LRW names Patrick president for 2019-21 term

The League of Railway Women (LRW) yesterday announced Amanda Trainor Patrick will serve as board president for the 2019-2021 term.

Patrick is vice president of trade shows and board relations at the Railway Supply Institute.

In addition to Patrick, the board also named the following members to its new leadership team:
• Sarah Yurasko, assistant general counsel of the Association of American Railroads, is LRW's vice president;
• Tanis Peterson, senior director of operations and regulatory affairs at the Railway Association of Canada, is immediate past president;
• Susan Robertson, managing director of Virginia Rail Solutions LLC, is secretary;
• Urszula Soucie, chief operating officer of the Railway Engineering-Maintenance Suppliers Association (REMSA), is treasurer;
• Madeleine Stern, REMSA's membership and marketing manager, is parliamentarian;
• Lisa Tackach, who serves in business development at Railroad Construction Co. Inc., is awards chair;
• Kari Gonzales, VP of business services and chief financial officer at the Transportation Technology Center Inc., is education chair;
• Janet Hoang, sustainability specialist at Canadian Pacific, is events chair;
• Sheena Prevette, corporate quality engineer at Union Tank Car Co., is membership chair;
• Emilia Marceta, project manager of signals and communications and network infrastructure at Metrolinx, is public relations and outreach chair;
• Crystal Gitchell, assistant VP of legislative and regulatory policy at the American Shortline and Regional Railroad Association, is scholarship chair;
• Michele Malski, founder of SPRING LLC, is director at large; and
• Erica Sander, PAC manager of federal and state government relations at Trinity Industries, also is director at large.

The leadership team will be introduced to members at the annual membership meeting, which will be held Sept. 24 in Minneapolis during the annual LRW Annual Conference at Railway Interchange 2019.

"As a leading professional organization for women in the rail industry, LRW continues to grow and provide value to its members,” said Patrick in a press release. "I am proud to work with these new board members, who reflect our membership’s diversity of experience and industry knowledge."

Earlier this year, Patrick and Gitchell were among 25 individuals named by Progressive Railroading as the rail industry's Rising Stars in 2019. Progressive Railroading also recognized Gonzales, Soucie and Malski as Rising Stars in previous years.