This edition of Org Chart has news on leaders for the Arboretum and Public Garden and the Career Center, plus two departments in the College of Engineering. Read on to find out more.

Dateline UC Davis welcomes news of appointments of various kinds for faculty and staff, for publication in Org Chart (formerly titled Transitions). Send information to dateline@ucdavis.edu.

Arboretum and Public Garden director

After more than two decades of transformative leadership, Carmia S. Feldman has been selected as director of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. The appointment marks a new chapter for an organization that has become nationally recognized for its innovation in public engagement, student leadership, and sustainable land management — and for Feldman, a leader who has long helped make that success possible.

Feldman, who holds a Ph.D. in science education and a master’s in ecology from UC Davis, joined the Arboretum in 2001 as education director and was promoted to assistant director in 2006. Since then, she has quietly become the person everyone counts on.

“Carmia has been at the heart of our work for years,” said Kathleen Socolofsky, who led the Arboretum for 27 years and is retiring at the end of June. “She brings creativity, compassion, and a strong strategic vision—along with a deep love for this place.”

— Katie Hetrick

Career Center interim executive director

Andrea Hanson, who has served as an associate director of the Career Center since 2016, became interim executive director of the center, effective June 2.

Hanson, who has worked in career services for more than two decades, succeeds Marcie Kirk Holland, who has been at the Career Center for more than 33 years and is retiring at the end of June.

Hanson joined the Career Center in 2006 as a coordinator working with health and biological sciences students. She served as a project manager and assistant director from 2013 to 2015, when she became interim associate director. Before joining UC Davis, Hanson was a career counseling intern and career counselor at  UC Berkeley’s Career Center. 

Andrea holds a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and women’s studies from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, and a Master of Arts in career development from John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, California. She is a certified Gallup Strengths coach, etiquette facilitator and life coach.

— Julia Ann Easley

Materials Science and Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering

The Departments of Materials Science and Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering will soon be led by new chairs.

Professor Sabyasachi Sen will formally begin his role as chair of materials science and engineering on July 1, and Professor Miguel Jaller will begin his role as chair of civil and environmental engineering on Jan. 1.

Both professors are esteemed in their research fields and bring histories of leadership and collaboration to their new roles. 

Sen joined the UC Davis Department of Materials Science and Engineering in 2004. Sen served as the department vice chair in the past and has held the Blacutt-Underwood Professorship in Materials Science since 2020.

Jaller joined UC Davis in 2014, and since that time has been at the forefront of research aimed at enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of freight transportation. In 2018, Jaller became the co-director of the Sustainable Freight Research Program in the Institute of Transportation Studies. His work has addressed critical issues such as decarbonizing freight systems, optimizing last-mile delivery and improving disaster response logistics.

— Jessica Heath