Pasadena’s Acting Public Works Director Kris Markarian Retires After 26-Year Tenure

Kris Markarian concluded her 26-year public service career during Monday’s Pasadena City Council meeting, where officials celebrated her accomplishments as Acting Director of Public Works and her leadership in managing major infrastructure projects across the City. She served twice as Acting Director, stepping up both before and after Tony Olmos’s tenure.

“You have been great. Not only are you amazing at your job and really, really responsive, but you’re an inspiration to me and other women because you have really excelled in a very male-dominated field,” said Councilmember Felicia Williams.

Markarian’s legacy includes overseeing major infrastructure improvements including the Robinson Park Recreation Center renovation, the pool at Robinson Park, improvements at PCA Park, and the Washington Community House development. She also led the Central Library Earthquake Retrofit and Building Repairs Project, developed a formal street renaming policy, and announced formation of a City Grant Management Team comprising representatives from 16 City departments.

“I always tell my staff that it’s no accident that City of Pasadena is a great place to live, work, and visit. And it’s because of all the work that I have seen that takes place from the City Council here, the Mayor, of course the City Manager and our executive team and beyond,” Markarian told the Council in what she called a “bittersweet ending.”

Before taking her role in Pasadena, Markarian served as City Engineer for La Cañada Flintridge from February 2015 until December 2016, when she joined Pasadena’s larger municipality. Under her leadership, the Pasadena Public Works Department earned reaccreditation from the American Public Works Association in 2024.

“This has really been eight years of working with not only a great team but at all levels, collaboration and all of you,” Markarian said. “And yes, this is being in the public sector. When I joined, I started in private. I thought I’d be here two years, but the bug got me. And to know that something you’ve been working on and [an] idea that gets realized and put in place, but more importantly makes a different, an impact to the community and that’s truly what makes every day that I’ve been working over the last 26 years, a joy.”

The City Council presented Markarian with a formal resolution commemorating her service, acknowledging her role in implementing lasting protocols and procedures that will benefit the City long after her departure.