BEVERLY HILLS—On Friday, March 10, the city of Beverly Hills announced Shana Epstein from the city of Ventura as the new Director of Public Works. According to a press release from Therese Kosterman, Public Information Manager for the city of Beverly Hills, Epstein will be replacing Public Works Director and Assistant City Manager George Chavez, who has been serving both positions for over a year.
The Beverly Hills Public Works Director oversees over 200 employees whose duties include developing, improving, constructing, inspecting, and maintaining the city’s traffic lights, street lights, roadways, sidewalks, and City parks. More so, the Public Works Department manages water, wastewater, stormwater, solid waste and parking enterprise operations.
“I am honored to return to Beverly Hills and have this opportunity to address innovative challenges with familiar and new colleagues,” said Epstein.
Since May 2011, Epstein served as Ventura’s Water General Manager, where she supervised the water and wastewater operations. The city of Ventura won first place in the 2016 Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for water conservation. In addition, she was named as one of the Top 50 Women in Business by the Pacific Coast Business Times in 2016.
“We are very fortunate to welcome Shana back to Beverly Hills,” said Beverly Hills City Manager Mahdi Aluzri. “Both in Beverly Hills and Ventura she has proven herself to be an outstanding manager whose knowledge of public works operations and best practices will guide our Public Works Department into the future.”
Previously, Epstein served as the city of Beverly Hills Environmental Utilities Manager, where she was in charge of water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste services. She also worked in the public utilities department for the City of Anaheim. Epstein has a master’s degree in Public Administration from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, San Diego.
Epstein will begin her new role on April 24.