Progressive Railroading's 2015 class of Rising Stars

— by Daniel Niepow, associate editor

The face of the rail industry is changing quickly. Freight railroads anticipate adding 15,000 new employees in 2015, according to estimates from the Association of American Railroads (AAR). That's a considerable jump from the projection last year, when the AAR expected about 12,000 new hires for 2014. Several factors account for that increase, including overall growth, but retirement of boomer-age employees undoubtedly plays a role.

The editorial staff at Progressive Railroading has been committed to reporting on these changes and the significant workforce development concerns they've produced. To that end, we began implementing our annual Rising Stars recognition program in 2013, for which we've been asking readers to submit nominations of up-and-comers in the rail industry.

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 as an up-and-coming leader in the rail industry.

This year, the number of nominations we received nearly doubled from 2014, leaving us to pick out 20 winners from a set of just under 200 well-qualified individuals. The nominees hold jobs at Class Is, regionals, short lines, passenger railroads, transit agencies, government agencies, academic institutions, engineering firms and rail suppliers.

The final roster of Rising Stars comprises a diverse set of men and women chosen based on their contributions to the railroad industry, career achievements, demonstrated leadership, professional association activity or community involvement. Their varied stories will be profiled on ProgressiveRailroading.com this summer, and published in our 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. Reservations for the dinner can be made at progressiverailroading.com/risingstars/dinnerinfo.asp.

The Rising Stars for 2015 are:

• Francois Belanger, manager, corporate development, CN
• Todd Blaylock, senior project manager, HNTB Corp.
• Jonathan Chastek, executive vice president, Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Co.
• Oliver Dolder, executive vice president and managing director, Americas, Railtech Welding & Equipment
• John Riley Edwards, research scientist and senior lecturer, RailTEC, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Stefan Loeb, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Watco Cos. LLC
• Jessica Moore, general director — process improvement, Union Pacific Railroad
• Amanda Nightingale, assistant superintendent of organizational development and training, King County Metro Transit
• Celia Ann Pfleckl, senior sustainability manager, Amtrak
• Charles Rennick, secretary and general counsel, Providence & Worcester Railroad Co.
• Kaleigh Reyes, account executive, GE Transportation
• Rebecca Reyes-Alicea, Northeast Corridor program manager, Federal Railroad Administration
• Bruno Riendeau, director, safety and environment, VIA Rail Canada Inc.
• Curtis Shogren, plant superintendent, CSX Transportation
• Alanna Strohecker, project manager — freight rail/transit, AECOM
• Keith Tarkalson, project manager, Stacy & Witbeck Inc.
• Brett Urquhart, vice president — business development, Rocla Concrete Tie Inc.
• Tara Vesey, manager of transportation, Dakota Gasification Co.
• Lexie Walker, manager, capital projects, Metra
• Adam Weiskittel, senior general attorney, BNSF Railway Co.