Former Director, Human Resources, San Mateo County Transit District
Redwood City, CA

ColondresMonica Colondres, a leader in human resources, recently retired as the Director of Human Resources with the San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans). Her career encompasses 37 years of public service. Starting as a bus driver with the SamTrans in 1977, she quickly advanced to various departments including the maintenance and operations departments, where she gained a hands-on knowledge of the transportation industry. After achieving the rank of Superintendent, Base Operations, Monica transitioned into the Human Resources department at SamTrans. In 1991 she was promoted to Director of Human Resources. The field of conflict resolution was the most challenging aspect of her career; Colondres converted adversaries to allies to establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships.

As the first person in her family to attend college, Monica earned a bachelor’s degree in Organization Behavior at University of San Francisco (1989) and a Master’s in Business Administration from Notre Dame de Namur University in 2004.