Carolyn V. Cavecche

Mayor, City of Orange

Having grown up in Orange County, Director Cavecche and her husband Rick chose Orange as the community to purchase their first home and start a family.  Now long-term residents with three children they couldn’t think of a better place to call home.

A graduate of California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology, Director Cavecche served seven years on the Orange Public Library Board of Trustees before being elected to the Orange City Council in June of 2001.  Re-elected in November of 2002, she served as Mayor pro tem from 2003 to 2006, when she was directly elected Mayor of the City of Orange.  She was re-elected Mayor in 2008 and in 2010.

Director Cavecche has represented the Third District on the Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors since March 2004.  She was unanimously selected to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors for 2007 after serving as Vice-Chair in 2006.  Director Cavecche is a member of the Finance and Administration, State Route 91 Advisory, Transportation 2020 and Executive committees.  She also serves as Chair of the Highways Committee and the Security Working Group.

Director Cavecche has developed a strong interest in infrastructure and public works needs. She also served on the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency Board as well as the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink) Board of Directors.  She has served on the executive committee of the Orange County Sanitation District Board of Directors as chair of Operations, Maintenance and Technical Services.   

Director Cavecche has been honored by the Orange County Building Industry Association as the 2006 Elected Official Ruby Slipper Award Recipient, and received the Orange Chamber of Commerce’s 2007 Commerce Award for exceptional economic development results. She was named the 2007 Woman of the Year by the Orange County Women in Transportation Seminar, and the 2007 Elected Official of the Year for the State of California by the California Transportation Foundation.  In 2008, Director Cavecche was named one of 20 Women to Watch in Orange County by OC Metro Business Magazine.  Mobility 21, the leading Southern California transportation coalition, named Director Cavecche the 2009 Transportation Leader of the Year and she was named the 2011 Elected Official of the Year by the American Council of Engineering Companies.

Director Cavecche and her family are active in the community and at their church.