Welcome to COMTO San Diego
Ensuring Transportation Serves All
COMTO’s mission is to provide full access to employment, career and contract opportunities for all within the transportation industry. Over the past fifty years, our mandate has evolved to include not only public transportation industry executives, but also professionals at every level of industry encompassing a variety of fields and disciplines. Now, as was then, members are encouraged to share information, opportunities and personal expertise. With 41 chapters in North America, our mission is as relevant today as we strive to provide full access to employment, career and contract opportunities for people of all lived experience within the transportation industry.
Leadership
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Thet Htike
President
Thet Htike is a Transportation Engineer at HNTB with over 7 years of experience. Throughout her career, Htike has worked on a variety of largescale transportation projects, including the California High Speed Rail project from City of Shafter to City of Bakersfield, the Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project, the 11-mile extension of the MTS Blue Line Trolley in San Diego, the UCSD Roundabout Project, the I-105 ExpressLanes freeway improvement project in Los Angeles, and the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry Project in San Diego. In addition to her project work, Htike serves as the Office Operations Manager at HNTB. In her free time, she enjoys running, yoga, hiking, camping, any and all outdoor/nature activities, and spending time with her two dogs.
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Adrienne Johnson
Vice President
Adrienne L. Johnson is Vice President of the COMTO-San Diego Chapter, San Diego California. Adrienne’s belief is that transportation is not just about getting from point A to point B. However, it is about making sure everyone gets there and not leaving our communities behind. Her mission is to reassure that the COMTO San Diego Chapter will build the gap between public and private sectors, and between policy and people every single day. In a professional setting, Adrienne is also the Deputy Chief People Officer at North County Transit – San Diego Railroad. Adrienne continues to champion workplaces where employees feel valued, engaged, and empowered to thrive. She is a Human Resources leader recognized for her deliberate and people-centered approach to organizational success. Guided by the principle of “treating others the way they want to be treated,” Adrienne has consistently and passionately driven HR transformation and organizational effectiveness and design. Her career spans through diverse industries, where she has led HR strategy across multi-state regions and has cultivated cultures of accountability, innovation, and growth. With a proven track record of aligning culture and human capital strategies to business objectives. Adrienne has empowered organizations to unlock the full potential of their workforce. Known for a collaborative and forward‑thinking approach, she strives to align North County Transit-San Diego Railroad’s people strategy with the agency’s organizational strategy and culture. The culture where employees feel valued and empowered to contribute their best work and to unlock their full potential. Fostering connections and developing talent remain at the heart of her professional mantra. Adrienne is committed to developing teams that are people-centered with practices and policies that drive both employee well -being and organizational success.
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Vayakone "Vai" Terry
2nd Vice President
Vayakone “Vai” Terry brings more than 20 years of experience in market and business capture, strategic communications, and creative marketing, with a career rooted in advancing equity and visibility within the transportation industry. A longtime supporter of COMTO, she has been an active member of the COMTO SoCal Chapter since 2020 and previously served a full term as Secretary on the 2022–2024 Board. During her tenure, she helped organize the COMTO National 2022 Conference and led event planning and sponsorship outreach—raising more than $20,000 for COMTO’s first Asian Pacific Awards Dinner, along with supporting numerous industry events, golf tournaments, and member programs.
Professionally, Vai serves as Vice President of Operations at Morgner Construction Management, a woman- and minority-owned firm specializing in program and construction management, facilities condition assessments, quality inspections, environmental and engineering support services, and financial advisory services. She oversees all business operations at Morgner, supporting projects across California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington State, and Washington, D.C. Her leadership spans business development, marketing, project controls, and strategic partnerships, and has contributed to securing more than $1 billion in awarded construction projects and over $2 million in sponsorships and philanthropic funding.
Originally from San Diego, Vai spent years in Los Angeles expanding her professional reach across major capital programs before returning home to help shape the emerging COMTO San Diego Chapter. She is passionate about building partnerships, supporting emerging professionals, and uplifting underrepresented voices, and is honored to help lead Chapter 41 as it establishes a strong foundation and future.
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Emily Luster
Secretary
Emily Luster is the President and a third-generation owner of Luster National, Inc., a minority-owned small business specializing in strategic consulting and project and program management for large, complex infrastructure projects. Under her leadership, the firm advances innovative methods for their clients, ensuring Luster consistently delivers in an ever-changing environment.
Emily is committed to expanding opportunities for small and minorityowned businesses and strengthening pathways to equitable infrastructure delivery nationwide. She holds a Juris Doctor, cum laude,from the University of Michigan Law School and a BA in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Barbara. She also holds certifications including ENV SP and OSHA-30 and is a licensed attorney in the state of California. She is involved in WTS, COMTO, CMAA, and ACEC.
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Emily Turner
Membership Committee Chair
Emily is a senior transportation engineer/planner at Fehr & Peers providing transportation consulting services to public and private sector clients throughout California and Hawaii. Her work focuses on systemic safety and active transportation planning, gender-responsive mobility planning, big data mobility analytics, geospatial analysis, and web app development. As an avid public transit user, Emily is driven by a commitment to reducing car dependence and ensuring that alternative modes of transportation are safe, reliable, and accessible to people of all backgrounds and abilities.
Since 2024, Emily has served on Fehr & Peers' Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Advisory Council, advising the firm's leadership on DEI goals, strategies, and initiatives to foster inclusivity and belonging in the workplace. She also assists with the firm's Environmental, Engineering, and Planning Internship and Charrette (EEPIC) Program, a collaboration between seven firms that aims to promote diversity within the fields of environmental science, design, and urban planning by creating opportunities for students from historically underrepresented communities through summer internships.
Emily holds a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Michigan.