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July 2018
Earlier this year, Progressive Railroading received more than 150 nominations for its sixth annual Rising Stars recognition program.
The program honors railroaders under the age of 40 who have made, or are making, a positive impact in the rail industry.
Over several weeks, the magazine's staff chose 20 winners from the pool of candidates. To reach our decision, we weighed each nominee's contributions to the rail industry, career achievements, leadership, professional association activity and community involvement.
As in years past, the 2018 honorees hold jobs in nearly every sector of railroading. Their reasons for joining the industry are as diverse as their careers: Some have followed in the footsteps of family members, while others ended up in the industry by chance. Still others took railroading jobs at the advice of friends or mentors.
Follow the links below to learn more about this year's Rising Stars. The stories were based on the winners' responses to questions from Senior Associate Editor Julie Sneider and Associate Editor Daniel Niepow. Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Scott Bannwart Florida East Coast Railway
Aubyn Bell HDR
Jeffrey Bennett District Department of Transportation
Jeffrey Brauner Port Authority of New York and 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
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