AAR honors four railroaders for sustainability work

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) this week honored four railroaders for their commitment to sustainability and advancing the industry’s environmental efforts.

Held during the 2024 Railroad Environmental Conference this week, the ceremony honored railroaders in different job roles and across tenure for their work to protect and preserve both the environment and communities served by rail, AAR officials said in a press release.

AAR presented the 2024 John H. Chafee Award for Environmental Excellence to Union Pacific Railroad's Jason Fox; the Environmental Excellence Award to CN’s Reid Bodley; and the Career Achievement Award to both CN’s Seble Afework and Canadian Pacific Kansas City's LeeAnn Thomas. 

The John H. Chafee Award recognizes non-environment professionals who promote ecological initiatives. As UP's senior director of locomotive engineering and quality since 2011, Fox leads the Class I's locomotive reliability and maintenance efforts, including several decarbonization initiatives.

CN's Bodley leads the Class I's environmental performance team, where he has significantly enhanced the environmental management system, achieving a 90% increase in performance metrics since 2021. 

CN's Afework has more than 35 years of experience in environmental protection within the railroad industry, significantly impacting CN’s sustainability goals. Since joining CN in 1989, she has led waste management and compliance initiatives, managed a major remediation project in Bathurst, New Brunswick, and developed a patented solution for wastewater sludge management.

CPKC's Thomas has nearly 40 years of experience in environmental risk and liability management, significantly impacting the freight rail sector during her 29 years at CPKC, according to AAR. She established a formal environmental risk management program and a financial accrual process for liabilities that are now industry standards.