Will Chen, Chair

Will Chen is the Head of the Energy Recovery Section for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts. He and his staff are responsible for managing the agency’s energy portfolio which include renewable power, natural gas and transportation fuel, developing the Food Waste Recycling Program, operating and maintaining landfill gas-to-energy facilities and conducting the Household Hazardous/E-Waste collection events held throughout Los Angeles County. Mr. Chen started his career with the Districts in 2009 as an operations engineer at the Calabasas Gas-to-Energy Facility and was promoted to Supervising Engineer and Section Head in 2019 and 2022.

He graduated from UCLA with a B.S in Mechanical Engineering and from USC with an M.S. in Environmental Engineering. He is a Registered Mechanical Engineer with the State of California and is a Board-Certified Environmental Engineer.

Emiko Thompson, Vice-Chair

Emiko Thompson is Assistant Deputy Director of Los Angeles County Public Works, Environmental Programs Division.  She is responsible for solid waste management, recycling programs, and industrial waste and underground storage tank programs.

With an annual budget of more than $3.6 billion and a workforce of 4,000 employees, Los Angeles County Public Works is the largest municipal public works agency in the United States, providing vital public infrastructure and civic services to more than 10 million people across a 4,000-square-mile service area.

Emiko has 33 years of experience with Public Works in the field of environmental programs, solid waste management, and transportation/traffic engineering.

Emiko is a licensed Civil Engineer in the state of California.  She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from California Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Past Meetings