Herendira (Heren) Molina – President

I am a Civil Engineer in the Construction Management Field, who enjoys great challenges and great company. I love diversity and learning about different cultures, foods, points of views, people, places, etc. Although I can be extremely outgoing and I love to have a great time, I also enjoy the quiet times and spending great quality time with my AWESOME family. I can also be very shy and quiet at times, but I am definitely NOT afraid to speak my mind when there is a need for it. Listening and creating long lasting relationships are two of my greatest qualities and what I enjoy doing the most. Oh by the way…the H is silent.

Marlon Calderon – Past President

Marlon Funbio I hold a Bachelor’s and a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the California State University, Los Angeles. I am currently working for the 2nd largest city in the US, the City Of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering, as an assistant project manager for the $400M, 10-story LAPD Police Administration Building that is under construction in downtown Los Angeles and anticipated to be completed in ‘09. When I’m not at work or working on the family business I like to spend my time with family and doing extreme outdoor activities. I enjoy to run, hike, mountain bike, swim, read auto biographies, and have a good conversation with friends.

Diana Turlik – Vice President

I am a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduate and am currently working as a consultant with my husband. I love spending time with my friends and family, hiking, going to the beach and bike riding. YMF is a great place to meet fun people and network, I encourage you to get involved in one of our many activities, attend our general meetings and join us for social events. You find a work hard, play hard attitude!

Jinny Huang – Treasurer

Meet Jinny. When she's not at work, she enjoys spending what little time she has left with her friends, going to shows, watching UCLA football & basketball, trying out new restaurants, and exploring the outdoors. When she has more time on her hands, Jinny loves to travel the world, meet new people, and learn more about other cultures. Her short term goals in life include: learning a new language, practicing her golf swing, running some races (for a cause of course), and making more money to pay off her loans, oh, and buying a new car.

Jinny's ASCE goal is to organize a successful P.E. Review Course for the Spring 2008 exam and enroll more than 30 students and bring in at least $8,000 for our group.

Francisco Aragon, P.E. – Membership Chair and Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition Chair

I'm an easy going person, a little on the hippy-dorky side, who loves spending time with friends and family. I keep myself busy doing Construction/Project Management, playing fútbol, running, volunteering at the library, discovering new world music and films, with the passport-at-hand ready to discover new places. I can be easily persuaded to grab a drink with people who have a story to share.

Julia Moye - Scholarship Chair

I grew up in the serene Chicago suburb of Wheaton, IL. Among my many noteworthy accomplishments was being one of the coolest kids on my high school math team. After high school, I completed my undergraduate degrees in Civil Engineering and Spanish at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in a short five years not including summer classes. I began working for the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering in 2005. My passions include arts and crafts, karaoke, softball, volunteering, square dancing, and re-runs of “Doogie Howser, M. D.” My goal this year is to keep impeccable financial records for MLAB YMF!

Maria Miranda – PE Review Course Co-Chair

My name is Maria Miranda and I will be the PE Review Course Co-Chair for this coming year 2009-2010. I attended Cal Poly Pomona and have been working for Pfeiler & Associates Engineers for the past five years. I have always been involved with engineering associations and try to participate at all fun events, seminars and conferences. My best moments, though, are when I am outdoor practicing sport, from hiking, mountain biking, swimming, mud runs, and even training/running half marathon, you name it. Going back to my career, the best thing so far about being an engineer is helping those less fortunate. In September 2009, I was out in El Salvador, the country I was born in, working with Engineers Without Borders constructing a water tank. It has been the most remunerating experience, having to work with the people from the community knowing that all our hard work is greatly appreciated by all of them. Anyways, I am happy to be part of YMF and looking forward to working with all of you on a successful year. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Andrew Parkhurst – Community Service

My name is Andrew Parkhurst and I am from the great north of California originally in the town of Santa Cruz. I went to the University of California Davis for my undergraduate bachelors degree in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in structural engineering. I have passed the Engineer in Training Exam and the LEED Green Associate exam and hoping to become a professional in both areas one day. I have been involved with the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Metropolitan Los Angeles Branch for almost 6 months now. I currently am taking classes through the UCLA Extension system in Project Management. My hobbies include running, going down to Hermosa Beach, going skiing, and most of all traveling. I hope you enjoyed the autobiography and will come out and join us at the MLAB!

James Weldon – Fundraising Chair

Hello, my name is James Weldon, you can call me James or Jim and some people call me Jimbo. Just don’t call me "late for dinner” LOL. I am the new MLAB-YMF Fundraising Chair. I am currently an undergraduate student at CSU Fullerton and I will be graduating this coming Dec of 2009. I am definitely an out-doors, thrill seeking type of person. Snow boarding and bike riding down at the beach or up in the mountains are a few things I like to doing for fun. I enjoy challenging myself, learning new things, and meeting new people. MLAB-YMF has the most diverse mixture of incredible personalities and intellect that I have ever seen and I am very proud to be a member of such an exceptional group of people.

Sonia Flores – K-12 Outreach Co-Chair

I am a San Fernando Valley girl born and raised, I have my Civil Engineering Bachelor’s from Cal State Univ., Northridge and currently getting my Master’s from Cal State Univ., LA. I spend most of my time working for a private civil engineering firm but don’t get me wrong I like to have fun. I do what everyone else does, hang out with friends and I also enjoy hanging out with my family. I am a bit of a movie and music buff, I love going to the movies and concerts, watching a live band is like nothing else. I also love to travel; I try to take a trip at least once a year, a way to get out of my comfort zone. I am pretty open-minded and easily open for just about most things and the one thing I am known for is my laugh, it is quite unique and unexpected so beware.

Alejandro Moreno – Professional Association Liaison

I was born and raised in the South Bay. I attended Cal State University, Long Beach and graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering. I am employed as a Civil Engineer Associate for the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering. For leisure, I devote myself to studying and training in “Salsa Dancing”. I am living my dream of traveling the world and performing. My other passion is Civil Engineering and I also seek to be involved in a cause “greater than myself”. My personal goal is to develop my leadership skills through MLAB YMF so that one day I can become a great leader of a large organization and give back to my community.

Julie Kentosh – P.E. Review Course Co-Chair

I was born and raised in Southern California: I grew up on an orange grove in Ojai before moving to Los Angeles in 2003 to study civil engineering at UCLA. ASCE runs through my blood, and so the first thing I did at UCLA was sign up to become involved. It was the beginning of a series of remarkable collaborations with extra-ordinary people. I have a love of learning and an adventurous spirit. Outside of work, I enjoy traveling, backpacking, running, canoeing, music, art, photography, videography, and spending time with family and friends. This year, I plan to organize two successful PE Review Courses, and to become more involved in overall YMF efforts.

Lizbeth Cordova, P.E. – Newsletter Editor

Hi there, I’m Lizbeth Cordova and I am your new Membership Chair for FY 2007-08. My goal for the year is to create an outlet for the MLAB YMF General Membership to meet, mingle and interact. We work hard, but don’t worry; we are a fun bunch too. I’ll start the introductions; I am an engineer by day, but always up for an adventure in my free time. I travel whenever possible, but I’ll settle for a game of basketball or hiking & camping any day. I am looking forward to meeting you, and having a year of interaction amongst the General Membership. If you are interested in getting more involved or have any suggestions or ideas, please drop me a line. See you at the next event, and don’t forget to bring your business cards.

Erik Hoffman, P.E., LEED AP - Student Night/Job Fair Chair

A quixotic eternal optimist, Scorpio and self proclaimed aesthete. I am a protégé of John Steinbeck, Winston Churchill, Steve McQueen, John Mayer, Jimmy Stewart, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Joseph Strauss, Gene Autry, Gene Kelly, Samuel Clemens, William Mulholland, Domenikos Theotokopoulos, Paul Smith, Marlon Calderon and James Doolittle to name a few. A purveyor of Bourbon, Rye, Gin, wine and am willing to try anything deemed edible at least once. I am an adventure seeker nearly to a fault, however behind every scar and broken bone is a story sure to fascinate or perhaps humor my audience. I vowed to only purchase vehicles with manual transmissions, yet would be open to altering that stance if I were to live in San Francisco or Seattle, but I doubt it. For fun I go to museums, Oktoberfest, the theater, jump from high points (waterfalls, piers, etc…) into massive bodies of water, snowboard slopes I have no business being on, attempt to surf, laugh, travel, read and craft a soundtrack for each moment of my existence with my iPod. When I like to frustrate myself I fix things around the house, work on my Fords, purposely get lost in the outdoors so that I may find my car only with the aid of a USGS map and a compass, and visit my sister whom I love dearly. Most importantly I wish to leave this earth better than I found it, which is why I have chosen to be an engineer and the chair for Student Night and Job Fair. If you see me around be sure to say hi, and of course GO DEVILS!