Job description: Maureen joined Metro-North Railroad in 2013 and has since held a series of increasingly impactful roles. Most recently, she was named assistant director-operations, where she leads transformative initiatives, fosters collaboration across departments, and contributes to Metro-North's long-term success.

Why she's influential as a leader: She drives meaningful progress, especially in ensuring a strong safety culture. Over her decade-long career with Metro-North, she has led complex initiatives, navigated operational challenges and brought innovative solutions to the table. For example, she spearheaded Metro-North's first-ever safety culture assessment in partnership with the Short Line Safety Institute (SLSI). She managed every aspect of the project, bridging collaboration between internal stakeholders and the SLSI team. The success of this assessment has had a lasting impact on Metro-North's safety practices, improving internal processes and employee engagement with safety protocols. Maureen has been a driving force behind numerous other high-impact projects.

What sets Maureen apart as a leader is her ability to see the bigger picture while staying focused on the details. She excels at managing operational complexities without losing sight of the people involved. Whether she's working with executives, labor leaders or external agencies, Maureen is a steady hand who brings people together to achieve common goals. Her work has directly contributed to creating a safer, more efficient and more cohesive organization.