Job description: Amanda joined Ventura County Transportation Commission five years ago. Her role as director of planning and sustainability includes managing VCTC's Santa Paula Branch Line (SPBL), a 32-mile short line extending from the city of Ventura through the cities of Santa Paula and Fillmore. VCTC purchased the line in 1995 from Southern Pacific Railroad, now part of Union Pacific. VCTC intended to use the line to create a recreational trail along its right-of-way, and also to conduct rail operations. Sierra Northern Railway is VCTC's current operator on the line.

Why she's influential in sustainability: Amanda's management of the SPBL over the past several years merits special attention. During that time, portions of the recreational trail have been built in Santa Paula and Fillmore. Over the past three years, Amanda and her team led the development of the SPBL Trail Master Plan and Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Study. Moreover, in partnership with Ventura in 2023, VCTC applied for and received over $20 million in state funding for another 5 miles of the trail within Ventura along the SPBL right of way. Amanda was integrally involved in all aspects of this project.

In addition, Amanda further enhanced sustainability of the SPBL by working to get repaired a rail bridge that was severely damaged on the Sespe Creek in the unprecedented atmospheric river storms of January 2023, and then again in early 2024. The bridge damage split Sierra Northern's rail operations. Amanda worked with the Federal Emergency Management Administration and staff from local agencies to draft a plan to rebuild the bridge; the project is on track to begin reconstruction in spring or summer 2025. Amanda demonstrated skill, dedication and tact to get the project underway. In doing so, she exemplified VCTC's commitment to collaborating with its partners to achieve sustainable outcomes.