The 13th Annual

Southwestern Rail Conference

There are a host of initiatives underway that will make rail even safer going forward. Increasing market share for rail by getting more goods and people onto trains would save lives and reduce injuries, having a significant impact on transportation safety.

Ms. Canby currently serves as the Director of the OneRail Coalition, a project of the Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP). Prior to forming OneRail, Ms Canby led the STPP from 2003-2010. She has served as the Secretary/Commissioner of the Delaware and New Jersey transportation departments, as the Treasurer of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U. S. Department of Transportation.

Paul is responsible for the strategic direction, operations, corporate culture, and fiscal performance of TNW Corporation; an industry leader in rail transportation logistics and shortline railroad operations. He also serves as a member of the firm’s Board of Directors.

Jeff Van Schaick, AVP Government Affairs for Genesee & Wyoming is responsible for maintaining relationships with governmental agencies and key individuals, and representing the company’s interests in legislative matters on the state and local level.

Ken Lucht currently serves as Director of Government Relations for Watco Companies, L.L.C., and is based in Madison, WI. Ken works cooperatively with federal, state & local units of government regarding public projects, capital planning and state legislative relations throughout the Watco system.

Dave is a career railroad professional with 30 years of multi-disciplinary experience. He is currently responsible for the creation of public-private partnerships in addition to representing the company on political and legislative matters.

Tim B. Keith serves as President of Texas Central Partners (TCP), a private, Texas-based company that is developing a high-speed passenger railway that will connect Dallas and Houston. As a seasoned executive and investor with nearly 25 years of financial and operational experience in large real estate and infrastructure projects, Mr. Keith has developed key relationships and perspectives critical to TCP’s success.

As Vice President of Government Affairs, Rusty Roberts is responsible for engaging stakeholders involved with All Aboard Florida, including local, state and federal agencies. Mr. Roberts will oversee the company’s interaction with executive and legislative branches, as well as community leaders throughout the state of Florida. Mr. Roberts brings more than 30 years of legislative and political management experience.

He has served as Chief of Staff for Congressman John L. Mica, who also chaired the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami. He began his congressional service as the Director of U.S. Senator Paula Hawkins’ Miami office. Mr. Roberts was Managing Director of the Transportation and Infrastructure Practice at BGR Government Affairs, a top Washington, D.C. consulting firm, from 2011 to 2013, where he represented such high-profile clients as the Association of American Railroads, JetBlue Airways, Toyota and the Outdoor Advertising Association.

Dan Harbeke serves as Director Public Affairs for Union Pacific Railroad and works across north, west, and central Texas. Mr. Harbeke has direct responsibility for community relations, government affairs, and philanthropic giving. He joined Union Pacific Railroad in 2004. Mr. Harbeke began his career in Omaha, Nebraska and has served in several capacities since joining the organization, including time in Marketing and Sales managing over 300 small-to-medium size finished steel products customers throughout North America, Mexico, and Canada, managing the West Coast operations and forecasting process for the General Motors book of business, and later moving into Corporate Relations and building out the company’s public affairs presence in Utah, Idaho, and Montana.

Founded in 1977, WTS is an international organization dedicated to building the future of transportation through the global advancement of women. Boasting more than 6,500 members–both women and men–WTS is helping women find opportunity and recognition in the transportation industry. Through its professional activities, networking opportunities, and unparalleled access to industry and government leaders, WTS is turning the glass ceiling into a career portal.

WTS stands for Women’s Transportation Seminar, which was how it was named when founded in 1977 when women couldn’t get subsidized for association memberships unless they were educational. But times have changed, and now joining an association is an opportunity women and men can take advantage of to work together and benefit each other in their careers.

Since 1989 the Greater Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter of WTS provides opportunities for networking, professional development, and leadership for women in all fields of transportation.

Espy is a seasoned transportation professional with more than 40 years of experience in transit and rail passenger/freight, planning, maintenance and operations.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in economics from Bucknell University in 1973, he entered the Management Trainee Program at Amtrak and began his career as a field representative in 1974. While at Amtrak, Espy held various management positons leading numerous technical and economic studies, ultimately serving as superintendent of Crew Management Services, responsible for the day-to-day staffing of all Amtrak trains in the Northeast Corridor.

Mr. Graetz is The Director for Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway’s safety-focused use of unmanned aerial systems and advanced analytics. BNSF is a critical link that connects consumers with the global marketplace. For more than 160 years, BNSF has played a vital role in building and sustaining this nation’s economy, and BNSF believes that UAS combined with powerful analytics and predictive capabilities can help support safe and efficient railway operations.

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Ms. Greene has over fifteen years’ experience in transportation and land use planning at regional, corridor, and project-specific levels. In September of 2015, she joined the Texas Transit Association as their Executive Director. Prior to joining TTA, Ms. Greene was a member of the Transit Mobility Team with Texas A&M Transportation Institute, where she conducted research on performance measurement for mobility management programs, regional coordination efforts, and transit providers alike. Her research looked at non-traditional performance measures for transit and multi-modal projects, including the use of dashboards and other communication tools for agencies that provide public transportation. Since publishing the research, Ms. Greene has delivered multiple trainings for transportation practioners in the development of performance measures.

Chad Edwards has served as the Assistant Vice President of Capital Planning for Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) since April 2014. His responsibilities include oversight of several areas including corridor development, feasibility assessments, transit system planning and travel demand modeling. Chad also manages the agency’s General Planning Consultant (GPC) contract where outside consulting services are utilized to support transit corridor, system, environmental, and transit-oriented/economic development planning work.

Kathy Ingle is a highly successful serial entrepreneur and civic leader. She is president of Ingle Rentals, a commercial real-estate company based in Dallas, and also manages investments for two limited partnerships.

Prior to her current business endeavors, Kathy co-founded and served as vice president of sales and management for Shake and Shingle Supply, Inc., a roofing supply company successfully sold to a major national competitor in 2011. She was also an officer of Enertex Investments, a gas and oil exploration company; co-owner and vice president of Carrollton Properties, a commercial construction firm; and owner and president of two general-contracting firms, Patina Properties, Inc. and Cornerstone Construction, Inc. Kathy is a former director of Fidelity Bank (now Veratex Bank) and Raze Technologies, Inc. Her prior professional experience also includes sales positions with Geigy Pharmaceuticals and as a teacher for two cooperative schools.

Mr. Javier Argüello was born in Mexico City where in 1991 he obtained a“Title of Architect” from the Universidad Iberoamericana. In 1995 he was admitted to the School of Architecture and the School of Planning of the University of Southern Californian where he obtained a Masters in Architecture and a Masters in Planning both degrees with emphasis in public transportation.

As a Director of Long Range Planning for Capital Metro, Mr. Argüello offers 30 years of experience in transportation planning, facilities site planning, facilities design, implementation and construction management with public agencies and in the private sector. His is currently involved in the development of Project Connect which is the “Vision for Central Texas Transportation Plan”. His expertise includes knowledge of all stages of planning, design development and implementation of transit projects including participation in development of the draft and final Environmental Impact Statements. He has developed planning strategies, conceptual facility layout programming and preliminary engineering and final design for light rail stations, commuter rail stations, bus transit centers, multimodal terminal stations and maintenance facilities.

Arup is a full service engineering firm with over 14,000 staff members globally, with more than 90 offices in 34 countries. Arup is t the forefront of leading engineering and design, and is the passion behind many of the world’s iconic architectural, engineering, infrastructure and planning projects.

Steve joined Arup in 2016. He was graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA, and has led projects in North America, South America, Australia, Europe and Africa. His specific technical expertise is in rail, and ranges from heavy haul freight to high speed passenger service and everything in between.