2026 ceremony, left to right: California JPIA Chief Administrative Officer Nikki Salas, City of Poway Senior Management Analyst Kate Weihe, Sand City Administrative Services Manager Audrey Cray
2026 ceremony, left to right: California JPIA Senior Risk Manager Abraham Han, Sand City Administrative Services Manager Audrey Cray, California JPIA Executive Committee President Margaret Finlay, City of Poway Senior Management Analyst Kate Weihe, California JPIA CEO Alexander Smith, and California JPIA Chief Administrative Officer Nikki Salas
The California JPIA presents the Capstone Award each year to an individual whose efforts promote risk management and minimize workplace exposure. The Capstone Award is open to all employees, at a member agency, who promote positive improvements in risk management for their agency and, ideally, would be someone who:
- Works to support or improve risk management within their agency
- Influences others in developing or maintaining positive risk management efforts in the work environment
- Coordinates support systems that serve the member’s risk management goals and needs
- Exhibits positive risk management practices in the workplace
The Capstone Award was presented on October 8, 2027, to Senior Management Analyst Kate Weihe with the City of Poway during a ceremony at the 31st annual Risk Management Educational Forum at the Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, California. Learn more about Weihe in the Authority’s August 2026 newsletter.
For questions about the Capstone Award, contact us via email.
Capstone Award Recipients
2025 – Dorna Farhadi, City of Laguna Niguel
2024 – Alexa Davis, City of Rolling Hills Estates
2023 – Audrey Cray, City of Pacific Grove
2022 – Shannon Buckley, City of Lake Elsinore
2021 – Arabo Parseghian, City of La Cañada Flintridge*
2019 – Stephen Y. Aryan, City of Palm Desert
2018 – Teri Davis, City of Moorpark
2017 – Isaac Etchamendy, City of San Marcos
2016 – Susan Crumly, City of Bellflower
2015 – Nikki Salas, Town of Apple Valley
2014 – Rayna Ospina, City of San Gabriel
2013 – Debra Garcia, City of Pismo Beach
* The Capstone Award was not presented in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.