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Railway Age Announces Women in Rail 2020 Honorees

Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
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Railway Age is honoring 24 women for its 2020 Women in Rail awards program.

Established in 2017, the annual awards are presented to rail industry women in the United States, Canada and/or Mexico for their outstanding leadership, vision, innovations, community service involvement, and accomplishments.

“We are proud to present our fourth annual Women in Rail awards to such a distinguished group,” Railway Age Publisher Jonathan Chalon said. “Their achievements show that they are leaders in the industry—from freight/passenger to engineer/builder/supplier and government/regulatory.” They will be featured in Railway Age’s November 2020 issue.

The judges were Barbara Wilson, President and CFO, RailUSA LLC (left); and KellyAnne Gallagher, KAG Strategic Advisory and Founding Executive Director, Commuter Rail Coalition.

The program received more than 60 strong nominations this year. The judges were Barbara Wilson, President and CFO, RailUSA LLC; and KellyAnne Gallagher, KAG Strategic Advisory and Founding Executive Director, Commuter Rail Coalition.

And the honorees are (in alphabetical order):

• Rhea Adama, Assistant Vice-President Procurement, Canadian Pacific

Bridgette Beato, Founder and CEO, Lumenor Consulting Group

Ann D. Begeman, Chairman, Surface Transportation Board

Deborah Bittner, Head of Transportation and PTC Systems, CSX

Ruth Brown, Regional Engineer, Structures, Norfolk Southern (Women in Rail honorable mention in 2018)

Lora Cheatum, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Kansas City Southern (Women in Rail honorable mention in 2017)

Jennifer Coyne, Global Additive Manufacturing Leader, Wabtec

Stephanie Davies, Executive Vice President, GO Expansion, Capital Projects Group, Metrolinx

Clarelle DeGraffe, Director of Rail Transit for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; General Manager of PATH

• Janet Drysdale, Vice President, Financial Planning, CN

Sarah E. Feinberg, Interim President, MTA New York City Transit

• Jocelyn Gabrynowicz Hill, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail)

Rohini Ganesan, Director of Applications Engineering, Railinc Corp.

Elizabeth (Beth) Greene, Communications Manager, Urban Rail Signalling, Thales Canada, Urban Rail Signalling Business Line

• Veronique (Ronnie) Hakim, National Transit and Rail Market Sector Leader, HNTB Corporation

Carolyn Hayward-Williams, Director, Office of Railroad Systems and Technology, Office of Safety, Federal Railroad Administration

Sara Johnson, General Manager, Montana Division, BNSF Railway

Kristin Leese, Director Business Improvements, Engineering, Amtrak

Lisa Matta, Company Founder and VP Product Management, Wi-Tronix LLC (Women in Rail honorable mention in 2018)

Eileen Reilly, Founder and CEO, Global Train Services LLC

• Leslie Richards, General Manager, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)

• Renay J. Robison, AVP Real Estate and Development, RailPros

Christine Torrijas Dearing, Chief Financial Officer, South Shore Line, Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District

• Kelle Williams, Senior Director of Railroad Real Estate, OmniTRAX

Honorable Mention:

• Sonia Bot, Chief Executive, The BOT Consulting Group Inc.

Catherine (Cat) Dobbs, Senior Environmental Project Manager, HDR

Julie Eddy, Assistant Vice President, West District, G&W Northern Region Railroads, Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services, Inc.

Jennifer Guillette, General Manager, Operations and Maintenance, Bombardier Transportation

• Lori Katzman, Senior Project Manager, Engineering, HNTB Corporation

Jeannie Kwon, SVP and Chief Administrative Officer, NJ Transit

Carole Morey, AVP, Capital Program Cost Management, Environment, Design and Construction, CN

Martita Mullen, Assistant Chief North, Track, CN

Larisse Nana-Kouadjo, Manager, Rail and Transit Canada, WSP Canada Inc.

Kim Schwab, AVP Comp, HR Digital and Talent Acquisition, Kansas City Southern

Stephanie So Hyun Park, Acting Assistant Division Engineer, Engr Maint East NY Track, Amtrak

2019 Women in Rail Honorees

2018 Women in Rail Honorees

2017 Women in Rail Honorees

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