to be on this team!

What do you do on your weekends for fun?

I enjoy music and TV entertainment (movies, etc.). I enjoy getting to my computer and learning all I can to stay on top of the trends… I was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Had relocated to Maryland, working out of Virginia and Washington D.C. on government contracts for a good stretch throughout 15 plus years and then came to the great island of Oahu.

Here now going on 9 years and excited to have landed an exciting position that would accentuate the skillsets I have learned

A warm welcome to Jeb Bowen who joined Highways Division as a Human Resource Assistant IV.

What are you looking forward to in your new position at the DOT?

I’m looking forward to utilizing my education with my role in Personnel and to deepen my practice with Human Resources. I graduated in 2019 in my MHRM (Master’s in Human Resources Management) from UH Manoa and last year I spent my free time to pass the PHR certification.

What aspects of your job are you excited about?

I’m excited to learn more about the public sector and also to assist in supporting our community.

What do you do on your weekends for fun?

I really enjoy getting out of the house and being active by going on a hike and then finishing the day at the beach or by hitting the tennis courts. If the weather doesn’t permit I enjoy home improvement work, reading a good book, or watching movies.

Highways

HWY-AP ‘Ohana Welcomes Eldridge Shay

By: Maaza Mekuria

The Project Coordination and Technical Service Office under the Highways Administrator (HWYAP Ohana) welcomes Civil Engineer Eldridge Shay. Eldridge was born in Berkeley, CA, and moved at the age of four to the Big Island of Hawai’i, where he and his siblings learned to appreciate the cinder roads and rocky shores of East Hawai’i. His love of the outdoors, basketball, and the ocean coalesced into a general intrigue into the workings of nature and its intersection with society. After graduating from Hilo High School, he went on to finish a Bachelor of Science in Astronomy. He worked for several years at Gemini North Telescope, NASA Infrared Telescope, and James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. On Oahu, he obtained a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in December 2020.

Eldridge has experience working in several capacities involving technical drafting, employee supervision, mentorship, manufacturing, systems engineering, tutoring, construction, material science research, testing, and analysis. As an intern at Interface Engineering in summer 2017, he assisted a project engineer in editing architectural drawings and equipment specifics ranging from high-rise buildings to school rooms. He also worked with computer-aided design programs such as AutoCAD, Revit, Trace, and BlueBeam software. In the Hawaii Nanotechnology Laboratory, he was a mentor in the Native Hawaiian Science Engineering Mentorship Program for undergraduate students researching materials for unmanned aerial vehicles during summer 2019. As a mechanical engineering undergraduate, he worked on the suspension of a UHM Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Rainbow Warrior Racers car that competed in the 2017 Formula SAE race in Lincoln, NE. His team took second place in efficiency and 14th in overall performance among 84 other teams from across the globe, a landmark achievement for the UHM ME program.

For Eldridge, these experiences engendered new focus for creating real solutions and pathways for specific community needs.

In his leisure time, Eldridge enjoys reading a good book, surfing his longboard or paddling a canoe, working on a small project around the house, and sharing a good laugh with friends and family. He hopes that through his lifework he is bringing progress and that whatever effect he has on the people around him leads to a better world for us all.

Please welcome Eldridge Shay to our HDOT ‘Ohana.

Hany Sokar Joins HWY-AP

Hany Sokar joined the Project Coordination and Technical Service Office under the Highways Administrator (HWY-AP) of the HDOTHighways Division on February 26, 2021. Hany comes with over 25 years of experience in construction management with large projects locally and internationally. Hany was born and raised in and around Cairo, Egypt and was educated at Cairo University earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in Civil Engineering and Geotechnical Engineering. He is a good team player with excellent analytical skills and is able to relate and work and learn in a group setting. He is quick at asking questions to help find ways solving complex challenges. Hany is multi-lingual coming from the Pharaonic nation of Egypt with Arabic, Coptic and English to his language repertoire. Hany is a family man and has three children. Please welcome Hany to our DOT Ohana.

Highways

By: Maaza Mekuria

2021 Connecting the DOTs. All rights reserved.

Interested in submitting for next month’s newsletter? Send your articles and high-resolution photos to lynn.araki-regan@ hawaii.gov by March 20, 2021.