Leadership Team

George L. Pla

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

George L. Pla is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and author whose business and civic activities focus on enhancing and empowering communities throughout California. He is the founder, president and CEO of Cordoba Corporation, a nationally recognized civil engineering, program and construction management firm specializing in transportation, education, and water and energy infrastructure.

Mr. Pla was raised in East Los Angeles, after arriving in the United States undocumented from Zacatecas, Mexico. He was the first in his family to graduate from college, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from California State University, Los Angeles in 1972 and a Master of Public Administration from USC in 1974.

Mr. Pla is the governor’s appointee to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission, which is helping prepare for the 2028 Summer Olympics, and serves as the commission’s president. He served on the California Science Center Foundation Board of Trustees and led the planning of Cordoba Corporation’s historic transport of the Space Shuttle Endeavour through the streets of Los Angeles in 2012. He is a co-founder of the City Club, a premier private club in Los Angeles that embraces and reflects the diversity and spirit of the city.

Mr. Pla has made a commitment to establish the George L. Pla Leadership and Policy Forum and Institute at the university in the coming years for the generations to come. His philanthropic efforts extend to national institutions, including Cordoba Corporation’s commitment to supporting the Latino history initiatives at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Mr. Pla co-authored, with the noted academic and political analyst David Ayón, “Power Shift: How Latinos in California Transformed Politics in America”, which recounts the history of Latino political empowerment in California and beyond. As part of the book release, Mr. Pla met with students across the State of California to discuss their potential in the future of politics in this country.

Mr. Pla is an inaugural member of Cal State LA’s President’s Council. In 1991, he was honored as Cal State LA’s Alumnus of the Year, and in 2016, he received the Joe Shapiro Humanitarian Award at Cal State LA’s Billie Jean King & Friends Awards Gala. In 2017, he was awarded the Presidential Medallion, the university’s highest honor, bestowed upon individuals who have displayed outstanding leadership and extraordinary service to the Cal State LA community.
In recognition of his generous contributions to the campus and decades of commitment to the city of Los Angeles, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and California State University, Los Angeles conferred upon George L. Pla the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in May, 2023.

Maria Mehranian

Managing Partner

Maria Mehranian is Managing Partner of Cordoba Corporation, a California based full-service engineering, construction management and program management firm specializing in the delivery of infrastructure projects in the transportation, water, energy, and education sectors with offices throughout California. Cordoba Corporation is ranked by Engineering News-Record (ENR) as a Top 50 Program Management Firm and a Top 100 Construction Management-for-Fee Firm in the nation, as well as a Top 100 Design firm in California

For nearly 40 years, Maria has dedicated her career to building Cordoba Corporation into one of the nation’s top specialty services firms with its staff of engineers, designers, environmental specialists, and construction professionals from all over the world. For her efforts, Maria caught the attention of academic institutions and was featured in a case study by Harvard Business School and Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University.

Maria earned a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. She previously served as Senior Vice President of Cordoba Corporation’s Transportation planning division. During that period, she conducted research on the travel patterns of the Downtown Los Angeles workforce. Her study was used to develop Regulation XV, a city ordinance promoting alternative commute modes in Downtown Los Angeles. As an urban planner she contributed to a number of large-scale infrastructure development projects such as the Downtown Strategic Plan, a blueprint of development that planned for 100,000 housing units in the area, which was intended to preserve and protect industrial zones while re-zoning underutilized areas for office spaces.

Maria is the former Chair the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, where she served two consecutive terms and led the Board in adopting the region’s landmark Stormwater Permit. As a water policy expert, Maria plays a pivotal role in the development of California’s water supply, quality, and resource policies. She participates in numerous water policy panels on water quality and supply issues, and serves as a guest lecturer for universities throughout the state. She continues to collaborate with teams of water engineers to develop state of the art guidelines for stormwater facilities throughout California.

Maria currently serves a member of the Delta Stewardship Council as an appointee of the Senate Rules Committee. In addition, Maria was recently appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to the County’s Safe, Clean Water Program’s Regional Oversight Committee (ROC). The ROC is an independent body that reviews all Regional Program Stormwater Investment Plans to ensure program goals are met. The ROC consists of nine (9) subject matter experts. Maria was appointed to serve on the ROC as a water quality/water supply expert.

Maria is a past Corporate Woman of the Year honoree, an award jointly presented by the legislators of the 43rd and 44th Assembly and 21st Senate Districts of California. In addition, Mujeres de da Tierra declared her an environmental champion and honored Maria with the 2016 Healer of La Madre Tierra award. Maria is also a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for exemplifying outstanding qualities in both her personal and professional life while continuing to preserve the richness of her Armenian heritage.

Maria serves in leadership positions for several educational institutions and non-profit organizations. She serves as a member of the Dean’s Leadership Board at Cal Poly Pomona College of Engineering and as a member of the Board of Trustees at Southwestern Law School.

Maria is the President of the Armenia Fund USA, which raises funds for humanitarian aid and infrastructure development in Armenia. In March 2019, Maria was invited to present at the sixty-third session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women at the UN Headquarters in New York City. She participated on a panel discussion focused on “Developing Infrastructure and Access to Public Services to Improve Gender Equality.” The presentation focused on the importance of promoting, sponsoring and funding specific types of infrastructure in developing countries that enhance women’s access to capital and ultimately results in economic and social empowerment of women.

Randall D. Martinez

Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Randall Martinez is an Architectural/Engineering/Construction executive with over 30 years of industry experience. He is a responsible civic leader with board-level environmental conservation, social justice and governance experience. He is a proven executive manager who has successfully managed multi-disciplinary teams and achieved goals on target and within budget. He has worked closely with developers, contractors and professional consultants with an emphasis in Federal, State and local government.

Martinez serves as Executive Vice President & COO for Cordoba Corporation, a California-based engineering and construction services company that is active in the municipal public infrastructure space. In addition to his daily responsibilities, he serves as chair for the company’s Board of Councilors, an independent panel of industry executives and experts that convene quarterly to provide advisory support and guidance to the company’s executive and senior management team. He also serves as Principal-in-Charge and is responsible for the company’s participation as the majority partner in a formal joint venture organized for the successful delivery of conceptual to preliminary design services of the $6B Eastside Light Rail Extension of the Los Angeles Metro Gold (or “E”) Line.

Martinez currently serves as board member for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. . He serves as Chair of the Audit Committee for the Resources Legacy Fund (a Western U.S. based land conservation and environmental resiliency group), too. From 2024 to 2022, he served as Vice Chair for the California Energy Commission’s $4B Clean Energy Jobs Act (Proposition 39) Citizens Oversight Board. From 2020 to 2023, he served as 18th Scoutmaster for the Troop 5 Boy Scout Troop in Pasadena, CA. During his tenure as Scoutmaster, the troop completed over 500 hiking miles and 150 camping nights, and earned Scouting’s prestigious national high-adventure Triple Crown Award. In 2004 he published his first book “Ten Days To Get To London – a European Backpacking Adventure.”

Education, Certifications and Licenses:

University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business
Corporate Board of Directors Program
2004

University of Southern California
B.S. Business Administration/Corporate Finance
1989

Licensed California Contractor
Class A (General Engineering)
No 949359

Michael Boomsma, P.E., CCM, LEED AP

Senior Vice President of Education and Facilities

Michael Boomsma, PE, CCM, LEED AP is a nationally recognized Program and Construction Management professional with extensive field experience to go along with a background in civil engineering and business administration. As a licensed Professional Engineer, Michael brings a wealth of design and construction knowledge with practical applications from years of leading project teams. He specializes in leading diverse stakeholders through the planning, design, and construction of complex publicly funded facilities and associated infrastructure. Throughout his career, he has continually met critical milestones and budget goals while providing technical and management services with steadfast professionalism.

Michael is the Senior Vice President of Cordoba’s Education and Facilities sector. As Principal-in-Charge, Michael supports a wide range of projects by providing Program Management, Construction Management, Program Controls, ADA Transition Plan generation and implementation, IT Infrastructure implementation, and staff augmentation services. He is directly responsible for the successful planning, procurement, and delivery of all Education and Facilities sector projects throughout the state. On several projects, he provides technical expertise in support of ongoing bond programs. Of note, in February 2016 Michael was selected by Engineering News-Record (a nationally recognized industry publication) as one of the “Top 20 Under 40” construction professionals in the state of California.

Prior to his current role as Senior Vice President, Michael worked his way through several construction management roles at Cordoba, culminating as Program Director for Long Beach Community College District’s (LBCCD) $1.5B bond program. At LBCCD, Michael was directly responsible for the oversight of 21 Bond Management Team members managing all aspects of program implementation activities such as planning, budgeting, financing, scheduling, controls, design management, construction management, and closeout for over 30 projects on two campuses. He was also the District’s primary resource for the evaluation and execution of projects via alternate delivery methods. Through his leadership, the Bond Management Team successfully delivered numerous high quality, functional and financially viable projects and LBCCD has transformed into a highlight of the local community.

Michael has been married to his wife Elana for 20 years and they have four school age children. He currently serves as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, where he continues a long track record of leadership success.

Daniel Rydberg

Vice President of Water Sector

Certifications

P.E., Professional Mechanical Engineer, California (M28506)

P.E., Professional Civil Engineer, California (C56897)

Education

M.S., Mechanical and Environmental Engineering, concentration in Ocean Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara

B.S., Mechanical Engineering, concentration in Solar Energy,

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Leadership Development and Education for Sustained Peace (LDESP),

Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, California

US Army, Command and General Staff Officer Course

US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced Courses

RECOGNITION & AWARDS

California League of Cities Helen Putnam Award, 2016

California WateReuse Association Staff Person of the Year, 2014

US Army Engineer Association, De Fleury Medal

US Army, Inspector General Course, Commandants Coin

US Army Corps of Engineers, Assistant Commandants Award

Memberships & Affiliations

Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society

Society of American Military Engineers

American Public Works Association

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

American Society of Civil Engineers

Boy Scouts of America – Assistant Scoutmaster & Executive Officer

Knights of Columbus

Experience

Daniel Rydberg, PE is an established professional with over 35 years of public works project engineering, construction management, operations, and leadership experience in complex organizations. He has experience on the “client side” and has managed projects totaling over $1 billion dollars including $100 million in grants. He has been very successful in delivering projects using proven supervisory and team building skills. Daniel’s experience as a public works director means that he understands managing for stakeholders, monitoring budgets, personnel management, and working with a myriad of public services and integrating them for accountability. His specific experience includes:

Utilities and Solid Waste Operations
Engineering and Design
Construction Management and Inspection
Master Planning and Project Management
Financial Mgmt. and Contract Admin.
Good Governance
Strategic Planning
Organizational Transformation
Business Development
Disaster Preparation, Response and Mitigation

Dan also served in the California Army National Guard for 30 years as a US Army Corps of Engineers Officer where he held positions of Engineer Officer, Information Operations Officer, Civil Affairs Officer and Inspector General.

During his career, Dan held several key management positions at the City of Oxnard Public Works Department, including Senior Civil Engineer, Streets and Waterways Superintendent, Acting Solid Waste Division Manager, Capital Projects Manager, Utilities Director and Public Works Director. As Public Works Director, Dan managed the water, wastewater, solid waste, fleet services, facilities, parks, streets and waterways, and engineering divisions. He oversaw a department of 375 full-time employees and 75 seasonal employees with an operating budget of $150 million per year.

Dan began at Cordoba as a Senior Project Engineer overseeing engineering projects in our Water Sector, providing QA/QC, developing internal processes and ensuring client satisfaction with all deliverables. He led the sector’s internal controls working group and developed engineering, design and project management standards and processes. His projects included stormwater quality and reuse concept reports and feasibility studies for agencies including the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation (LASAN) (for submission to the Safe Clean Water (SCW) Program). He also led a Program Support Office assisting LASAN in executing their SCW Program. The division also relied on his technical expertise, and he supported several projects including remediation of refinery fuel leaks and permitting for the water feature at SoFi Stadium.

Dan currently leads the operations of the Water Sector including staffing, project accounting and reporting, project management and quality management. He also continues to support projects such as the Rincoanda Water Treatment Plant Reliability Improvement Project, and Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation (LASAN) Safe Clean Water Program

Leadership Team

GEORGE L. PLA

MARIA MEHRANIAN

RANDALL D. MARTINEZ

BRAD CARTER

HUGO MEJIA

TERRY NASH

MICHAEL BOOMSMA, P.E.

AUGUSTINE CHUNG, J.D.

SAM TENORIO

Daniel Rydberg, PE

George L. Pla

Maria Mehranian

Randall D. Martinez

Brad Carter

Hugo Mejia

Terry Nash

Michael Boomsma, P.E., CCM, LEED AP

Augustine “Gus” Chung, J.D.

Sam Tenorio

Daniel Rydberg