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Progressive Railroading's Rising Stars
Progressive Railroading's Rising Stars Progressive Railroading

Progressive Railroading Magazine Announces 2015 “Rising Stars” Honorees

April 23 – Milwaukee – Progressive Railroading announced the 20 individuals selected by the magazine's editorial staff as “Rising Stars” of North America's railroad industry for 2015.


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.


During a nomination process that lasted several months, Progressive Railroading readers submitted nearly 200 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 honorees were chosen based on their contributions to the railroad industry, career achievements, demonstrated leadership, professional association activity or community involvement. Their stories will be profiled on ProgressiveRailroading.com this summer, and published in the magazine's September issue.


Additionally, the 2015 Rising Stars will be recognized at a dinner to be held July 19 in conjunction with the American Association of Railroad Superintendents' 2015 Annual Meeting at the Grand Historic Venue in Baltimore. For more information about the dinner and how to purchase tickets to the event, visit the Rising Stars website.


The Rising Stars for 2015 and the organizations they work for are:

  • Francois Belanger, CN
  • Todd Blaylock, HNTB Corp.
  • Jonathan Chastek, Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co.
  • Oliver Dolder, Railtech Welding & Equipment
  • John Riley Edwards, RailTEC, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Stefan Loeb, Watco Cos. LLC
  • Jessica Moore, Union Pacific Railroad
  • Amanda Nightingale, King County Metro Transit
  • Celia Ann Pfleckl, Amtrak
  • Charles Rennick, Providence & Worcester Railroad Co.
  • Kaleigh Reyes, GE Transportation
  • Rebecca Reyes-Alicea, Federal Railroad Administration
  • Bruno Riendeau, VIA Rail Canada Inc.
  • Curtis Shogren, CSX Transportation
  • Alanna Strohecker, AECOM
  • Keith Tarkalson, Stacy & Witbeck
  • Brett Urquhart, Rocla Concrete Tie Inc.
  • Tara Vesey, Dakota Gasification Co.
  • Lexie Walker, Metra
  • Adam Weiskittel, BNSF Railway Co.

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.