Kristina Ramirez oversees Region VII as part of her Regional Director role with APWA. This includes the following chapters: Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. She also serves as the Board of Directors Liaison to the Certification Commission.
Ramirez is the Director of Planning and Development for Harker Heights, Texas. She has been part of the public works profession for 30 years. She started in the field behind an asphalt machine as part of the Kansas Department of Transportation’s summer student program. She went on to serve both large and small municipalities and water supply corporations as a drafter, design engineer, program manager, director of an environmental department, assistant public works director, and finally, Director of the Planning & Development Department. She has chaired various regional governmental committees, been an instructor for the Public Works Institute of Texas, and has mentored many high school and college students. She was involved in the formation of the Central Texas Sustainable Communities Partnership and the Public Works Institute of Texas.
Ramirez has been active in APWA since 2005, serving in leadership roles at the branch, chapter, and national levels. In the Central Texas Branch and Texas Chapter, she has held all board positions and actively participated on various committees. She continues to instruct on the Environmental, Regulatory, and Public Information/Media topics for the Public Works Institute of Texas. She has helped to plan, organize, and host several conferences, starting with the 2007 PWX (then called Congress) held in San Antonio, and most recently co-chaired the Texas Chapter’s Annual Conference in Waco in 2023.