Congratulations to our newest Board members and Associates!
Martin Reyes – Professional Development Director, Northern Board
(he/him)
Martin Reyes joined the APA California – Northern Board as a South Bay Regional Activity Coordinator in January 2024. He is now the 2025-2026 Professional Development Director.
Martin has over 12 years of experience in civil engineering and transportation and has led transformative transportation and land use initiatives in both Southern California and in the Bay Area. Reyes is a Principal Transportation Planner for the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, where he has led several initiatives. These include leading 101 Corridor Connect (a multimodal corridor plan for US 101), developing a new competitive grant program to fund regional transit improvements connecting San Mateo to San Francisco, and Alameda and Santa Clara counties, and securing grants and implementing Active 101 (a new plan for bicycle and pedestrian projects along the US 101). Before San Mateo, Reyes worked as the transportation deputy and assistant director for planning and development for Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, and as a civil engineer for Los Angeles County Public Works.
For Reyes, the most interesting and challenging aspect of being a transportation planner is the variety of professionals and stakeholders involved, from other planners to engineers, landscape architects, council members, residents, and business owners. Every person has a different perspective and the most interesting part of the job is trying to build consensus amongst all parties (knowing that perfect consensus rarely happens!).
Outside of work Martin enjoys cooking, trying new recipes, and exploring restaurants and coffee shops, and his interests include graphic design and architecture.
Connect with Martin.
Sam Sargent – Ethics Review Director, Northern Board
(he/him)
Sam Sargent, JD, AICP, joined the APA California – Northern Board as a Northern News Associate Editor. Hi is now the 2025-2026 Ethics Director.
Sargent is the Director of Strategy and Policy at Caltrain, where he works on a variety of initiatives, including MTC’s Regional Network Planning framework, a regional rail partnership study, and a mix of projects with transit agencies and city partners. Prior to joining the railroad’s executive team, Sargent served as interim vice president of government affairs, director of strategy, and deputy chief of staff for Capital Metro in his hometown of Austin, Texas. While at Capital Metro, he had the opportunity to work on Austin’s first light rail and bus rapid transit program, starting at the feasibility planning phase all the way into project development. He is a Mass Transit 40 Under 40 and Railway Age 25 Under 40 award winner. Sargent holds BA and JD degrees from Boston University.
What Sargent enjoys the most about planning and public transportation is the human element and the challenge of putting himself in other people’s shoes, especially of those who might be most impacted (negatively and positively) by a proposed solution.
Sam lives in the Bay Area with his wife and dog, Gracie and when he is not working at Caltrain, you can find him running, reading and exploring California.
Connect with Sam.
Marco Harding – SJSU Student Representative, Northern Board
(he/him)
Marco Harding, an urban planning Masters student at San Jose State University (SJSU), is interested in understanding the relationship between the built and natural environments.
Born in 1993 in Guatemala, Harding grew up in Santa Cruz, California, connected to the landscape through activities like surfing, kayaking, fishing, and skateboarding. In 2016, he earned his B.A. from The Evergreen State College, where he explored the intersections of environmental studies, art, and cultural anthropology. He completed Berkeley’s InCity urban planning and design program in the summer of 2022 and started SJSU’s MUP program that fall. In 2023, he conducted an independent study on “third places” and their role in fostering social cohesion, sustainability and placemaking in emerging North Amsterdam neighborhoods.
At the beginning of 2025, Harding went on a study abroad trip to Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto and Fukuoka) to learn about city design, the social cohesion of place today, and what planning ideas could be applicable in the States.
With a multidisciplinary background in urban planning, art, and environmental studies, Marco is committed to creating communities that balance human activity within a changing and unpredictable environment.
Connect with Marco.
Edward Huynh – Associate Editor, Northern Board
he/him
Edward Huynh is a second-generation Asian-American and first-generation college student. He completed a master’s in urban planning at San Jose State University (SJSU), with a specific focus on transportation. He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from San Francisco State University with certifications in Transportation Planning, Urban Design, and Environmental Planning.
Aside from planning, Huynh is interested in history and politics. This interest led him to write an article for an Eno Center for Transportation project that reflected on each U.S. president’s contribution to American infrastructure. He is passionate about transportation and urban design and dreams of one day being part of efforts to connect the various parts of the Bay Area into one.
For Huynh, the most interesting part about being a planner is the many topics a single project may entail. For example, at SJSU, he and his student colleagues created recommendations for their capstone project to address needs in a high-traffic area. These recommendations were made based on several topics that people were concerned about, such as culture, environment, jurisdictional powers, people’s dogs, parks, traffic management, and many more. Huynh shares that for him, having so many topics on a single topic is interesting and fun because he loves to explore rabbit holes of information. Having so many rabbit holes available to him in a single project allowed that exploration to flourish.
In his free time, Edward enjoys exploring the growing genre of video games, watching Star Wars, talking about Star Wars, and waiting for opportunities to talk about Star Wars. He also likes to stretch the truth about how much he works out.
Connect with Edward.
Request for Content
APA California – Northern strives to remain a connected community. We would like to extend a special invitation to members to be featured in the next Northern News “Who’s Where” section, where we are eager to highlight your latest accomplishments and successes.
If you have started a new job, taken on a new role, or opened your agency, we would love to learn about your journey and progress. We are also eager to know more about you, your hobbies, and your interests outside of work such as:
- Other career paths that influence your work
- Professional areas of interest
- AICP certification or other credentials (e.g., LEED, PMP, GISP, etc.)
- Hobbies/Interests outside of your professional work
We always value our members’ backgrounds and achievements, and we would be thrilled to know more about your education and any special projects you’ve worked on in your field. Your contributions are pivotal to our community; we want to hear your unique voice.
- Education
- Interesting projects you have worked on recently
- The most interesting thing about being a planner
Please take a moment to share a little bit about yourself with us by completing our Who’s Where Submittal Form. If you have any issues with this online form, please contact communications@norcal.org. We are excited to get to know you better and look forward to hearing from you soon!”
