Traffic & Emergency Management Consultant

Built for the moments
that can't fail

30+ years directing traffic management and emergency operations for the world's largest events and most complex infrastructure projects.

Super Bowl US Open LA28 Olympics SoundStorm Riyadh Metro Rail Construction Public Utilities Space Shuttle Endeavor
30+ Years Experience
2000+ Events Managed
4M City Residents Served
4 Languages
Super Bowl US Open NBA All-Star Game Academy Awards SoundStorm Riyadh Space Shuttle Endeavor DCTM Committee Chair Metro Rail Subway & Light Rail Construction Pasadena Gold Line Fiber Optics & Utilities Dodger Stadium Mass Vaccination LA Convention Center Field Hospital RYLAN Preparedness Program Wildfire & Mudslide Response LA28 Olympics FIFA World Cup Super Bowl US Open NBA All-Star Game Academy Awards SoundStorm Riyadh Space Shuttle Endeavor DCTM Committee Chair Metro Rail Subway & Light Rail Construction Pasadena Gold Line Fiber Optics & Utilities Dodger Stadium Mass Vaccination LA Convention Center Field Hospital RYLAN Preparedness Program Wildfire & Mudslide Response LA28 Olympics FIFA World Cup

30+ years. Thousands of operations.

Emergency Operations Center — COVID-19 Level 1 Activation
Emergency Management
EOC Level 1 Activation — COVID-19
Academy Awards — Hollywood Boulevard aerial
Special Events
Academy Awards — Hollywood Blvd Operations
Multi-agency coordination with LAFD
Emergency Response
Multi-Agency Coordination — LAFD Command
Stadium event traffic management
Traffic Management
Stadium Event — Traffic Operations
Academy Awards ground operations
Special Events
Academy Awards — Ground Operations
Academy Awards — Limousine arrivals
Special Events
Academy Awards — Limousine Arrivals Staging
K-rail security checkpoint — Academy Awards
Event Security
K-Rail Security Checkpoint — Academy Awards
Hydraulic security barrier — Convention Center
Event Security
Hydraulic Security Barrier — Convention Center
Aram Sahakian

The person they call when a plan has to work

When the NBA needed to move 110 buses from Staples Center to North Hollywood, our team closed the 101 Freeway and got them there in 11 minutes. During normal rush hour, that journey takes 25 minutes — and far longer under event conditions.

When the Space Shuttle Endeavor needed to travel from LAX to the California Science Center, the operation required over a year of planning and coordination across more than 80 stakeholders — public works, engineering, contract administration, sanitation, the Bureau of Engineering, LAPD, LAFD, and utilities — all operating under a unified command system. As Incident Commander, the mission was clear: get the shuttle there safely. It did.

As General Manager of the City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Department — serving the second largest city in the United States — our team led the city's entire emergency preparedness, response, and recovery operations. Under that leadership, the department managed wildfires, mudslides, post-earthquake response, and major public safety crises. Together, we developed and launched RYLAN (Ready Your LA Neighborhood), an innovative citywide disaster preparedness program that brought emergency managers directly into neighborhoods across Los Angeles and remains active today.

During COVID-19, our team activated and ran the Emergency Operations Center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for nearly two years. Together, we stood up the largest mass vaccination site in the United States at Dodger Stadium, converted the Los Angeles Convention Center into a field hospital, and administered over $100 million in emergency contracts for logistics, medical personnel, N95 masks, and critical supplies — managing the full scope of a city-scale crisis in real time.

The construction traffic management experience runs just as deep. As the City of Los Angeles representative on the Downtown Construction Traffic Management (DCTM) Committee, our team coordinated the cumulative traffic impact of all simultaneous construction activity across downtown Los Angeles — ensuring that contractors, city agencies, and utility companies operated in coordination rather than chaos. Beyond downtown, our team designed and directed traffic management plans for Metro Rail subway construction, Metro Rail light rail construction, and major infrastructure corridors across all of Los Angeles — managing live traffic through some of the most complex urban construction environments in the United States.

Today that collective expertise is brought to major events, construction projects, and emergency operations worldwide — including the United States, the Middle East, and Latin America.

Education USC — Electrical Engineering
Harvard Kennedy School — Leadership in Crisis
Languages English · French · Arabic · Armenian
Based in Los Angeles, CA
Available internationally
Organizations ITE · IAEM
Big City Emergency Managers
What I Do

Expert consulting across
three critical disciplines

🚦

Special Event Traffic Management

End-to-end traffic planning and on-site direction for major events — from concept through execution.

  • Transportation plan design
  • Signal timing & preemption
  • Multi-agency coordination
  • VIP & motorcade logistics
  • Crowd ingress/egress strategy
  • Real-time incident response
  • Mass transit management
  • Parking management & event parking design
  • Traffic management training (Middle East)
🏗️

Construction Zone Traffic Management

Protecting workers, drivers, and communities during complex construction — minimizing impact while maximizing safety.

  • Traffic diversion plans (TDP/TCP/TMP)
  • Construction zone safety audits
  • Street closure management
  • Major construction traffic management & detour plans
  • Signal timing for work zones
  • Stakeholder & community liaison
🚨

Emergency Management & EOC Operations

City-scale crisis leadership — from disaster preparedness and wildfire response to pandemic operations and field hospital construction.

  • Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activation & direction
  • Mass casualty & mass vaccination site operations
  • Wildfire, mudslide & earthquake response
  • Multi-agency command coordination
  • Disaster preparedness training
  • Community disaster preparedness programs
  • Evacuation plans
  • RYLAN — Ready Your LA Neighborhood (watch video)
  • Emergency preparedness program development
  • Crisis communications & media spokesperson
  • $100M+ emergency contract management
  • International training & exercises

Selected events & projects

A career defined by high-stakes, high-visibility assignments — where failure was never an option. Over 30 years managing thousands of events across Los Angeles and internationally.

Super Bowl
Special Event
Traffic Management Consultant
US Open
Special Event
Traffic Management Consultant
SoundStorm
Special Event · Riyadh, KSA
Senior Traffic Consultant
NBA All-Star Games
Special Event
Traffic Operations Director
Academy Awards
Special Event
Traffic Management Director
Space Shuttle Endeavor
Special Operations
Incident Commander
DCTM Committee
Construction Traffic · City of Los Angeles
Committee Chair — Citywide Construction Coordination
Metro Rail Subway
Construction Traffic · LADOT
Traffic Management Designer
Metro Rail A Line
Construction Traffic · LADOT
Traffic Management Designer & Project Manager
Fiber Optics & Utilities
Infrastructure · Downtown LA
Traffic Control Plan Designer
Major Construction Traffic Management & Detour Plans
Construction Traffic · Citywide
Traffic Operations Director
COVID-19 Response
Emergency Management · LA
EOC Director — 24/7 for Nearly 2 Years
Dodger Stadium Mass Vaccination Center
Public Health · COVID-19 · Los Angeles
Built Largest Mass Vaccination Site in US
LA Convention Center Hospital
Emergency Operations · COVID-19
Converted Venue into Field Hospital
RYLAN Program
Emergency Preparedness · Citywide
Program Director — Community Disaster Preparedness
1994 Northridge Earthquake & I-10 Reconstruction
Emergency Response · San Fernando Valley
Traffic Management, Street Closures & Record-Speed Freeway Rebuild
Carmageddon — I-405 Closure
Major Infrastructure Operation · Los Angeles
Incident Commander
2000 Democratic National Convention
Special Event · Downtown Los Angeles
Director — Unannounced Demonstrations & Marches · Featured in LA Times
Presidential Motorcades
Federal Security Operations · Los Angeles
Street Security & Safe Movement — FBI & Secret Service Coordination
1992 LA Riots Response
Emergency Response · Los Angeles
Emergency Traffic Management & Street Operations
Sporting Events — Staples Center / Crypto.com Arena
Special Event · Los Angeles
Lakers, Clippers & Kings — Traffic Operations Director
Sporting Events — LA Coliseum
Special Event · Los Angeles
Rams & USC Football — Traffic Operations Director
Dodger Stadium Events
Special Event · Los Angeles
Traffic Operations Director
Dodgers World Series Parade
Special Event · Downtown Los Angeles
Traffic Operations Director
Michael Jackson Memorial
Special Event · Los Angeles
Traffic Operations Director
Ronald Reagan State Funeral
State Ceremony · Los Angeles
Traffic Operations Director
LA Marathon
Special Event · 16 Consecutive Years
Traffic Operations Director
Emmy Awards
Special Event · Multiple Years
Traffic Management Director
Grammy Awards
Special Event · Multiple Years
Traffic Management Director
American Music Awards
Special Event · Multiple Years
Traffic Management Director
BET Awards
Special Event
Traffic Management Director
ESPY Awards
Special Event · Los Angeles
Traffic Management Director
Latin Grammy Awards
Special Event
Traffic Management Director
Special Olympics
Special Event
Traffic Management Director
CicLAvia
Community Event · Los Angeles
Founding Team — Street Closures & Pedestrian Corridor Planning
LA Triathlon
Special Event · Multiple Decades
Traffic Management Director
Hollywood Christmas Parade
Special Event · Hollywood
Traffic Management Director
10K & 5K Road Races
Special Event · Citywide Los Angeles
Traffic Management Director
Wildfires & Mudslides
Emergency Response · Los Angeles
General Manager, Emergency Management
Why It Matters

Stories that define the work

A pandemic. A stadium. A hospital. $100M in 90 days.

When COVID-19 hit Los Angeles, our team activated the Emergency Operations Center and ran it 24/7 for nearly two years. Together, we stood up the largest mass vaccination site in the United States at Dodger Stadium, converted the Los Angeles Convention Center into a field hospital, and administered over $100 million in emergency contracts — logistics, medical personnel, N95 masks, and critical supplies — managing a city-scale crisis for 4 million residents in real time. Our department also developed and launched RYLAN (Ready Your LA Neighborhood), a citywide disaster preparedness program that brought emergency managers directly into neighborhoods across Los Angeles and remains active today.

110 buses. 11 minutes. One closed freeway.

The NBA All-Star Game required moving 110 buses from Staples Center to North Hollywood. During normal rush hour traffic, that journey takes 25 minutes — and far longer under event conditions. Our team designed and executed a plan that temporarily closed the 101 Freeway. All 110 buses completed the move in 11 minutes. That is what precision traffic management looks like when everything is on the line.

A city under construction — kept moving.

As the City of Los Angeles representative on the Downtown Construction Traffic Management (DCTM) Committee, our team coordinated the traffic impact of all simultaneous construction across downtown — fiber optics, utilities, infrastructure, private development, and public works — ensuring that contractors, city agencies, and utility companies operated in coordination rather than chaos. Beyond downtown, we designed and directed traffic management plans for Metro Rail subway and light rail construction and major infrastructure corridors across all of Los Angeles — keeping 4 million people moving while the city rebuilt itself beneath their feet.

80 stakeholders. One shuttle. The whole world watching.

Moving the Space Shuttle Endeavor from LAX to the California Science Center required over a year of planning and coordination across more than 80 stakeholders — public works, engineering, contract administration, sanitation, the Bureau of Engineering, LAPD, LAFD, utilities, and tree services — all operating under a unified command structure. As Incident Commander, the mission was to ensure the shuttle arrived safely. It did. The city watched in awe.

In the news

Los Angeles Times · August 18, 2000

"Traffic Wizard Helped Downtown Go With the Flow"

"In a city full of VIPs, no one may have been more important than Sahakian, a sort of Pied Piper of the streets as he led one choreographed march after another through the city." — LA Times, covering Aram Sahakian's role managing unannounced demonstrations and marches during the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.

Read the Article →
Spectrum News 1 · COVID-19 Coverage · 2020

Breaking News — LA Emergency Management Department

Featured as the spokesperson for the City of Los Angeles Emergency Management Department during the COVID-19 pandemic. Aram Sahakian appeared on Spectrum News 1 as the city's lead voice on emergency response operations.

Television · RYLAN Program Coverage

RYLAN — Ready Your LA Neighborhood

Featured in local television coverage of the RYLAN (Ready Your LA Neighborhood) community disaster preparedness program — a citywide initiative developed by the LA Emergency Management Department to help neighborhoods prepare for major disasters.

Get in Touch

Let's discuss your next major event or project

Available for consulting engagements in the United States, Middle East, and internationally. Project-based, retainer, and on-site arrangements considered.

Based in
Los Angeles, CA · Available Worldwide
Send a Message