For years, children in the Rexland Acres community walked to school through flooded streets, sometimes arriving soaked enough to be sent home before the school day had even begun.

Residents showed Yolanda Alcantar, Public Works Manager for the Advanced Planning Division at Kern County Public Works, photos of intersections submerged in standing water, with roads so flooded she said they looked like a lake. At the same time, collision data revealed an alarming pattern of pedestrian injuries and fatalities in the neighborhood.

For Alcantar, those stories stayed with her.

Today, a wall inside Alcantar’s office is covered with awards and recognitions tied to the Rexland Acres sidewalk and drainage project — one of the most meaningful projects of her nearly 30-year career in public service.

But for Alcantar, the recognition is not what matters most.

“Well, it just reminds me of why we do this work,” she said. “We want our community to know that they’re seen. A lot of times, they feel like we’re not prioritizing them. We have so much need in the county that we can’t get to everybody at once, but we are going to do what we can, one project at a time.”

Alcantar oversees a division focused on long-term transportation planning, environmental review, and securing competitive grant funding for infrastructure projects throughout Kern County.

Though much of her work happens quietly behind the scenes, the projects she helps lead directly shape daily life for residents — from sidewalks and drainage systems to railroad crossings and pedestrian safety improvements.

Before stepping into her current leadership role, Alcantar spent years specializing in environmental compliance for federally funded transportation projects. After repeatedly seeing projects planned without fully considering environmental impacts, she began speaking up.

“And so I came into this role because the planning of some of the projects were being done without considering the environment,” she said. “I would say, ‘You’re planning projects in sensitive areas or not considering this or that.’ And they finally told me, ‘Well, if you’re so smart, you do it.’ That’s kind of how I got into advanced planning and the grant world.” 

At the time, Alcantar said she thought she was simply trying to make environmental review easier on herself. Instead, it opened the door to an entirely new side of public works.

“I was trying to pick projects that would make my life easier because I was doing environmental review,” she said. “But I didn’t realize it was going to open up a whole other world of different problems.”

As Public Works began collecting more detailed countywide safety data, Alcantar and her team used collision analysis and Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping to identify infrastructure gaps across Kern County. Rexland Acres quickly stood out with two fatalities and 11 pedestrian collisions.

But Alcantar said it was hearing directly from residents that transformed the project from data into something deeply personal.

“They invited me to some community meetings so I could talk to the residents about what was happening there,” said Alcantar. “And it was really their stories and their input that helped shape the grant application.”

Using both community testimony and safety data, Alcantar helped secure $5.6 million for sidewalk and drainage improvements in Rexland Acres, one of the first major grants she successfully obtained.

“It was really exciting and scary all at the same time,” she said. “Because once you get awarded that money, now you have to deliver all those things that you promised in the grant application.”

The success of the Rexland Acres project became part of a broader mission centered on pedestrian safety throughout Kern County. 

Alcantar later helped secure funding for railroad crossing improvements in Boron after hearing from residents following the death of a young girl whose foot became trapped while crossing railroad tracks.

“In the case of that little girl, her foot got stuck into one of the spacings,” Alcantar said. “And after that, it became really important to me that we look at all of our railroad crossings differently. These improvements make a difference for children, wheelchair users, mothers pushing strollers, and elderly residents carrying groceries home. It became kind of a personal mission for me.”

Over the years, Alcantar and her team have helped secure millions of dollars for safety improvement projects throughout the county, including crossings near South Chester and Norris Road.

When asked what she wishes people understood about the amount of work it takes to make projects like this happen, Alcantar noted that much of the work happens long before construction even begins.

“Oh my gosh, it’s really tough. One application can take six months of work. If I showed you one, it’s probably three inches thick. You have to do a lot of scoping and really understand the community so you can speak to their needs,” she said. “Then you have to convince somebody on the other side that this project is worthy. It’s very competitive because you’re competing with everybody else in the state.”

Alcantar also emphasized that no infrastructure project is completed alone. 

According to her, a single project can involve nearly 90 Public Works employees across multiple divisions, from engineers and surveyors to finance teams, right-of-way staff, and administrative workers.

“My division comes up with the idea, but it doesn’t do anybody any good if we don’t have a really strong Public Works team,” she said. “It really takes all of us to get one project out. Sometimes people don’t realize how important their contribution is, but every single area plays a part.”

That belief in teamwork extends beyond project planning. Alcantar also leads the Kern County Public Works Employee Appreciation Committee, helping organize recognition efforts for nearly 600 employees during Public Works Week.

For Alcantar, appreciating employees is part of building a culture where workers understand the impact of what they do every day.

“I don’t think the public understands that we’re public servants,” she said. “We’re here to serve the community. We care about our work and the impact it has on infrastructure and safety. But internally, I also want our employees to know how important their jobs are. We want them to be proud of the work that we do.”

After nearly three decades in public works, Alcantar said the work still comes back to one simple goal: making communities safer and making sure residents feel heard.