Progressive Railroading names 2018 Rising Stars Award honorees

Today, Progressive Railroading announces the 20 people chosen for recognition as the 2018 Rising Stars of the North American railroad industry.

This is the sixth year that Progressive Railroading has sponsored the Rising Stars Awards program. 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 more than 150 nominations of individuals who work for Class Is, regionals, short lines, passenger railroads, transit agencies, government agencies, academic institutions, engineering firms and 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.

In addition, the 2018 Rising Stars will be recognized at a dinner to be held July 22 at the W Lakeshore Hotel in Chicago during the American Association of Railroad Superintendents' 2018 Annual Meeting.

The Rising Stars for 2018 and the organizations they work for are:
Scott Bannwart, Florida East Coast Railway
Aubyn Bell, HDR
Jeffrey Bennett, Denton County Transportation Authority
Jeffrey Brauner, Port Authority of New and York New Jersey
Nick Edelen, R. J. Corman Railroad Group
Jocelyn Hill, Conrail
Clayton Johanson, BNSF Railway Co.
Xiang Liu, Rutgers University
Yifeng Mao, MTA Long Island Rail Road
Victor Meyers, Red River Valley & Western Railroad Co.
Chad Mowery, Central Maine & Quebec Railway
Becca Nagorsky, Metrolinx
Przemyslaw Rakoczy, Transportation Technology Center Inc.
Darren Reynolds, CN
Amy Rice, CSX Corp.
Joan Smemoe, Railinc Corp.
Urszula Soucie, Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association
Cyrenthia Ward, Federal Transit Administration
Ann Waters, Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
Cecily Way, WSP USA