SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown on Feb. 5 announced the reappointment of Kent Sasaki, 49, of Walnut Creek to the California Building Standards Commission, where he has served since 2012.
Sasaki is currently unit manager and principal with Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates (WJE), a nationwide engineering/architectural/materials science firm, where he has held multiple positions since 1989, including board member and engineer. He is past president of the San Francisco Section of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and a member of the Structural Engineers Association of California.
With more than 23 years of experience investigating structures in the U.S. and internationally, Sasaki has expertise in earthquake engineering and failure investigations. He performed the earthquake damage assessment of the Washington Monument for the National Park Service and the post-fire damage assessment of the MacArthur Maze for Caltrans. For the last 15 years, he has managed WJE’s Emeryville office. He has served as structural engineering expert on numerous claims.
Sasaki received a B.S. in civil engineering in 1987 and a master’s in structural engineering in 1989 from UC Berkeley. A registered civil and structural engineer in California, he previously served on the California Building Standards Commission from 2003 to 2006.
He is married with two teenage children. As a competitive runner and triathlete, he placed 15th overall in the 2012 Oakland Half Marathon with a time of 1:21:59.
The state position requires Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Sasaki is a Democrat.