Progressive Railroading Magazine Announces 2014 "Rising Stars" Honorees

June 1 – Milwaukee - Progressive Railroading announced 20 individuals recognized by the magazine's editorial staff as "Rising Stars" of North America's railroad industry for 2014.

The magazine defines a "Rising Star" as someone under the age of 40 who has made, or is making, a positive impact on his or her company, organization, department or team, and is viewed by others — peers, colleagues, supervisors, clients or associates — as an up-and-coming leader in the rail industry.

"Between seasoned employees retiring and newer hires getting up to speed, the rail workforce is in a state of transition," explains Progressive Railroading magazine publisher Steve Bolte. "’Rising Stars’ is a terrific way to acknowledge the rail industry’s up-and-coming talent, as they represent the future of the rail industry."

During a nomination process conducted earlier this year, Progressive Railroading readers submitted more than 100 nominations of individuals who work for Class Is, regionals, short lines, passenger railroads, transit agencies, government agencies, academic institutions, engineering firms or suppliers.

This year's 20 "Rising Stars" honorees were chosen based on their contributions to the railroad industry, career achievements, demonstrated leadership, professional association activity or community involvement. They will be profiled in a section to be published in Progressive Railroading's September issue.

The 2014 honorees will be recognized at a dinner to be held Sept. 14 in conjunction with the American Association of Railroad Superintendents' 2014 Annual Meeting (Sept. 14-16) at the Union League Club in Chicago. Learn more and get tickets to the dinner at www.ProgressiveRailroading.com/RisingStars.

The "Rising Stars" for 2014 and the organizations for whom they work are:

Chuck Baker, National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell L.L.C.)
Joshua Bendyk, VHB
Jennifer Bergener, Orange County Transportation Authority
Jesse Chalich, Northern Plains Railroad
Roquita Coleman, CN
Elisa Davies, Union Pacific Railroad
Kevin Day, CN
Kari Gonzales, Transportation Technology Center Inc.
Jessica Hawkins Allen, Amtrak
Jesse Heimowitz, MTA Long Island Rail Road
Christine Howard, Union Pacific Railroad
Mark Kelehan, Wolfe Research Securities
Jessica Kramer Havens, Diesel Supply Co.
John Manutes, Federal Railroad Administration
Michael Nicoletti, Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co.
Adam Nordstrom, Chambers, Conlon & Hartwell
Rachael Peterson, Watco Cos. L.L.C.
Kristine Storm, Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
Daniel Stout, STX Railroad Construction Services
Petra Todorovich Messick, Amtrak

About Progressive Railroading
Progressive Railroading puts freight and passenger rail industry issues and trends — from new-business development to business-process change to the technology evolution — into clear, concise and current context for 25,000 North American railroad executives and managers. Our information vehicles include Progressive Railroading, a magazine that is published monthly; ProgressiveRailroading.com, a website featuring news, web-only articles, webcasts, audio interviews and video features; Progressive Railroading's Daily News, a daily news wire; HSRupdates.com, a subscription-based information service dedicated to high-speed rail coverage; two annuals — the Car & Locomotive Yearbook & Buyers Guide and the Track Yearbook & Buyers Guide; and two conferences – RailTrends and SecureRail.